After the confused reaction to NEIL YOUNG,the ex- Buffalo Springfielder decider to use a bar band called the Rockets as the backup band on his next album;renaming them Crazy Horse.The result of their collaboration,EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE,is a perfect blend of folk and crunching guitar rock.DOWN BY THE RIVER,COWGIRL IN THE SAND, CINNAMON GIRL and the title track showcased what a underrated guitarist Young is,and the promising new talent Danny Whitten.Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina proved to be a formidable musical backbone. This was the true birth of grunge;Young wore flannel shirts and torn jeans,and played hard long before Seattle made it fashionable.The song RUNNING DRY is another in a long line Young's "sad songs" - made even sadder by Bobby Notkoff's violin playing.EVERY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE is the first Neil Young classic album . . .of which there would be many more.

This is the original "head-banger" wall of sound Neil Young and Crazy Horse leveled at the world after Young fled from the break-up of Buffalo-Springfield. There are few acts that can match the sheer power and energy of Neil and Crazy Horse's Danny Whitten matching frets and licks on their electric guitars, except perhaps Neil and his other friend//sometimes partner Stephen Stills. Most of what made Neil so famous from that point on is here, from "Cinnamon Girl" to "Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere" to "Down By the River" to "The Losing End". My personal favorite is ""Cowgirl In The Sand', and I loved Neil's comment about how much trouble those lyrics got him into with his ladylove who didn't believe it was all just a fantasy, looking for whoever it was that had mused him to such winsome words and music. Neil Young is always quite a ride, and here he shows the world just why he has been so popular and successful for the last thirty years. Enjoy!

The opening song is one of the top twenty-five singles ever written in over 45 years of rock:

"The drummer relaxes and waits between shows for ... his Cinnamon Girl. A dreamer of pictures, a run in the night, You see us together chasing the moonlight, my cinnamon girl..."

and, later:

"Somehow I need another chance, I see your baby loves to dance... yeah, yeah, yeah..." followed by a guitar solo, that any fan of that period could recite note for note (although with Neil Young, that's not always too difficult, it's the intensity, precision, and minimalist power that one appreciates).

An awesome combination of power guitar and sentimentality, fuzz and rock-country (with an emphasis on the rock), this was one of my first albums, and remains one of my favorites. The vinyl is great, of course, but I'm enjoying the CD as much (although you don't get as big a picture of the cover dog... one of the great dogs of rock covers!).

I remember thinking "Round and Round (It Won't Be Long)" was too slow, but today it sounds very rich, revealing a quiet poignancy, and some of Neil's best straight-ahead singing. "The Losing End" is the most country-inflected song here, yet I still like its kickback sound and the blues-like lyrics. Play this for someone who likes the overrated slick sound of the Eagles; Neil is closer to the roots, and his biting guitar is incomparable. (This is probably unfair, as I basically could never stand the Eagles, but Young does "country-rock" better than most. Of course, this shouldn't be too surprising, considering his stint with Buffalo Springfield.

"Down by the River" and the quintessentially-Young "Cowgirl in the Sand" remain deeply satisfying; it's unlikely you'll hear them on today's FM stations because of their length and age (and maybe for their slight misogyny, though that pales compared to Eminem et al.'s anti-women lyrics). Again, the songs are strung with Neil's trademark strong, repetitive licks, with nice over-dubbing, laid over an assertive bass line and surprisingly melodic compositions. This is also great garage music for aspiring guitarists, you can sound as terrible as you want and, most likely, it'll still sound acceptable.

This album transcends time and musical fashion. Play it loud; play it often.

"Everybody Knows This is Nowhere" is the first album Neil Young recorded with his ace backing band Crazy Horse. And like The Band did for Bob Dylan, Crazy Horse seems to bring out the best in Neil. This album serves as a blueprint for every NY & Crazy Horse album that would follow. Loud guitars, long songs and luscious songwriting. The obvious single is "Cinnamon Girl," which is one of the few Neil Young songs that can be described as "overplayed" on the radio. But the real masterworks on this record are the extended tracks "Cowgirl in the Sand" and "Down By the River," which both feature extended instrumental jams, but are never boring despite clocking in at over ten minutes apiece. Between these high points, Neil and company stick in some quieter accoustic tracks that serve as sort of a mortar surrounding the bricks. And the title reflects the world weariness that is always pervasive in Neil's best work.

Overall, this is one of the best half dozen or so Neil Young albums as well as being a landmark album for rock historians.

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere was Neil Young's second album and the first with his seminal backing band, Crazy Horse. In his work with Buffalo Springfield and on his first solo album, Mr. Young played music that was acoustic in base and had flares of country and folk. Crazy Horse added a hard, electric edge to his music and it is noticeable from the start on the high octane "Cinnamon Girl". The song has ringing guitars and a feedback coda that shows why Mr. Young is the godfather of grunge. "Down By The River" and "Cowgirl In The Sand" are lengthy cuts. The former is almost a blues dirge with a piercing guitar sound and murderous lyrics while the latter is more upbeat, but no less impressive. "Round & Round" is a soft and lamenting, country flavored song that is unfortunately overlooked. It is a great song and deserves alot more attention than it gets. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is a major leap by Mr. Young taking him into the upper stratosphere of musicians.