Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Shaggy, raw, let the tape run. These are musicians in the flow, doing what they do best. A lot of the time Neil Young leaves me kind of cold. CSNY, doubly so. But Neil Young and Crazy Horse? I sincerely get what Crazy Horse is putting down.

j'aime trop neil young

Seven songs, all great; each one distinct: some long, some short, some electric, some acoustic, some hard, some soft. And still the album is incredibly cohesive. Not easily done.

Guitar solos are insane. Sound so good. Neil goes crazy.

Neil was ahead of his time and these songs prove that. It’s not my favorite Neil album but either way it’s a fairly flawless album. Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River, these are all timers…

Such a great record. Even the relatively straightforward country rock of EKTIN stands up. And tracks like Down by the River, Cowgirl in the Sand, and Cinnamon Girl are all still highlights. This was also a big leap forward from everything that he had done before and showed his ability I radically change direction, which became a feature of his later career

This guy Neil sure knows how to play the guitar.

an easy *****

(1000/100)

ваууу кайф

I am biased, this is one of my favourite albums by one of my favourite artists.

More like Neil Old-soul and Crazy Jams

Love me some Neil Young and this isn't even his best album

An old favorite!

Love it! There are so many classic songs here. I had no idea so many were on the same album. Liked Songs Added: Cinnamon Girl Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Down By The River The Losing End (When You're On) Cowgirl In The Sand

This is one of those albums where the mythology initially gets in the way of the music. Neil Young arrives carrying so much cultural residue - the voice, the flannel, the harmonica, the “shambly hippie bloke” caricature - that I’d somehow missed the obvious point for years: the man can write. More than that, he can edit. These songs have a startling confidence in their own sufficiency. Even when the band stretches out, the album never feels flabby or overcooked. It feels written, then exposed to weather. The looseness is the key to the whole thing. Crazy Horse don’t behave like an elite backing band smoothing the songs into prestige Americana. They drag against them slightly. The guitars blur together. Harmonies wobble. Timing leans. Solos feel physically negotiated in real time. Yet all this “imperfection” creates extraordinary warmth because it preserves the sensation of human beings trying to maintain emotional contact with the song rather than demonstrating mastery over it. Neil’s lead playing in particular has this remarkable “heart moving faster than the hands” quality - phrases lunging toward feeling before technique fully catches up. The solos aren’t polished objects. They’re attempts. That’s why the long tracks work for me in a way that many jam-based records don’t. This isn’t formless wandering or virtuoso exhibitionism. The songs already exist before the expansion begins. The groove, melody and emotional centre are all firmly in place. The rambling comes afterwards, enlarging the atmosphere around the song rather than replacing it. “Down By The River” and “Cowgirl In The Sand” don’t sound like compositions being demonstrated. They sound like states being inhabited for a while longer. There’s a comfort about the playing because Neil never sounds like he’s trying to dominate the instrument. He sounds like somebody insisting the feeling through it. The album also feels unexpectedly close to later alternative music in spirit. Not because it predicts grunge in some crude “flannel and distortion” sense, but because it rejects polish as a moral virtue. The slightly out guitars, moving intonation and rough harmonies create thickness and emotional motion rather than “mistakes”. You can hear later indie, shoegaze and lo-fi ideas hiding in plain sight here - the understanding that blur can be more human than precision. A lot of records from this period want to present themselves as finished objects. This one leaves the pencil marks on the wall. Even the lyrics operate with the same confidence in plainness. Neil repeatedly reaches emotional depth through ordinary conversational phrasing rather than ornate poeticism. “But you were not home” lands with more force than pages of grand singer-songwriter symbolism because it sounds like a real human thought under pressure. The album constantly chooses sufficiency over display. The emotional truth arrives and Neil simply leaves it there. I think what finally won me over is that the record trusts wobble without collapsing into shapelessness. I hate flabby jamming and I hate overthinking. This somehow avoids both. The songs are strong enough to survive looseness, and the looseness stops the songs becoming over-managed. The result feels strangely restorative in 2026 because almost nothing now is allowed to remain this visibly human.

