Rust Never Sleeps

Well, it's good, but not THAT good. It's probably my fault for listening to (and liking) Chrome Dreams before I put my mind to listening to Rust Never Sleeps. It also hurts that this was advertised as a live album, while in reality it's a jamboree of studio recordings mixed with a live audience, which, even after reading about it, I still don't quite understand.

But yeah, back to the music. There are some nice tracks here overall. Nothing too spectacular, though, other than the closer, which should probably be included in every discussion of the best songs he recorded. Both sides have their own charm, with the A side being more intimate, while side B brings out the nark and anger. It's a recommended listen, but there are better live recordings out there. Still, I'm glad I own it.

More Neil Young….is everything he ever released on this list??

1

Aside from My My, Hey Hey, and Hey Hey, My My this is a pretty forgettable album.

I liked Powderfinger.

Neil Young continues to be Pretty Alright for me. I have a bit of a soft spot for albums that are kinda live, kinda not. Shoutout to whoever added Ultravisitor to the user album list. But my favorite part of this is by far the electric set. Sometimes they're playing so fast, and Neil Young in his manner of singing, it almost sounds like punk! Like straight up punk music! Which was already on its way out in 1979, but still. It's a good time.

I'm reasonably certain I've listened to this before, but it's definitely been a long time since the last listen. I'm a fan of Neil Young, and I'm looking forward to this listen.

While this isn't my favorite Neil Young album, this one is quite solid. I'm adding it to my list of albums to listen to again.

Ok this was way better than I was expecting and I was listening to it during a tough time and lemme tell you this soothed my nerves perfectly. Not a Neil Young fan at all. In fact I find his music to be quite grating. But this was fine.

Well, the album was okay. The constant harmonica and the sometimes unimaginative guitar strumming were kind of annoying. There isn't much else I remember about it. So, for me, this is a somewhat disappointing album by Neil Young. 3/5

Neil gets 5s.

Overall, this was a 3 star album, but also… out of the blue and into the black

It's fine. It's pretty good.

out of the blue into the black

This is my shit. Sad to find out that my vinyl copy is warped, but man that "Powderfinger" riff sounds great on streaming too.

Familiar with the artist? Yes, I heard a lot of Neil Young growing up, though not this album.

Thoughts: I will admit that nostalgia will have an effect on my Neil Young ratings. He's my dad's favorite so I have good memories of Harvest playing throughout the house most weekends.
A lot of people can't deal with his voice, which I get, but I don't mind it.
On this album specifically though - the bookend tracks are excellent, and the only part of the album I was really familiar with.
Enjoyed most of the rest as well, though I do have a couple I'd skip.

Favorite track(s): My My, Hey Hey / Hey Hey, My My

Least favorite: "Pocahontas" probably seemed progressive at the time, but ...😅

5
Not quite as good as EKTIN but another great album. why did Young do so many solo albums if his work with Crazy Horse could be this good

After a second listen I think I like it even more than EKTIN and am bumping to 5

Déjà écouté avant.

Un album étrange dans sa conception (enregistré en live mais massivement retravaillé en studio, au point d'effacer presque intégralement les sons du publics ; une structure en deux parties, acoustique en solo puis électrique avec Crazy Horse, qui rappelle le formidable "Royal Albert Hall" de Dylan, encadrée par deux variations autour de "Hey Hey, My My") mais fascinant dans son exécution, tant le songwriting de Neil Young est brillant, et le Crazy Horse dans une forme rare. Mention spéciale à la partie électrique, qui va chercher des distorsions absolument démentes pour l'époque, à la limite du grunge avec près de quinze ans d'avance (le live Weld en 1991, ira encore plus loin dans le crade avec beaucoup des mêmes chansons). Une œuvre majeure, malgré son statut un peu particulier, à cheval entre live et studio, et la qualité sonore inégale qui en découle.

Top : Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)
Flop : Ride My Llama

𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 feels like two albums seamlessly woven into one. The first half is built around intimate acoustic folk songs, while the second bursts into loud, distorted rock, creating a contrast that gives the album much of its character.

Listening to 𝗛𝗲𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝘆, 𝗠𝘆 𝗠𝘆 (𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸), it’s easy to hear why Neil Young would later earn the nickname “Godfather of Grunge.” The genre was still years away, but the raw guitars, heavy sound, and uncompromising spirit of the song clearly point towards what many grunge bands would embrace a decade later.

𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 is a compelling reminder of Neil Young’s versatility. Few artists could move so naturally between quiet introspection and explosive rock while sounding unmistakably like themselves.

'Hey hey, my my / Rock 'n' roll can never die.' Only, I mean only, Neil Young can turn a line that elementary into a haunting, reverberating, meaningfully American anthem. Like Springsteen's Nebraska, tho perhaps w/ even more art, Rust Never Sleeps is a giving record, one of those albums that feels like it was made just for you & no one else. Its intimacies are complex things - at once rudimentary & obscure (again, think Thelonious) - but it's always, I mean always, rapturous. Addicted to the mythos of America, Young, tho v much a songwriter rather than a poet (I celebrate this), carries on traditions of Whitman thru Hart Crane. 'I would give a thousand pelts / To sleep with Pocahontas / & find out how she felt.' & as per usual, it rocks, rocks, rocks.

A really interesting album, I guess. Has a couple of really nice folksy gems, most notably “My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue),” “Thrasher,” and “Pocahontas,” and also sports some insane fucking rock numbers, those being “Powderfinger” and “Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black).” All the songs I just listed are among the best of all time, and the sequencing is PERFECT, going from this folk vibe to this incredibly noisy, almost grungy vibe across the album, which probably symbolizes… something. Sadly, the songs that I didn’t mention are… just okay. “Ride My Llama” is SUUPER underwhelming, and so is “Welfare Mothers.” “Sail Away” and “Sedan Delivery” are on the other hand pretty good, but unmemorable, and only seem to exist to fill time in the album.

So, while this album has some incredible songs on it, it also has some lesser songs on it. It is still an amazing album, but it could have been much better.
9.2/10

This is a very good album. Highly influential and original. It contains some great songs: "Hey, Hey, My, My..." (both versions), "Thrashers", "Pocahontas", or "Powderfinger" (my favourite track). This is between 4 and 5 stars for me. I'm leaning towards 5 because, apart from the music itself, I like the acoustic/electric concept and, more particularly, the use of the song(s) "Hey, Hey, My, My...".