Neil Young & Crazy Horse-Psychedelic Pill (2012)
Artist: Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Title: Psychedelic Pill
Label: Reprise
Format: 2xCD
Sell Date: 10/15/26
Condition: VG+/VG+
Discogs Last Sold: 10/13/26 VG+/VG+ $6.07
Low: $3.00
Median: $7.50
Average: $7.90
High:$18.33
Current low price: $3.00 VG+/VG+
Curren Number on Sale at Discogs: 26
Have/Want: 1010/128
Where Sold: Tunbridge, VT
Time It Took To Sell: 3 years
Where and When Bought: Facebook marketplace CD lot
Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: A-
Sad To See It Go: No
Of all the albums Neil Young has cranked out in his later years (say the last 20-25 or so), Psychedelic Pill may very well be my favorite. At least, of the half dozen or so that I've heard. At some point he put out so much archival stuff I couldn't keep up even with his new albums. For whatever reason though, I was able to focus on a download of this title enough even if he rails about the sound quality in the 27+ minute opening track "Driftin' Back," It worked for me, even though I finally got a copy of this physical copy few years ago that just sold.
Pono semantics notwithstanding, Psychedelic Pill is extremely listenable even when it seems tossed off or mundane. A friend of mine was talking about Neil's ability to have songs like "Piece of Crap" that seems like total garbage in the peak Ipod (!) era shuffling catalog playlists. I think that conversation happened before Pono existed! Sneaky Neil and his product placement. Driftin' back to analogue or at least the comfortable old shoe of Crazy Horse blanketing him in that gorgeous feedback laden lumber.
Sprawling over two CD's, "Driftin' Back" cannot even fit the vinyl format and had to be faded at the 18 minute mark. The was a release designed for the digital era, but Pono itself fell in 2017 under the weight of high pricing. Audiophiles were sold on vinyl as the purists audio format, scratches, pops and warpage be damned.
Two other 16+ minute tracks emerge: "Ramada Inn" and "Walk Like A Giant" (side 5 on the 1-side etched vinyl). The "single" here is the title track in two versions with a couple other 3-4 minute shorties "Born In Ontario," "Twisted Road" and "For The Love Of Man." "She's Always Dancing" splits the difference at nearly 9 minutes. Compact disc-wise, the first disc was completely familiar upon first relisten since it came out 14 years ago, the second disc less so. The way I heard it, in playlist form, the only explanation is a hour and a half (roughly) of music is a big chunk of time, even if ultimately the two longest songs were the ones that stuck in my held and held my interest. "He loves her so" over 16 minutes carries a certain weight while you are drifting back.
When Neil says he's gonna get a hip hop haircut he ain't talking about hair.
FOR FURTHER REVIEW:
Neil Young & Crazy Horse-Reactor (1981)
Neil Young-Harvest Moon (1992)
Buffalo Springfield-Buffalo Springfield Again (1967)
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young-So Far (1974)
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