9/10 calling him

The first NY album I ever heard Hooked me straight away with the guitar sounds and lyrics - a dreamer of pictures, I run in the night This remains my go-to Neil Young collection Cinnamon / River / Cowgirl - regulars in my collection for over 40 years Sure, there are a couple of tracks to skip, but still a solid five stars

This was amazing, definitely need to come back to this one.

Huge Neil Young fan so no surprise I loved this. Several of his all time best songs are on this album.

Very poetic. I like it. It gave me the same feeling when I stop flipping on my phone and detoxifying my body. It’s nothing “good or bad”, I also felt boring at first. If you can “switch off” you’d like it. It’s amazing.

This was SO nostalgic for me…we used to dance the night away to Southern Man and Neil Young’s left wing politics were in most of his lyrics …anti war and pro Civil Rights.1969 was a year of great optimism for young folk…the world was going to be so much better than what our parents had experienced. Neil Youngs music was a vital part of our times.

Adored this. A beautiful mix of grunge and blues.

Honestly… awesome

One of his best .Absolute classic record .

'Pa, send me money now / I'm gonna make it somehow.' I don't know why, but that lines makes me think of Barbra Streisand's rendition of Funny Girl, that '68 classic about oddball Fanny Brice's rise to self-deprecated fame. Anyhow, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is stunning, capturing that Neil Young ability to be absolutely commonplace, to be utterly rock 'n' roll, & to be seriously heartbreaking. A line such as the following essentially renders the entire project a rousing success, but there's really so much here that's luminous: 'How the hours will bend / Through the time that you spend / Til you turn to your eyes / & you see your best friend / Looking over the end.' As I've said before, Young is a one-off, someone we're still catching up w/.

This is the first in a stupidly long line of great records by Neil Young. Cinnamon Girl, Down By the River and Cowgirl in the Sand really map out the sound that makes me love Neil. Is this as good as On the Beach or Zuma? Probably not - but it sure as hell ain't hard to listen to and enjoy.

neil young knows where the clit is

He’s done it again folks

Neil young io ti adoro, "everybody knows this is nowhere" e "down by the river" due pezzi da 90.

Album incredibile. Atmosfere magiche, sospese. Arrangiamenti spaziosi, distesi, elettrici. Neil Young cantore dell'inquietudine.

Great album! It's been on repeat for the past couple of days.

So, I've listened to a few Neil Young albums in this challenge. After The Gold Rush is still by far the best, but this is a close second. The songs are incredible and played really well. 5/5

Wow!!! This blew us both out of the water. You really loved "Everybody knows" and were full of smiles when mommy was singing it over and over. And, who doesn't like Cowgirl in the Sand? Even though it put you to sleep, it was asleep in a good and chill way. :-)

The literal best album to listen to on vinyl.

Amazing range of songs and surprised how much of this I already knew despite never having played the whole thing before.

Cinnamon girl: loved, I could almost see the song if that makes sense and loved the guitar. Made me feel free to just exist and think about the life I crave. Everybody knows: kinda went in one ear out the other but in a pleasant this was enjoyable kinda way. I feel like I should be listening to it on a mountaintop. Maybe eating some fruit. Down by the river: FUCKING INSANE I LOVE The losing end: feels like seeing an old friend after years apart, it’s sad but also healing and sounds nice?? Running dry: relatable aghhh. The guitar and violin/fiddle idek what instruments combo was magical. Really take you on an emotional journey and the low and high compliment each other beautifully, with Neil’s voice floating above them both. Cowgirl in the sand: banger to end the album on tbh. Encapsulates finality while also retaining the vibe of the whole project. Letting the instrumentation breathe too balanced the verses nicely Genuinely just 10/10 album I save all the songs and can’t believe this was my first time hearing it. LOVED

It was good😝😝😝

Really love this record! I knew of a couple songs coming into this. Great simple songs with awesome songwriting and storytelling. Fav songs: Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Down by the River, and my fav of favs Cowgirl in the Sand.

