avatarBuddy Gott

Summary

Pierce McIntyre reviews Neil Young's second studio album, "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere," released in 1969, which marks the first collaboration with Crazy Horse.

Abstract

"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" is Neil Young's sophomore album and his debut with the band Crazy Horse. The review by Pierce McIntyre provides a track-by-track analysis, reflecting on the music and lyrics of each song. McIntyre shares his personal connection to the album, having been familiar with some tracks since childhood, and expresses admiration for the catchy riffs and profound lyrics. He particularly highlights "Cinnamon Girl," "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere," and "Down By The River" as standout tracks. Despite reservations about the country sound in "The Losing End (When You're On)," he found himself enjoying the song after multiple listens. The album's epic closing track, "Cowgirl In The Sand," is praised for its lengthy jam sessions and the collective sound of Young and Crazy Horse. McIntyre rates the album 4 out of 5 stars, acknowledging its enduring impact and relevance, and encourages readers to explore his other articles on Neil Young's discography.

Opinions

  • McIntyre is deeply familiar with and appreciates the album's hit songs, particularly "Cinnamon Girl."
  • The title track, "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere," is praised for its memorable opening guitar riff and catchy chorus.
  • "Down By The River" is recognized as an exceptional song, warranting a separate dedicated article.
  • Initially skeptical about "The Losing End (When You're On)" due to its country sound, McIntyre eventually grew to love the song.
  • "Cowgirl In The Sand" is celebrated for its length, musicality, and the band's performance, leaving the listener wanting more.
  • The album is given a high rating of 4 out of 5 stars, indicating McIntyre's overall positive opinion of the work.
  • McIntyre expresses solidarity with Neil Young's decision to remove his music from Spotify, referencing an article by Chris Zappa.
  • He encourages readers to explore more of Neil Young's discography, including his debut album and the more recent "Barn" album by Neil Young & Crazy Horse.

My Year of Neil Young, Part 2: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

A review of Neil Young’s second album

Image source: Reprise Records/Warner Records

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere was Neil Young’s second studio album as a solo artist. It was released in 1969 and it was the first of many albums he has recorded with Crazy Horse as his backing band.

Without further ado, here’s a song-by-song look at the album. All of these songs were written by Neil Young and all of the below clips are from his official YouTube channel.

1. Cinnamon Girl

It was just last week when I listened to the Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere album for my first time. “Cinnamon Girl” was one of only three songs on it that I was already familiar with. It was probably one of the first songs I ever heard by Neil Young when I was a kid. It’s got catchy music and lyrics. I loved it when I was a kid and I still love it now.

2. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

I loved this one as soon as I heard it for my first time last week. It hooked me right from the great opening guitar riff. It’s got fantastic lyrics and music throughout the entire song.

Also, the chorus is incredibly catchy. It’s been playing in my head frequently this past week:

Everybody, everybody knows La la, la la, la la…

3. Round & Round (It Won’t Be Long)

A very laid-back and mellow-sounding song. I dig it quite a bit.

Photo by Andres Siimon on Unsplash

Nooo!

Wrong kind of digging there!

Anyway, let’s move on to the next song…

4. Down By The River

This is one of the other songs that I already knew before hearing the album. It’s an awesome song and I’ve got a lot to say about it — so I’m going to go away for a little while and write an entirely different article about it.

I’ll be right back as soon as I’m done.

Okay, I’m back. Here it is:

5. The Losing End (When You’re On)

When this one started playing, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. Was it because it had sort of a “country sound” to it and I’m not the biggest lover of country music? Or was it because I already love a song called “Losin’ End” by The Doobie Brothers and my subconscious was trying to protect me from losing over and over again?

Hmmm. I don’t know.

Regardless, I ended up loving this song after a couple of listens. It’s another song that gets stuck in my head a lot — and I’m completely fine with that.

8. Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets)

Okay, this is a perfectly fine song with great music and lyrics, but it’s my least favorite song on the album. I don’t want to exactly say that I find it a little boring — but it doesn’t excite me a lot. I don’t mind listening to it, but I also don’t mind skipping over it so that I can more quickly hear the next song…

7. Cowgirl In The Sand

This is the other song I was already familiar with before listening to this album.

Just…wow.

What a song!

It’s wonderful on many levels: the lyrics, Neil’s vocals, the background vocals, the jamming, rocking music, etc.

It’s a little over 10 minutes long and I’d have still been happy if it had been even longer — because Neil Young and Crazy Horse sound amazing on it.

All in all, I give this album 4 out of 5 stars.

Image source: Created in Canva.com by Penelope Mayfield

This is the spot in album reviews where I usually include a link to the album on Spotify. Well…that’s not going to be happening for reasons you’re probably already familiar with.

Here is a great article about that situation from my friend Chris Zappa. I feel the same way he does about it all.

Thank you for reading the above! If you enjoyed it, you may also enjoy these other related articles from me:

Music
Album
Review
Neil Young
Rock
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