Ragged Glory
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
1990
Album Summary
Ragged Glory is the 18th studio album by Canadian / American singer-songwriter Neil Young, and his sixth album with the band Crazy Horse. It was released by Reprise Records on September 9, 1990.
WikipediaYoung was not generally known as an artist who evoked the past this much, but if he could extend his creative rebirth with music this exhilarating, no one was likely to complain.
I always forget that Neil Young had a weird garage rock phase in the 90s… honestly, it always felt like the worst of both worlds for me.
It's easy to forget just how insanely good NY's guitar is, but this album really showcases it.
I don't know what it is about Neil's voice but it just turns me off. Every song he opens his mouth in gets ruined.
I like this sound, even though Neil Young's voice sounds somewhat out of place to me. The tone of the guitar made me wish I could pick it up and play along.
The title of this album describes it perfectly; it's rough around the edges but also glorious. One of Neil Young's best. Mostly raucous rockers, with a beautiful, majestic ballad to close the album. 4 stars.
Fun album. I'm familiar with Neil Young but haven't spent a ton of time listening to Neil Young. Definitely something I'd listen to again. There are a lot of bands that I do listen to - Band of Horses, Kings of Leons, Airborne Toxic Event - that suddenly I'm like "...oh, they probably grew up listening to Neil Young"
One of the few albums I've had to stop because I simply couldn't handle it. The uninspired, noisy, but dull country rock just makes for something I cannot stand. I like Neil Young's songs, such as "Old Man" and "Needle and the Damage Done", but this is literally unbearable. Sorry
I'm so sick of Neil Young's bullshit. "You know what we do too much of? Thinking about making good music. Let's just play some stuff in a barn. People will buy that." Screw you, Neil Young. This albums sounds exactly like what it is: a half-assed attempt to milk the wallets of his misguided fans. Every track falls flat. There's no energy in any of these songs. They're flaccid. At the same time, they feel bloated. Every song laboriously plods on for at least a minute longer than it should. "Ragged Glory" is a waste of everyone's time. Doubly so since I had to go hunt the album down on Youtube because Young threw a boomer-tantrum and pulled his shitty music off of Spotify.
Neil is the absolute best at making songs that are beautiful heart-rending pop songs, and then playing them with a punk rock spirit. It sounds like they are having great fun.
"Mother Earth" is very similar to "La balade Nord Irlandaise" from Renaud. You should check it out. I really like the album!
I didn't expect to like this album because of Neil Young's vocals, but I liked how he sounds on this album much more than a project like "Harvest". The songs are very catchy and it's a super fun alubm.
Nomás por country home se gana las cinco estrellas. Ya lo que venga después está de más.
It was good. I like the name Crazy Horse. Neil Young is growing on me. Maybe because I think he's supposed to grow on me.
90s high point in the career of Neil Young accompanied by Crazy Horse…
I know I have this CD somewhere or somebody has my CD of this somewhere. I am a big fan of this album and his previous one, "Freedom", sort of his comeback from somewhat less-than-critically-acclaimed 80's albums. By the way, I've never dug into his 80's albums to refute or back those reviews. Not a big fan of "This Note's for You" though. His 6th album with Crazy Horse. Recorded over a two week period with sets of songs being played twice a day (sets never repeated) with the best takes put on the album. Critics called this album "garage" and that recording approach is pretty "garage". Well, it sounds raw and like Neil basically said "Let' Er Rip, Boys." And they did. All songs are pretty much straight-forwarded rockers. "Mansion on the Hill" was the only song I remember being played on rock radio. The first two songs, "Country Home" and "White Line" were written back in the 70's. "F*!#in' Up" or " Fuckin' Up" is my favorite rocker on the album with those sloppy Crazy Horse backing vocals and a song covered by a lot of other bands. Don't know why he just didn't spell out fuckin on the album. Maybe, Tipper Gore fear at the time? Neil goes "Cowgirl in the Sand" on two 10-minute epic jams, "Love to Burn" and "Love and Only Love." This album was a welcome relief on this Friday!
Awesome album from start to finish. Classic sound for a 1990 album. Missing a big hit but it doesn't really need it
I’m thankful for my country home, gives me peace of mind, somewhere I can walk along and leave myself behind..crunchy guitars..the 2nd best NY & Crazy Horse album after Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. love it!
Certified friggen rock dog. What an absolute demon guitar player. I love 90s Neil, he is the embodiment of looking good doing it. Crazy Horse can harmonize too. Also gotta mention the drummer absolutely riding that bell - can't help but air drum the fuck out of it.