Always been a Neil Young fan, but somehow had overlooked this album. From the classic "Cinnamon Girl" to the epic "Down by the River" make this album great. Highlights: "Cinnamon Girl", "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" and "Down By The River"

one afternoon

My nostalgia plays a role here, because I can remember my dad listening to Neil Young when I was growing up, but boy did I end up enjoying this album even more than I thought I would! Cowgirl in the Sand was not one I had recognized, but probably my favorite on the album.

Excellent album, several classic songs and each song flows from one to another. It left me wanting more. Neil Young is an excellent storyteller and musician.

Great album front to back. Great rock album with the rawness that he usually puts out. Spends time jamming, but Neil Young's jamming is always emotive and never makes me feel like he's just showing off technique. Case in point - Down by the River is 9 minutes long, but feels like 3 or 4 at most. Ends with Cowgirl in the Sand - a tour de force in guitars sounding like they want to punch you in the face. I'm sure Young's voice is divisive, but it fits his music perfectly.

Love this album.

If there’s a 5-star Neil Young album for me, this is surely it. The title track and “Cinnamon Girl” are downright dreamy—and essential. There are a few slow moments on the album, and, overall, it’s probably closer to 4.5 than 5.0 stars. But I’m happy to round up.

Music to feel desperately sad to but everybody needs that once in a while

I'm not sure I've listened to this entire album before. Like most of Neil Young's albums, this one is uneven, with some truly great tracks like Cinnamon Girl and the slow burn of Down by the River and Runnig Dry. A couple of the ones after Cinnamon Girl feel like filler, but the album closes super strong with Cowgirl in the Sand. Overall, probably Neil Young's most complete album I've heard, though I haven't certainly heard them all. 5/5

Shakey's second solo album sees him move away from his hippy debut and here it's darker and with the addition of Crazy Horse, more of a kick in the balls and punch in the face. It's HEAVY for 1969, and a real mix of groove, riffage and the occasional face melter. However, he doesn't forget to mellow too. There's a couple of folky songs here to placate people who may have been shocked with his change in direction - something everyone has to get used to with this guy! Just fantastic. Best Songs: Everybody Knows This is Nowhere; Down By The River; Cowgirl in the Sand

Foopin love this album. First listened as a teenager and ‘Down by the Rover’ and ‘Cowgirl in the sand’ blew my tiny mind. I did not realise guitar work and solos could sound like that, and hold their power across a long song. You know there are some rare occasions you just listen to a new artist and you just really connect, like it was the music you didn’t know you needed but feels like exactly what you wanted all your life. Well hey presto, this is one of those very few for me. (And, yes I love other Neil Young albums, but this the best in my mind.)

A 5.

I WANNA LIVE WITH A CINNAMON GIRL

Had to give this one a couple of listens to form an opinion which has been rare so far. I’ve come to the conclusion that this album is amazing. The chilled out songs here are really good. Neil’s voices works perfectly on songs like Round & Round. But his voices also sounds great on the more upbeat songs like the INCREDIBLE Down By The River which is my favourite from this album. The guitars solos throughout the song really make it a stand out on the album. VERY GOOD

Elsker Neil Young og dette er det beste han har gjort

Min favoritt fra Neil Young!

Cannot get enough of this album. Music to drive too haha

This has some of my favorite Neil Young songs — Cinnamon Girl, Cowgirl in the Sand, Cortez. Crazy Horse is at its best when it’s not trying to blow out the speakers. The bass playing is phenomenal. A 5.

Love Neil young

I know this is nowhere, you know it. Or - hang on, what do you mean? Really? I thought it was - am I the only one? I can't be the only one. Is that an OK thing? I don't know if I get fevers the way you do. I don't think I'd be able to doze productively and come up with these. And in the face of that, none of it feels real and I don't know what to do next. Surpassing the paper illusion and the confusion and all that is not a question of slog, of reinventing the wheel. It's riding a bike, it's taking a single breath and then another. It's loving the simple, it's returning and relinquishing and leaving doubt at the door.

