A posting from the Neil Young mailing list rust@death. One in a series highlighting the best thereof. More archive posts on Rust Never Sleeps.
---------- Forwarded message ---------- So it all started last summer when I inherited my grandmother's '78
Cadillac. It's a big car, nice leather interior, power everything. You
know: the works.
There was one catch, though...it had an 8 track player. Sure, it was cute
for a little while, and the sole 8 track I'd been able to find was good for
(slightly) more than the occasional chuckle (_Sal-Soul Saturday Night Disco
Party_). Thanks to Having done a lot of road tripping all over the east coast (lord knows I've
paid my dues), I have subsequently done a lot of listening to TTN on 8
track (or "octo-tracko" as I've found myself calling it, probably to
acentuate the pure weirdness of the medium).
So now, gentle reader, the crux of the matter...as TTN on 8 track has a
rather different song order than the LP and CD versions of the album, I
have become rather sensitive to the ordering of the album. In fact, based
on other experience with Neil (how he'll make a huge fuss about which
songs-- no matter how "good"-- "fit" on an album, or repeating musical
themes-- sometimes practically mirroring songs) I'd like to spend some time
discussing the importance of track order on TTN.
You see, TTN matches OTB, for me, as Neil's finest full albums. I may
actually like the music on OTB more, but TTN is just so _scary_. First
time I heard it I thought I'd never listen to it again, maybe I'd just
place it in the same file I put Pink Floyd's "The Wall" movie. Too good,
too scary.
But I grew to love it on LP and then CD. TTN is a cohesive work. It's an
album in the truest sense; thank you (Super) Dave (Marsh). But, frankly,
the 8 track isn't nearly as persuasive. In fact, it sucks. Not because
it's the technological equivalent of speaking Latin or because it totally
bypasses any artwork. It's just that the songs, in a starkly different
order, don't mean as much in this designed-to-fit-the-medium context.
When I listen to the CD, "TTN part 1" feels like a true intro; you're being
set up, you're being told, well, just what the title of the song and album
say. And the music...c'mon, it's terrible. My mom won't let me play it in
her presence. But it's so _good_, too...a little tonic water, perhaps. So
you know you're in for a well-told, but tragic, story.
And then "Speakin' Out": not a masterpiece, but the perfect second song.
It's loose, a little wild. Maybe Neil's taking us back a bit, before the
tragedy (-ies), letting us _hear_ the wildness. Not ready to let it all
rip, yet: a bit tentitive.
Then "World on A String." A real grinder. Hum-dinger. A simple, yet very
powerful song. The verse, with that E-tuned-to-D bum-bum-bum-bum is the
middle of that old tour, just going and going. But that delicate chorus is
a foreshadower of what can be broken; letting us know that he's looking
back and is maybe a bit wiser; that things look different from different
perspectives.
"Borrowed Tune" follows, and on the 8 track, it just sounds sappy. The
lyrics don't even make sense. But after "WoAS," it makes perfect sense.
His voice is tired and worn, and his muse is just too beat to write a whole
song; he's got to take the music from the Stones.
Then comes "Come on Baby Let's Go Downtown." A flashback. Very direct and
important. You can hear Neil's backgroung vocals; a little "off", almost
ghostly. On the 8 track, this song sounds like a space-filler from a
different era. In the right context, though, it's essential to our
understanding (however visceral it might be) of what's going on.
"Mellow my Mind" lies in the respite after "Come On," and Neil's voice says
it all. This is a song that I've always considered one of the few real
emotive masterpieces of rock music, but hey, who am I to say? Ask Dave, I
guess. Anyway, he's just asking for a little peace, especially after
remembering what (might not) but _had_ been.
"Roll Another Number" is a simple song, just a little C&W thang, but it
starts off the second half of the album for a reason. It's all about
waking up: lsiten to those first two lines, when Neil can't fit the lyrics
into the "standard" rhythm. He's had a tough time, and it takes a lot to
get going again, but this song is a sign of recovery, or at least his
re-starting. Byt he end of the tune, he's rolling.
"Albuquerque" is a driving song, letting us know that he's back on the
road. Doesn't let us think he's past it all, though, or that he's anywhere
near done. Song's a reference to a breakdown Neil had on the road, n'est
pas?
"New Mama." Another track that just doesn;t move on the 8 track but makes
perfect sense in the original order. Whether or not you take the lyrics
literally or one step removed (in album context), the song's about renewal.
Sounds that way to me, even with that soaring chorus. "Lookout Joe" seems
to work well right after, where Neil seems to be a little more direct. The
song's more relaxed than the ealrier tracks, and it has reminisces both
bizarre and/yet comforting or appealing. Sort of lets us know that he'll
never break from the past but that he has separated it from past and
present.
Then "Tired Eyes." I won't comment, it's too good a song. Just listening
to it does enough for me. Wisdom.
And then TTN part 2. Absolutely essential. Although it appears last on
the 8 track, too, it sounds more like a jam outtake. But after hearing a
cohesive TTN, part 2 closes it. Without this track, I'd likely leave the
room and spend the day in the haze of the album. Just like part 1's intro,
part 2 signals a limit.
Well, sorry about the rambly length of it all...I just feel really strongly
about the album, and thought I'd vent some extra energy so that I don't do
anything drastic in the week before MB.
Let me know if you have any comments; I'd love to hear more from people who
might know a little more about the songs and their influences, or things
Neil might have said about the album.
Tired Eyes
Date: Sat, 24 Jun 1995 11:31:48 -0400
From: Tired Eyes
To: rust@death.fish.com
Subject: TTN song order (pretty long)
Also, see more on the album Tonight's The Night and the Ditch/Doom/Wilderness Trilogy.
Reviews of Neil Young Albums
Neil Young Archives - Thrasher's Wheat