Ah Neil, it's incongruous to me how that weedy, shaky, high pitched whine is so powerful, sublime and musical
I still can't get over the fact that Neil Young released this a year before grunge broke. Such a good dirty sound sounding album especially F'ing Up. I wish I had paid more attention to it when it was first released
El retorn de Neil Young als '90 va ser encara millor que l'adéu als '80 amb el també increïble 'Freedom'. Fent de padrí del grunge abans que els mateixos grups de Seattle ho sapiguessin, va reunir a Crazy Horse, va treure les guitarres i recuperar la improvisació, va juntar uns temes amb cert toc nostàlgic, i va donar lluny a una nova obra mestra, a l'hora que inaugurava la seva quarta década com un dels noms més grans a l'Olimp del rock
Maybe the last truly great Neil Young album? I have not heard most of its >90s output so could be very wrong here - in any case great album!
A while back, Neil Young teamed up to record "Mirrorball." People have argued about them as his backing band and thought Crazy Horse would have done better. Honestly, I always felt they play too simple, to let Neil roam free with the guitar. He does that a lot here in "Ragged Glory." As I listen to the drums in the first song, "Country Home", I hear that a lot, the same beat over and over, and not much else... it does bother me a little, but the song is just so damn good it doesn't matter. Am I being a little picky? Maybe, it's just that I listen to so many other drummers doing interesting things that drummers doing boom pap boom pap the whole song irks me. Even with that, the album is really damn good, even with the goofiness of "Farmer John". In case people thought he didn't have a sense of humor, right? Strong effort, really enjoyed it. I don't know if I would think of it as a classic, but it has so many great pieces. It creeps up to classic level because of those songs, even with the simple drums and such. Maybe I'm just being too nitpicky. 5 it is.
Am I a real Neil Young fan if I consider this, a later (mid) career with no hits, among his best? Do I give a fuck? No. the guitars rule. The songs are fine. The guitar rules, did i say that? The horse is wild. This is excellent music.
9/10. I put this off for a while because it's always annoying to have to leave Spotify, and I didn't like the last Neil young + Crazy Horse album I had. But now that I finally got around to it I really enjoyed this album.
Didn’t listen to this one because it’s not on Spotify but 5 stars BECAUSE it’s not on Spotify and it’s nice when celebrities have values and stick to them
This is pretty good, better than other Neil Young I've heard. Just good country rock. I think I gotta give it a 4 hey. I'll listen to this again for sure.
I liked old Neil Young, but this in particular feels so unique! Love the garage-rock passion and vibe. Doesn't quite hit a 5, but a strong 4.5 in my eyes.
Fucking smacks like the hits are super toit and did you know that this album actually invented grunge
Well there’s no doubt this band knows how to jam. Crazy Horse is a band that’s just not made for the studio so they somehow figured out how to make a studio album with a sound that is very raw and sounds live. This includes many songs ending with guitar feedback. No gentle fade outs here. There’s not a lot of variety in the songs although I guess if you want some ballads, Neil has many other LPs that will scratch this itch.
Worse 4, the songs later in the album seemed to me a bit on the same note. Anyway, good rock album from late "80s".
Not my favorite Neil Young album (my favorite is After The Gold Rush) but this is still pretty solid and worth a listen.
Driven more by electric guitar than the admittedly little Neil Young I have listened to. I really enjoyed most of the songs.
I rather like Neil Young and I quite like some of his hits. But this album is really just exactly what you'd expect if you imagine Neil Young's filler material recorded garage rock style. No more, no less. There's nothing bad on here and it's better background music than a large part of the albums on this list, but not worth re-listening to either. And there's definitely no gold such as After The Gold Rush or Heart Of Gold on this one.
I feel like Neil Young's voice should annoy me, but it's oddly endearing. He's whiny and a little off-key, but somehow that makes the songs better. There's a real folksy, subway-busker kinda vibe that I appreciate. I also liked how the album built. The first few songs feature an acoustic guitar with real "treble-y" effects, then in the middle there were songs with nice, clean acoustic songs. Towards the end, he moved to a clean electric and then a dirty, punk-like electric on Sedan Delivery and the reprise of Hey Hey, My My. I'm not sure if this was on purpose or not, but I dug it.
The second album of Neil Young's "comeback" period is a garage rock classic, how could it not be when he's playing with Crazy Horse? I hadn't listened to this in a few years and my takeaway this time is that it's fun!