Love it. Leaning into the more garage, sludgy and dare I say "grungy" sound. Clearly a influence to so much later music I love.

One of these albums...

Young Neil Young hits his straps with a dazzling sophomore album. 4 of the 7 tracks are all time greats from the Canadian king

Second NY album in a row and this one vastly better containing at least 3 classics.

I feel like a bad Canadian admitting this but I've never really taken the time to listen to much Neil Young and damn ... I was missing out. Two songs in and I already know this is 5 stars.

Cinnamon Girl - 1969?? Pretty timeless in that case. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - kinda goofy, but nice twang. Round & Round - too melancholic-acoustic for my taste, kinda boring, but also kinda pure and beautiful. huh. Down By The River - ain't no reason for any song to be this long. Nice tunes, fun "chorus", but like, why does it keep goin' and changing? I guess I value standard song structure, maybe even too much. The Losing End - kinda came and went, just a nice track, didn't stand out. Running Dry - you find me with a very Chinese intro. With that said, a very evocative and emotional song. EDIT: HOLY SHIYT Cowgirl In The Sand - long but idk, it worked for me this time. === As a whole, was blown away by this. I did not expect this.

Sólido, pocos álbumes me han generado lo que hizo este.

Some great songs on here

Светлая печаль по уходящей эпохе и рушащимся надеждам В социальной группе канадских поэтов-песенников - будто более человечная версия Леонарда Коэна

Amazing

Great album

Everything about this album drew me in. Each song was just as memorable as the last. The kind of record you want to start from the too once you finished.

I love this. It is an excellent album. At times rocking hard, at others tender at others psychedelic. The sound of Neil with Crazy Horse behind him is iconic.

"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" is the second studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young. Country rock, folk rock, garage rock, hard rock and acid rock are the Wiki-listed genres. It was his first album with his now longtime backing band Crazy Horse (former members of the Rockets). Young famously wrote the three big songs on the album ("Cinnamon Girl," "Down By the River," "Cowgirl in the Sand") in one day while dealing with the flu. Young sang lead vocals and played guitar. Crazy Horse was Danny Whitten (guitar, vocals), Billy Talbot (bass) and Ralph Molina (drums, vocals). Commercially, the album was a sleeper hit reaching #34 on the US Billboard Album Charts and was critically generally well-received. A down-tuned guitar riff with handclaps open "Cinnamon Girl." The handclaps were based on the Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back." Dual lead vocals with Young and Whitten. The band gets an absolute down and dirty groove going. there's Young's so-called one-note guitar solo. Classic rock at its best. Young foggily recalls it being about waiting for a girl, Jean Ray, who played the finger cymbals. The first single released was the self-titled "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere." More in country rock realm with the guitar sound and singing. Great "La-La-La's" backing harmony vocals. Young wants to escape the superficial LA area. You know you're in for a great song within two seconds of "Down By the River" with the chugging-like rhythm guitar and evil-sound guitar notes. Young comes in vocally realizing his relationship is at the end. He said it wasn't a murder ballad but one wonders with the line "Down by the river, I shot my baby" and his flu writing state. The harmony vocals climaxing at the chorus. But the highlight of this song is the guitar interplay between Young and Whitten. The ebbs and flows. The multiple solos. Young reportedly was actually following Whitten's lead although Whitten was playing rhythm guitar. A long song which apparently was much longer and was edited. I wouldn't mind hearing the uncut version. A mind-blowing song and a top-ten-all-time song for me. No less epic is the album closer "Cowgirl in the Sand." The song starts slowly and gets going. Young and Whitten decide to go down that similar and welcome "Down-By-The-River" guitar jam foxhole. It's an even longer jam and just as exquisite. Just having "Down By The River," "Cowgirl in the Sand," and "Cinnamon Girl" makes this album great. The songs were recorded with mostly live takes and this shows with the looseness, extended jamming and raw vibe of the music. The down-tuning of the guitar sound is also fantastic sounding and was very influential for future rock bands. Whitten and Molina also add excellent harmony vocals. Outside the big three songs, there's songs of country rock and folk rock. I will say there's one song ("Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets)") which did nothing for me. But, overall, the jams are epic and classic and the album as a whole is a must listen for any rock fan.

