Best Neil Young album

Originally posted by sonhouse
Speaking of Vocoders, it took me a while to find a link to what vocoders are, here is a wiki:
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Vocoders

How long is "a while"? Three seconds? Four?

Originally posted by darvlay
How long is "a while"? Three seconds? Four?

A couple of minutes, for one thing I mis-spelled vocoder as vocodor which was how it was spelt in young's post. So sue me🙂
After reading the wiki, I realized I had seen the vocoder in action a long time ago. The very first use of it at least that I saw personally was from a country western pedal steel player named Red Rhodes. I saw him perform in a bar in Los Angeles or San Diego in 1968 and he used a tube with a tip in his mouth that went to the electronics that modified the sound of his pedal steel. It was very innovative for the time and produced amazing modulations allowing his pedal steel to 'talk'. I was impressed for sure.

Originally posted by sonhouse
A couple of minutes, for one thing I mis-spelled vocoder as vocodor which was how it was spelt in young's post.

Ry Vocooder ...

Well, I've just listened to 'Harvest Moon' -- a tender spreading swelling in my chest.

The first few songs of 'Broken Arrow' grind along wonderfully, with that slow pulverising Crazy Horse delivery. Then it switches to live songs. Young has a tendency to do that. I don't really like it.

Originally posted by uzless
Crazy Horse...check out "Cortez the Killer"

Funnily enough odds are Zuma's my next president.

No votes for After the Gold Rush?

Originally posted by darvlay
No votes for After the Gold Rush?

I've listened to it a few times the last couple days. I prefer it to 'Harvest'. It lacks the ragged glory factor, but as an album it hangs together exceptionally well.

Speak, darvlay.

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
Ry Vocooder ...

Well, I've just listened to 'Harvest Moon' -- a tender spreading swelling in my chest.

The first few songs of 'Broken Arrow' grind along wonderfully, with that slow pulverising Crazy Horse delivery. Then it switches to live songs. Young has a tendency to do that. I don't really like it.

Now THERE is a genius! Ry Cooder first followed Joseph Spence, the Bahamian guitarist extraordinaire and went on from there.
Here is a wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry_Cooder

Personal favorites: His work with Ali Farka Toure. I loved his "Ditty Wa Diddy' duo the great pianist Earl Fatha Hinds, that song has to rate as one of the best piano-acoustic guitar duo's ever. I think that one was on "Paradise and Lunch". 'Tell me, what does that Diddy Wa Diddy mean'🙂
On a personal note, I learned his cover of Joseph Spence's Great Dreams From Heaven, a nice little fingerpicking tune. The Thing we found out later was, where in the heck did he (Ry) get that frigging ONE bass note from? Turns out, he was sneaky, he played a 7 string guitar with an extra bass note and plucked it only once during his rendition and it drove us crazy for a long time till we found out how he did it!
That piece is played with a drop D, the 6th string down two frets to octave with the 4th string, a personal favorite tuning of mine but he had that extra string tuned down to low A I think, forget the exact one but he only played that string once during the whole tune. He's going 'Gotcha'!
Another favorite: Billy The Kid, he starts out with a bluesy mandolin riff, VERY good piece.
I know this thread is about Neil but Ry is just as powerful a musician in my opinion and you mentioned him first, if obliquely🙂

For me, his best is definitely between 'After the Gold Rush' and 'Tonight's the Night'. But he's written enough great songs to almost make Crosby seem cool. Almost.

The 80s were dodgy times for Neil. 'Everyone's Rocking Tonight' -- an uncomfortably comedy number, I guess, the Elvis cover pose says it all. 'Landing in Water' and 'Life' -- criminy, the big hollow 80s production, complete with electric piano, even got to him. 'This Note's for You' was an improvement, I guess. Thankfully 'Freedom' was excellent and set the scene for a good twenty years more.

'Greendale' (2003) is choice. Crazy Horse getting long in the tooth? Undead grandpas. The art of the intimate feedback grind.

Originally posted by searcy1977
For me, his best is definitely between 'After the Gold Rush' and 'Tonight's the Night'. But he's written enough great songs to almost make Crosby seem cool. Almost.

Interesting comment. After the Gold Rush is excellent, but I always felt Harvest was what Neil was trying to do with After...

Harvest brings it all together. Of the two, I prefer Harvest.