This was pretty cool - I can’t believe it’s from 1990! Worth another listen
Yes! I know Neil Young can be polarizing, but I'm firmly in the camp that he's a musical pioneer and crazy genius. He's one of the few rockers left who always did and still continues to sing about something. The music with a message can be preachy, but not Young. He's brilliant at being inspired and translating that inspiration to us in a song. This record has a much lighter, sweeter, comfortable vibe than some of Young's other work, especially that with CSN, but I loved it.
Les plus courtes sont les meilleures, littérallement. Prefs: Country Home, Fuckin' Up, Farmer John, Mansion on the Hill, Love and Only Love, Mother Earth (Natural Anthem) Moins pref: Over and Over
Not that familiar with Neil Young (Crazy Horse or not) but I've always enjoyed him. This sounds exactly like I'd imagine without many surprises.
Love the guitar tone. Which is fortunate since It's there for the entire hour. :) Favorite tracks: Love to Burn, Country Home, Mansion on the Hill
Big Neil Young fan, bought this when it came out. The songs are decent but the that garage crunchy sound is great on it. Coming out in the end of the 80s is what I think makes it unique at the time.
This was some great classic rock which is saying a lot for it being 1990. Songs were a little long but couple the music with the album cover and this felt like a huge long jam sesh between Diamond and Crazy Horse. And I'm down for that.
Excellent album, up there with Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. A lot of the fuzz grunge and a bit of the guitar odyssey.
I have a lot of time for Neil Young, and it's always nice to hear someone put out music this good a couple of decades into their career. Damn good album.
A fine, fine album. Go in the garage with your band mates, record some tracks, pick the best take, make a record. Can there be anything finer? Did the neighbours bang on the walls and complain? I doubt it, when the tracks are so compelling and absorbing.
Well, Neil Young's got guts for sticking it to Joe Rogan with the Spotify debacle. Especially because it mainly hurts him a lot more than it will upset streaming on Spotify. And I appreciate that all it took to find this album was a quick Google search and a full YouTube playlist is available. It's a great album, too; as you'd expect from a Neil Young album the vocals are strong but the real star is the searing melody lines and the FANTASTIC guitar on every song. This isn't quite at the level of "Rust Never Sleeps" for me but it's still quite good. Absolutely worth a listen and worthy of being on this list. One of my favorite discoveries from these albums. Fave track: "F***in up"
Musically, this is really well done, just about as good as anything Neil Young and Crazy Horse ever did together. It has a fun, rough edged, garage-y vibe and Young's guitar is blistering as ever. As good as it sounds, the lyrics are fairly toothless and mostly forgettable. I know I'm officially turning into your most annoying teacher when I say this, but I know Neil Young can write better songs than this. I guess he has other albums for that. Fave Songs: White Line, Love and Only Love, Country Home, Love to Burn, Over and Over This album was not available on Spotify, but can be found in full on YouTube. 4 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 5 3
Very, very good, a clear influence on loads of bands I love. Full of energy and attitude, and fills the gap between garage rock and grunge perfectly. Some songs are a little bit "older gent trying to sound like his younger self", but that's no bad thing. Not on Spotify, but that meant I saw the videos for the songs that have them. Joe Rogan still sucks!!
I enjoy a lot of Neil Young's music and always appreciate his range of musical styles and genres. I am not sure I listened to this album when it was released. As I listened through it, I was not familiar with these songs so I think I had not heard these tracks. I really, really like this album. To state the obvious, the style of this album -- kind of hard rock/garage rock -- has been countless times before and after this album but there is still the unmistakable signature voice to it that is uniquely Neil Young's, and I don't just mean the vocals. This album enjoys the imprimatur of Neil, and I am pleased. I like that it's just Neil and the three members of Crazy Horse. I don't hear overdubs, multi-tracks, etc., and the Wikipedia entry on the album explains why it sounds exactly like it is, which is a four-member rock band recording "live in studio". From the Wikipedia entry: The Ragged Glory sessions took place in April 1990 at Young's Broken Arrow Ranch. The band played a set of songs twice a day for a couple of weeks (never repeating the same songs in a set), then went back, listened and chose the best takes. According to Young, this approach "took 'analysis' out of the game during the sessions, allowing the Horse to not think". I love that.
