Drag Me Over the Rainbow

I'm going out on a limb here and I'm going to say that Neil Young's Everybody Knows This is Nowhere is his best album.

I'll wait a minute for all of you Harvest nuts to calm down.

Okay, it boils down to these main points:

1. Danny Whitten - He was still alive, provided a grit to Crazyhorse that Pedro doesn't. He was loose, sloppy and dangerous.

2. It was the best Neil Young sound ever. Straddling his own personal style with what he picked up in Buffalo Springfield and the vibe that led to CSNY. His music has sounded good since, but I don't think it's ever topped this sound. It is the Sixties, and yet so much beyond it. It's dirty, angry, beautiful and haunting all at once.

3. As cliche as it has become, "Cinnamon Girl" has a killer riff.

4. "Down by the River" - Nothing more needs to be said. Nine minutes and sixteen seconds of pure grit. The plucky lead guitar, the rough crunch of the rhythm driven by Ralph Molina's gentle crash. It's longing, reaching for something right until the point where the narrator kills his baby. Between the verses it devolves into a barely structured cacophony of rock and roll guitar excess. Even at nearly ten minutes, it doesn't seem like it's enough. The song is rock's musical version of Ethan Edwards in The Searchers. Vengeful, angry, looking for something redeeming but always delving further into darkness.

Did I mention the guitar?

Point being, you need this album. It should grace your shelves right along side any of the other classics you have. It deserves a spot next to London Calling, Abbey Road, and Pet Sounds.

Oh yes. I do. Are you going to argue with a man who is sitting here gleefully singing, "Down by the river, I shot my baby"? I'll send Phil Spector after you and he'll go Wall of Sound on your ass.

I promise to tell you a funny story tomorrow. Seriously.