Neil Young "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Neil Young had just finished his stint with the folk rock group "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young" or "CSNY" and was ready to move on to bigger and better things. He had formed a backing band named "Crazy Horse" and was prepared to unleash a record of epic musical finess. David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash were just releasing their own debut self titled album with out Young, so this is somewhat of Neil's response.

The first song on the album "Cinnamon Girl" starts out with a jamming classic guitar riff that only Young could create in the depths of his mind. The vocal harmonies are very evident within the song such as in his previous works with CSNY, with Neil singing the lower harmony, and then rythm guitarist Danny Whitten singing the upper harmony. The song is evidently about a girl Young is love with, that he waits for in between shows.

"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" is the title name, and also the second track on the song, and tells how Neil Young got so tired being out on the road all the time, and how he really just longed to go back home to be with his woman and lay in the cool breeze with her.

"Round and Round" is about growing older, and having to become a man and not being allowed to cry and such. This particular song is most definately the most folk driven song on the entire record, realling showing more of a folk sound than anything. This song is somewhat boring and repetitive and ironically sounds like it is the same song going round and round.

The last song on side one, "Down By The River" is a song that Neil wrote while delirious with the flu in bed. Sick and bed ridden, Neil wrote the simplistic lyrics to this song, about how he went down to the river and shot his baby. There are very, very strong harmonies in the song, and also a very long, very spectacular guitar solo. I personally think only true musicians would really be able to fully appreciate the almost 6 minute guitar solo by Young.

The beginning of side 2 of this fantastic record starts with the song "On the loosing end" and has a very southern folk sound to it. Neil talks about what life is like when your on the loosing end, and as he starts out the song he talks about how he used to be on the loosing end. But eventually Neil says by the end that he "feels this way again."

"Requiem for the rockets" is again the folk side to this very folk rock record, and shows Neil's acoustic style roots. Telling a story about how regretful he is for leaving his woman, and how he left her all pretty with tears in her eyes, and how he just wants her back. This is a song that every teenager could listen to after break-up, and how regretful they are, and wish they could've changed,

The last song on side 2, and the whole record, is my absolute favorite, "Cowgirl In The Sand." Cowgirl in the sand starts off with a very quite sounding acoustic guitar, and eventually erupts into a very funky style rythm guitar, lead guitar duet. After a few minutes of instrumental, Neil Young comes in with his signature voice, singing "Hello Cowgirl in the sand" just to be soulfully echoed by Crazy Horse. After the verse and the chorus, Neil rips into another guitar solo, in my opinion the best one he ever recorded, for another 6 minutes like in Down By The River.

If you are only going to listen to one song off this folk-rock master piece, listen to Cowgirl In The Sand. The song is filled with so much soul and power, it will send tingles up and down anyone's spine. I heavily recomend this whole album to anybody who likes folk or rock. It is one of the first album's of it's kind to transcend 2 generations and bring them together. And that is why this album will always be one of my personal favorite sound recordings of all time.