A strong Neil Young album. I especially dig some of the longer feedback-heavy jams. I enjoy Neil Young in country-folk mode but I like him even more in hard rock mode. His voice can be pretty but he doesn’t have a conventionally good singing voice. That unconventional voice works well though with the loose and unpolished guitar work on these songs. Crazy Horse is a great backing band and they sound awesome here. Highlights: “Country Home,” “F*!#in’ Up,” “Over and Over,” “Love and Only Love”
This is a live album without all the obnoxious fan noise and the need to play the radio hits. It is distortion in its natural form, enjoying the moment. You don't have to say "I wish I had been there" because you are there if you turn it up and give in to the buzzing in your ear.
OMG The Godfather of grunge!! I still don’t really get that title. I know the man has recorded 237 albums, but I’ve listened to a lot of them and… never once did I find myself going, “Oh yeah, Alice In Chains.” Nope. Sorry, 1990s media. And thank goodness, because Mr. Young is so much more than that. There aren’t a ton of musicians who would make me pause if I had to pick between one of their acoustic or one of their electric albums, but Neil’s on that list. Goddamn those guitar tones. At times it just sounds like a pretty good bar band, but then they hit you with some of those fuzzed out leads where they just hold a single note or two and it makes me want to buy a new guitar. And then sometimes they do the opposite with an acoustic and it *still* makes me want to buy a guitar. So this album. It’s a weird one. I thought for sure “Rocking in the Free World” was on here, but instead we get a bunch of songs that are kind of in that ballpark but not quite. I liked a lot of them (“Fuckin’ Up”, “Love and Only Love”) and didn’t quite care for others (“Farmer John”). I’d say most of the songs here could be shorter, but doing so would mean losing some of those guitar moments I love. One of the best guitar bits is in the very last tune, which sounds like some sort of beautifully distorted take on “Amazing Grace.” But then the band starts singing those awfully-on-the-nose lyrics about mama earth and I kinda cringe. Still, even in the seas of cheese, I never once don’t believe Young and co. aren’t being earnest. He always is! Every single song. I don’t know how he hasn’t got tired of his own shit after all these years, but god bless him.
Ragged Glory is a great title for this album. I love the story behind how it was recorded - it sounds a bit like a live record, like it has that energy. There are a couple of stand out songs here, like Fuckin' Up, Over and Over, and Mansion on the Hill. But I can get behind pretty much all of this. Still, when it falters, it falls all the way into the background. But I think I'll put this one on again, so I'll give it the big four.
It seems as though about once a decade, Neil Young brings Crazy Horse back around to do some excellent full-band stuff. Well, the year is 1990 and the boys haven't done anything since Re·ac·tor in 1981, so let's get the band back together! Young and the Horse make deceptively simple hard rock here. They're all playing together in the studio, tight as can be, jamming away. They would practice and record their sets, go through the playback and choose the best take for each song to go on the album. It's the perfect "dudes rock" album, in that it rocks and doesn't do more than it needs to. Although I preferred the live energy and pacing of Rust Never Sleeps, this album, I feel, is on par in terms of sonic quality. Neil Young can really rock with the rest of them.
Really good listen, a lot livelier and upbeat up to other NY releases I’ve listened to previously
So this gets categorised as garage or grunge. But it has more than a twang of country in it with those lazy riffs. Then we hit Days That Used To Be and Love And Only Love. Both of those songs could have been released on Everybody...in 1969. Whatever you classify it as it's a whole lot of fun. Special shout out to the feedback finishes which just add the cherry to the top of this delicious confection. I love the fact that a renegade like Young has remained relevant, popular, and cranky for nearly 60 years. Meanwhile the band are obviously having so much fun. All this from an album I knew nothing about.
Love to burn, white line, fuckin line, over & over , love and only love !
Country Home: dig the vibe so far White Line: ah man that lead tone is just killer ... Love to Burn: I'm a sucker for love and burn songs, and the tone just slays, great moody solos
A good Neil Young album, but certainly not his best. Some songs really don't click with me (farmer John for example), but they are compensated with truly great songs such as Country Home and mansion on the Hill. Will listen to this some more in the future.
8/10 I liked it, it was nice but Neil Young’s got way better stuff imo
An album I have known and loved for years. Neil Young in his peak grunge sound, just fuzzed out and distorted all over the place. Many songs hold melodic hooks that make you dance and move while the rest of the band makes you bang your head. F*!#In’ Up is fun, while Love to Burn is an extended grungy jam. Farmer John is a real foot stomper. The last three tracks could all be album closers with their anthemic feel. Great set of songs!