How I Like Neil Young: The Playlist (Beta)

Neil Young! I’ve been a fan since my tweens, when R.E.M. and Rolling Stone inspired me to get Decade from the library. That 3LP/2CD covered the first ten years or so of his recording career, from Buffalo Springfield’s 1966 debut through 1976’s “Long May You Run.” Cherry picking his most crucial contributions to Springfield and CSNY, along with his finest FM chestnuts and a few excellent, then-hard-to-find outtakes, Decade was an exemplary archival release, distinguishing itself from the traditional “greatest hits” collection, and helping establish Young in the cultural canon. 

If I recall correctly, it’s now 2026. And if my math is accurate, that means Young’s discography now goes six decades deep (assuming we still start at Springfield’s debut). While he’s issued a staggering amount of old shows & arcana this decade, including three mammoth Archive box sets, he’s abandoned the decade as a demarcator, following Archive Vol. I: 1963-1972, with Vol. II: 1972-1976 and Vol. III: 1976-1987. But I still like it! Hence this playlist, which dares to sum up each decade of the man’s career with a single psuedo-LP, less than 50 minutes long, complete with tone arm sound-effects between each “side.”

My Neil Young album guide, which I began on Tumblr in the ‘10s, and updated for this blog in 2022, covers the first four decades of his solo career. Here's pt. 1, pt.2, pt. 3 and pt. 4. I might make Hawks & Doves a 6 today, and Broken Arrow a 7, but otherwise I stand by it. I plan to finally write pt. 5 later this year, covering 2009’s Fork In The Road through 2017’s The Visitor. God and Gramps willing, pt. 6 will not end with last year’s atrocious Talkin To The Trees. Once those assessments are underway, I’ll be updating this playlist with Decades Five and Six. But that’s no reason to deny the curious a “beta” run of the first forty years Neil’s trademark high tenor has been heard on wax (and south of the Canadian border).

Here’s my mea culpa regarding Spotify if you’re aghast. As I note in that treatise, I respected when Young pulled his music from the service over vaccine misinformation, and I respected when he brought it back, acknowledging Apple, Amazon and Google promote vaccine misinformation just as much. If he pulls it again tomorrow, rendering this playlist moot, it’s all good. I’ve got so much of the guy on LP & CD, including Decade. This playlist ain’t a best-of, and - covering forty years of work in less than three hours - it certainly ain’t comprehensive. It’s a fun thought exercise for me, intended to be a rewarding, "innaresting" and (relatively) easy listen, whether you know all of these songs or hardly any.

DECADE ONE: Recordings from 1966-1975(ish)
Side One

1. Buffalo Springfield, “Mr. Soul” (Buffalo Springfield Again, 1967)
2. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” (Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, 1969)
3. Neil Young, “World On A String” (Tonight’s The Night, 1975)
4. Neil Young, “Flying On The Ground Is Wrong” (Live At The Riverboat 1969, 2009)
5. Neil Young, “When You Dance I Can Really Love” (After The Goldrush, 1970)
6. Neil Young, “Don’t Be Denied” (Time Fades Away, 1973)

Side Two

1. Neil Young, “What Did You Do To My Life?” (Neil Young, 1968)
2. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Stupid Girl” (Zuma, 1975)
3. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, “Ohio” (single, 1970)
4. Neil Young, “Harvest” (Harvest, 1972)
5. Neil Young, “Ambulance Blues” (On The Beach, 1974)

DECADE TWO: Recordings from 1976-1985(ish)

Side One

1. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Opera Star” (Re*Ac*Tor, 1981)
2. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Thrasher” (Rust Never Sleeps, 1979)
3. Neil Young, “Look Out For My Love” (Comes A Time, 1978)
4. Neil Young & The Shocking Pinks, “Wonderin’” (Everybody’s Rockin’, 1983)
5. Neil Young, “Stringman” (Archives Vol. II: 1972-1976, 2020)

Side Two

1. Neil Young, “Will To Love” (American Stars ’N’ Bars, 1977)
2. Neil Young, “Mr. Soul” (Trans, 1982)
3. Neil Young International Harvesters, “Southern Pacific” (A Treasure, 2011)
4. Neil Young, “Hawks & Doves” (Hawks & Doves, 1980)

DECADE THREE: Recordings from 1986-1995(ish)

Side One

1. Neil Young, “Mr. Soul” (Unplugged, 1993)
2. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Prime Of Life” (Sleeps With Angels, 1994)
3. Neil Young, “Don’t Cry” (Eldorado EP, 1989)
4. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “White Line” (Ragged Glory, 1990)
5. Neil Young, “Pressure” (Landing On Water, 1986)
6. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Prisoners Of Rock & Roll” (Life, 1987)

Side Two

1. Neil Young, “Such A Woman” (Dreamin’ Man Live ’92, 2009)
2. Neil Young, “Ordinary People” (Bluenote Cafe, 2015)
3. Neil Young, “I’m The Ocean” (Mirror Ball, 1995)

DECADE FOUR: Recordings from 1996-2005(ish)

Side One

1. Neil Young, “Razor Love” (Silver & Gold, 2000)
2. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Quit” (Toast, 2022)
3. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Slip Away” (Broken Arrow, 1996)

Side Two

1. Neil Young, “This Old Guitar” (Prairie Wind, 2005)
2. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Mr. Soul” (Year Of The Horse, 1997)
3. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Bandit” (Greendale, 2003)
4. Neil Young, “All Along The Watchtower” (Road Rock, Vol. 1: Friends & Relatives, 2000)

All praise and profound curiosity can be sent to anthonyisright at gmail dot com. If you're wondering why song x or song y or "Song X" or "Tell Me Why" wasn't included, eat a peach and read the post again. BARN.