Tengo que escuchar más Neil young, esas Guitarra’s me gustan mucho. Que tenía la gente en los 60s que hacía cosas tan cool? Me gusta lo sencillo, el sonido, la profundidad de la voz,lo cercano que se siente, los coros. Running dry es bien bonita y depresiva.

One of my all time favorites. My favorite tracks are down by the river and cowgirl in the sand , with the title track and cinnamon girl close second. Most memorable thing about the album is how they manage to capture such a different atmosphere in every song, specifically in the longer tracks. I wish i could live in the space made during the instrumental breaks

We have this album. Love it.

very good album!!!!!!! love the guitar

Listened in the car and at the grocery store. This app is turning me into a Neil Young fan. This one is more traditional rock than Harvest and it features some great solos and some incredible musicianship. Really enjoyed this one!

Love niel young

Excellent album. I loved the jams!

I liked this a lot

Don’t know if this is perfect album but it’s close. Great classics but solid others.

Along with albums from Velvet Underground and Nico, the Stooges and Black Sabbath, this is THE most influential 60s album in the development of quote unquote alternative rock n roll. You could make a list of 1001 bands from the 70s to today for whom this album's shaggy, stripped down, spaced out take on country rock is the rosetta stone. I love this sound, it scratches such an elemental itch in my music listening brain. This album feels like being stoned to the bone rolling a smoke on a couch in a garage on a hot Wednesday afternoon. Dig it.

Pretty incredible as a second album (released within the same year!)... Neil really came out fully formed... this is sort of the quintessential 'classic rock' album to me in the sense that it hits all the stuff old guys like... its about perfect i reckon, probably my third fav neil album :-)

Well, this is my last Neil Young. I’ve had major Neil Young fatigue for the last few albums of his I had, but damn if this isn’t the best of them all. I thought nothing would top On The Beach (the 2nd Neil Young album I got from the generator), but I was very wrong. The lyrics are great, but the guitar playing is out of this world. I was bracing for the 10 minute “Cowgirl In The Sand” but the guitar is so perfect and mesmerizing that I was in love from the minute the song started. “The Losing End” is the only low point, but it’s still like a 6/10 song, but every other song on the album is 10/10 perfection, so comparatively low. I’m so glad this is the last album of his I got on the generator because it’s ending the Neil Young portion of this journey on such a high note, and given how up and down I’ve felt about his other albums, I can really appreciate just how special this one is.

Tricky one. Back in the 70s this album seemed amazing - like a total revelation. Perfect songs performed with passion and wonderful guitar interplay. To me now it feels a bit dated. I'm still never giving it less than five stars. Not so tricky after all.

I love how all the reviews for this are either 'wow this is great' or some version of 'fuck I can't stand Neil Young'. That's how you know you've made it as an artist. I happen to be the former, I've always really liked all of Neil Young's solo stuff and I feel like he was a much better musician solo than he ever was in any of his other bands. But for me this makes the sixth of his solo albums on this list and I think that's too many. If you can only pick 1001 records would you really take 6 Neil Young Albums? I'd pick this one for sure. Not sure I need 5 others... Anyway, kicking off with Cinnamon Girl is a great way to start a record. I love the way Neil Young plays guitar. Particularly his style with electrics, it's so different and quirky. I feel like this album is really where he started exploring that style of playing - it's laid back, rough, bold, harsh, chill, and wild all at the same time. The repetitive notes work so well for the groove somehow and I love it. Case in point - Down by the River. I really like this album as a whole, it might be Neil Young's best. 4.5/5 and will round up just because.

I first listened to this last year actually. I really enjoyed how jammy this is on revisiting it. Neil is for sure my favorite Canadian.

