'Tonight's the Night'

Just over the last two years I've come to absolutely love much of Neil Young's catalog, particularly his early stuff when he was more country than rock 'n' roll.

Tonight's the Night the moment I jump ship.

Record in 1975, it's a reaction to the deaths of Bruce Berry and Danny Whitten to drug overdoses. Apparently, Whitten, the Crazy Horse guitarist, was rehearsing with Young and Co. high as a kite. Young sent him back to Los Angeles because he wasn't capable of performing. Next thing Young knows, Whitten's found dead.

Ironically, Young was a pretty big druggie himself.

In the original liner notes of the vinyl LP, Young included this note: "I'm sorry. You don't know these people. This means nothing to you."

One of the problems I've always had with Young was that he thought he was much smarter than everyone and this includes his fans. My point: Young has a large fanbase, but he would've never been super famous because he doesn't relate to the generic person wanting a rock record. They'd rather by Slippery When Wet. Young was a snob.

The only way Tonight's the Night would mean nothing to a Young fan is if we'd never felt loss ourselves.

Otherwise, it's a messy, disorganized and sloppy album a far cry from early Young and aside from some gems on side B, it's a really shitty album.