El amigo de la playa, Pedro Olaya,
enamorado de la música, poeta, escritor, coleccionista de discos y apasionado articulista.
Colaborador con publicaciones internacionales como “No depression” Nos dedica
este magnífico texto por el cumpleaños de la playa. Gracias Pedro.
“
(Un enhorabuena muy especial a
Manolo Ruiz Baraibar y su maravilloso empecinamiento con La Playa de Neil
Young.
Las cosas que se hacen con pasión
siempre están justificadas querido Manolo)
If there
were one word to describe the twists and turns that have comprised Mr Loner’s
career, that word would have to be unapologetic. There is no other way to
define the discography of a man who flouted conventional wisdom at every turn
and defied commercial success for damn near a decade, simply because that was
what he felt like doing (...)
In the
1970’s, Neil became a household name through albums like Harvest and Comes A
Time, before closing out the decade with the critically-acclaimed Rust Never
Sleeps. ‘80s Neil, meanwhile, dropped off the face of the earth, releasing
bewildering experimental records in Vocoder technology (Trans) and rockabilly
(Everybody’s Rockin’). Young have exited the Reagan era as a footnote.
With a
measure of a hit on his hands, Young re-charted course and revived his
successful partnership with Crazy Horse, the backing band to end all backing
band debates.
Thus,
Ragged Glory was born, a fitting title for a man and a group who had been
through so much throughout the years. After the quirky output Young had
released during the ‘80s, bim_ad_daily_vault_print_250
Ragged
Glory comes as a breath of fresh air, and reminder of Young’s rocking
prowess.
The highest
praise I can offer this album is that one could place it anywhere amongst the
finest Neil Young & Crazy Horse records of the 1970’s and it would fit in
perfectly with its brethren. When Young & Co. get together, the formula
rarely changes; it is just a question of how strong the material is. With this
album, though, there is no doubt that Young was at the top of his game,
utilizing Crazy Horse perfectly once more.
As if to
directly remind people of the good ol’ days, Young saw fit to leadoff Ragged
Glory with two tracks that had been performed since the early ‘70s, floating
around in the ether before finally being put down on tape.
“Country
Home” and “White Line” are both built around incredibly catchy central riffs
that continue on throughout the song while allowing, of course, the requisite
time for Young and Crazy Horse to build off them.
Truth be
told: there are legitimate reasons why Neil Young is considered the godfather
of grunge? Connections that have been discussed to death, but when one actually
listens to the heavier Young material, the similarities begin to grow.
Ragged
Glory is a stunner Neil Young & Crazy Horse album, period. And that is
all.
Ironically,
despite the raw, heavy sound that Ragged Glory has to offer, there are some
rather tender, sweet moments here. Lest we forget, Neil Young came to
prominence in the 1960’s, and rest assured, his hippie tendencies have not
dissipated over the years. You have Young reminding us that “Love and only love
will endure,” while not forgetting to close out the proceedings with a
genuinely beautiful ode to “Mother Earth.” It’s not Chaucer or Keats, but the
sentiment is what we have come to expect from Young.
Ragged
Glory would be followed by Harvest Moon, a return to a different form for Neil
Young. But the combination of these two records served notice that Young was
far from done being heard by the ‘90s, and would continue to keep on doing
things his way. Thirty one years later, that is still the case.
Ragged
Glory is a great one from one the greats. “
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