‘Tonight’s the Night’ for Me and Neil Young (Ooh, Baby!)
A review of his “Tonight’s The Night” album — which I incorrectly thought had a song on it about Neil loving a turkey
I was initially reluctant to listen to Neil Young’s Tonight’s The Night album. My reason for that was because I had read it was recorded during a very rough time in Neil’s life and, as a result, it was a very “dark” album with a lot of depressing lyrics in it.
While I felt for Neil and was very sorry to read he had gone through very difficult and trying times, I wasn’t sure if I was in the right kind of mood to listen to a depressing album. Like everybody else, I’ve got my own issues and problems. Sometimes they’re made harder by listening to sad, angry, or depressing music. That’s why I often lean toward “happy songs” as my go-to for music, and try to avoid music that might bring me down.
But I enjoy Neil Young’s music a lot, so I listened to the album — and I’m very glad I did. There’s not a single song on the album that I don’t like.
Yes, some of the subject matter on the album is dark, but so is life, right? Great art often comes from great personal struggles.
Neil Young definitely made some great art on the Tonight’s The Night album.
Here are some of my favorites from it:
Tonight’s The Night
One of the reasons Neil Young was going through a very difficult time during the recording of this album is that he had recently lost two people close to him from drug overdoses: his guitarist and good friend Danny Whitten, and roadie Bruce Berry. The latter was the inspiration for this song. Neil sings with a lot of passion here about Bruce Berry — about how he used to work and play, and about how hard it hit Neil when he found out about Bruce’s death.
This song has some fantastic music in it. I especially love the bass and piano parts.
Speakin’ Out
This is a great rock and blues song. The music in it is wonderful. I love the part where Neil says “Alright, Nils,” right before guitarist Nils Lofgren performs a short, but awesome guitar solo.
Albuquerque
Have you ever listened to music while you’re in the middle of doing other things and, because you’re a little preoccupied, you end up missing out on some of the exact lyrics in the song?
Maybe you even mishear them — to the point that what you think you’re hearing is not at all close to what’s actually being sung?
That’s what happened to me with “Albuquerque.” The first several times I heard it, I was busy doing other things. This is what I thought Neil Young was singing over and over again in the chorus:
“Oh, oh, I-I-I-I-I-I-I love a turkey!”
Over and over and over again — and I loved the lyrics that way!
I knew that Neil Young had owned a farm at some point in his life. I thought that maybe he was singing about how he loved a turkey that lived on the farm. Maybe he was expressing, through music, his love of all creatures in the world. In my mind, the line in the song may have been a little quirky, but it was also kind of beautiful!
After the fifth or sixth time I heard it, I realized the line wasn’t at all about Neil loving a turkey. The line was actually:
“Oh, oh, Al-Al-Al-Al-Al-Al-Al-bu-querque.”
I have nothing against Albuquerque, New Mexico, mind you, and I still love the song — but I am a little bit disappointed that there’s no turkey-loving going on in it.
Tired Eyes
This one has violence, drugs, and other sorrowful things in it…but it’s actually kind of beautiful — at least in terms of the great music and vocals in it.
The pleading refrain of “please take my advice….open up the tired eyes” is haunting…but so wonderfully and passionately sung that the words echo in my mind for long periods after each time I listen to the song.
I think Neil Young’s Tonight’s The Night album is outstanding. In a very short period of time, it’s become one of my favorite albums by him. Out of 5 possible stars, I give it…drumroll, please…5 stars!
The above review is part of an ongoing series I’m doing, in which I listen to and review all of Neil Young’s albums. Here is where you can find links to all of the articles in the series:
Also, Tonight’s The Night is the 36th “new” album I’ve listened to in 2022. I’m on a mission to listen to at least 100 new-to-me albums this year — and I’m getting there. Here is my Master List of them (so far):
P.S. — While in the middle of writing this review, I saw that writer Karla Clifton, whom I admire a lot, had also written a review of Tonight’s The Night. Click here to read hers.
DISCLAIMER: NO TURKEYS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF THIS ARTICLE.
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