Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

A colossal effort that signifies his first collaboration with Crazy Horse, bar-none the best garage-rock support band ever assembled, Neil Young’s Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere explodes with loose electricity, country-influenced harmonies, and fervent interplay that took melodic rock music in then-unforeseen directions. Moving away from the mellow fare that distinguished his self-titled debut, the pioneering Canadian icon stretches out and showcases his penchant for unhinged guitar solos and drifting arrangements.

Having come across the Rockets while recording his first solo outing, Young spared no time in recruiting the band for his own purposes. With the trio of Danny Whitten, drummer Ralph Molina, and bassist Billy Talbot renamed Crazy Horse, and Young ready with an energetic collection of tunes that called out for longer instrumentals and raw tones, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere was recorded in a scant two weeks time and just four months after Young’s prior effort.

His symbiotic chemistry with fellow kindred spirit and rhythm guitarist Whitten is evident on the drawn-out “Cowgirl In the Sand” and murderous “Down By the River,” both a tangle of rolling narratives, mysterious tension, amplified feedback, and longing emotion which remain staples in Young’s live repertoire. As does “Cinnamon Girl,” which is distinguished by one of the most famous and magnetic riffs of all time. At this stage of his career, Young had never written such an engaging and expressive set of songs and the album remains a landmark on which every tune is a classic.

Having languished for decades, this masterwork has finally received the long-overdue sonic treatment it’s needed. Remastered from the original tapes by Young’s expert team and overseen by the artist himself, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere now sounds better than ever. Young has never sounded so immediate, detailed, rich, or present on a studio album.

The record joins 1968's Neil Young, 1970’s After the Gold Rush, and 1972's Harvest as part of the initial batch of Young recordings pristinely mastered from the original tapes, pressed on high-quality audiophile-grade LP, and packaged in sleeves that faithfully mirror those of the originals.

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