Ragged Glory
Ragged Glory | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Neil Young & Crazy Horse | ||||
Released | September 9, 1990[1] | |||
Recorded | April 1990 | |||
Studio | Plywood Digital, Woodside, CA (except "Mother Earth": The Hoosier Dome) | |||
Genre | Garage rock | |||
Length | 62:43 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Producer | Neil Young, David Briggs | |||
Neil Young chronology | ||||
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Ragged Glory is the nineteenth studio album by Canadian rock singer-songwriter Neil Young, and his sixth album with the band Crazy Horse. It was released by Reprise Records on September 9, 1990.
Music and lyrics
The album revisits the hard-rock style previously explored on Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and Zuma. The first two tracks are songs Young and Crazy Horse originally wrote and performed live in the 1970s with "Country Home" notably being performed on their 1976 tour. "Farmer John" is a cover of a 1960s song, written and performed by R&B duo Don and Dewey and also performed by British Invasion group The Searchers as well as garage band The Premiers.[2] Young revealed that the song "Days that Used to Be" is inspired by Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages". The album features many extended guitar jams, with two songs stretching out to more than ten minutes.
Reception and legacy
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Chicago Tribune | [4] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
Entertainment Weekly | A–[6] |
Los Angeles Times | [7] |
MusicHound Rock | 4/5[8] |
Rolling Stone | [2] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[10] |
The Village Voice | A–[11] |
In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Kurt Loder hailed Ragged Glory as "a monument to the spirit of the garage - to the pursuit of passion over precision" and calling it "a great one".[2] In the Los Angeles Times, John D'Agostino deemed the record "garage rock" and "impressive primitivism coming from a 45-year-old rock icon",[12] while Village Voice critic Robert Christgau called it "an atavistic garage stomp" that "makes good on several potent fantasies--eternal renewal, the garage as underground, the guitar as shibboleth and idea."[13] It was voted album of the year in The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll,[14] and in 2010 it was selected by Rolling Stone as the 77th best album of the 1990s.[15] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[16]
The CD single culled from the album, "Mansion on the Hill", included the otherwise unreleased song "Don't Spook the Horse" (7:36). "F*!#in' Up" (pronounced "Fuckin' Up") is frequently covered by Pearl Jam live (see Category:Pearl Jam Official Bootlegs for recordings), and was performed by Bush in their headlining set at Woodstock 1999. Toronto-based band Constantines recorded a version of "F*!#in' Up" in Winnipeg,[17] which surfaced as the b-side to their "Our Age" 7"[18] in November 2008. Scottish heavy metal band The Almighty recorded the song and included it as a B-side (with an uncensored title) to their "Out of Season" single in 1992. An outtake from the sessions for the album, "Interstate," was released on the vinyl version of the 1996 album Broken Arrow and on the CD single for the track "Big Time."
Track listing
All songs written by Neil Young except as noted.[19]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Country Home" | 7:05 | |
2. | "White Line" | 2:57 | |
3. | "F*!#in' Up" | 5:54 | |
4. | "Over and Over" | 8:28 | |
5. | "Love to Burn" | 10:00 | |
6. | "Farmer John" | Don Harris, Dewey Terry | 4:14 |
7. | "Mansion on the Hill" | 4:48 | |
8. | "Days That Used to Be" | 3:42 | |
9. | "Love and Only Love" | 10:18 | |
10. | "Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)" | 5:11 |
Personnel
- Crazy Horse
- Frank Sampedro - guitar, vocals
- Billy Talbot - bass guitar, vocals
- Ralph Molina - drums, vocals
Charts
Album
Year | Chart | Peak Position |
---|---|---|
1990 | The Billboard U.S. 200 | 31 [20] |
Single
Year | Single | Chart | Peak Position |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | "Mansion on the Hill" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3 [21] |
"Over and Over" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 33 [21] |
References
- ↑ http://www.neilyoung.com/archives/discography/items/ny-rg.html
- 1 2 3 Loder, Kurt (September 20, 1990). "Neil Young's Guitar Ecstasy". Rolling Stone (587). p. 99.
- ↑ Ruhlmann, William. Ragged Glory at AllMusic. Retrieved 7 January 2006.
- ↑ Kot, Greg (September 6, 1990). "3 To Watch Out For". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Neil Young". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0857125958.
- ↑ Sandow, Greg (September 14, 1990). "Ragged Glory". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- ↑ Hilburn, Robert (September 16, 1990). "Neil Young's 'Ragged Glory' Touches on Faded Ideals". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- ↑ Graff, Gary (1996). "Neil Young". In Graff, Gary. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 0787610372.
- ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). "Neil Young". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Portions posted at "Neil Young > Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Neil Young". Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (October 23, 1990). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
- ↑ D'Agostino, John (April 23, 1991). "COMMENTARY : Colorful Chameleon : Music: Fans that have stuck by as Neil Young changed from one style to another are finally rewarded with his newest effort. He plays the Sports Arena tonight.". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (March 5, 1991). "Hard News in a Soft Year". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- ↑ "The 1990 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. March 5, 1991. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ↑ "100 Best Albums of the Nineties: Neil Young and Crazy Horse, 'Ragged Glory' | Rolling Stone | Lists". Rolling Stone. 2011-05-22. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
- ↑ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
- ↑ "Constantines: Celebrating 10 Years". Arts-crafts.ca. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
- ↑ "Arts & Crafts - Constantines - Our Age - Arts & Crafts - Music Stream". Arts-crafts.ca. 2008-11-25. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
- ↑ Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Ragged Glory (Reprise Records, 1991).
- ↑ Ragged Glory - Neil Young & Crazy Horse > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at AllMusic. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
- 1 2 Ragged Glory - Neil Young & Crazy Horse > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles at AllMusic. Retrieved 2008-05-15.