это ахуеный рок 60ых просто мясо 90

February is off to a really good start with this Neil Young classic, the first of his albums I ever owned, bought on cassette in my schooldays, late 70s. No filler here, it's a stunning album from the opener Cinammon Girl through to Cowgirl In The Sand.

I'll search for detailed information about this classic Neil Young album to provide you with a thorough review. **Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere** (Reprise Records, May 1969) represents the moment Neil Young shed his folk-rock skin and became something far more dangerous, unmoored, and essential. Recorded over a fragmented two-month period at Wally Heider Studios in Hollywood with a bar-band trio he’d poached from the Sunset Strip only days earlier, the album captures a creative lightning strike—seven songs that established the template for the next fifty years of Young’s career and helped birth what would eventually be called grunge. --- ### **The Music: Primitive, Visceral, Liberated** Musically, this is the sound of constraint dissolving. After the orchestrated, studio-polished debut *Neil Young* (1968), this record arrives like a drunken stumble into a garage. Young’s partnership with Crazy Horse—guitarist Danny Whitten, bassist Billy Talbot, and drummer Ralph Molina—creates a rhythmic trance (*boom-boom-thak*) that abandons technical precision for visceral chemistry. The album’s architecture is defined by tension between compact pop and sprawling improvisation. **"Cinnamon Girl"** opens with a riff so fundamental it feels carved from bedrock, driven by Whitten’s high harmonies that blend so seamlessly with Young’s lead that they sound like a single fractured voice. The infamous "one-note solo" (actually the same note played on two strings with a wang bar) is a masterclass in minimalist expression—Young insists each repetition sounds different, and in the context of the song’s mounting fever, he’s right. Then there are the epics: **"Down by the River"** (9:13) and **"Cowgirl in the Sand"** (10:03). These aren’t jams in the Grateful Dead sense; they’re trance rituals. Built on two-chord vamps that function as meditation loops, the songs create space for Young’s guitar to explore emotional territory rather than melodic complexity. His solos here—staccato bursts, sustained distortion, abrupt shifts from piercing highs to guttural lows—anticipated the tonal vocabulary of punk and grunge decades later. As music lecturer Ken Bielen notes, this approach offered "a viable alternative to the fire-breathing blues of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix" . **"Round and Round (It Won't Be Long)"** offers a brief sanctuary—a country waltz with ghostly acoustic guitars and the ethereal harmony of guest Robin Lane, whose wordless vocals float above the verses like carnival music heard through fog. It’s one of Young’s most melodically gorgeous compositions, a stark contrast to the electric warfare surrounding it. --- ### **Production: Calculated Accidents** Produced by Young and David Briggs, the recording process embraced imperfection as aesthetic. The album was captured quickly—sometimes the band had only been together for days when tracking. "We didn't even know what we sounded like until we heard the album," Young later recalled . The production choices border on the perverse: - **"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"** uses a scratch vocal Young sang through the studio’s low-quality talk-back microphone, deliberately bypassing the mixing board to capture a "spitty-sounding" impedance mismatch . - The extended tracks were edited from multiple takes—radical cuts were made to "Down by the River" to remove sections where the performance collapsed, though you can still hear the seams if you listen closely . - **"Cinnamon Girl"** features handclaps inspired by The Angels’ "My Boyfriend’s Back" (1963), adding a girl-group primitivism to the heavy riffs. Young later expressed regret about the final mix of "Cinnamon Girl," where he buried Whitten’s vocal in favor of his own high part: "I fucked up. I did not know who Danny was. He was better than me... Some things you wish never happened" . --- ### **Lyrics & Themes: Darkness in the Canyon** The album’s lyrical content ranges from deceptively simple to deeply troubling, often masking LA disillusionment beneath country-rock tropes. **Dislocation and Disillusionment:** The title track masquerades as a country song about a homesick rural transplant ("I think I’d like to go back home and take it easy"), but the lyrics reveal Young’s disgust with the Laurel Canyon scene: "Everybody seems to wonder what it’s like down here/Gotta get away from this day-to-day running around/Everybody knows this is nowhere" . By 1969, the hippie idealism of the Canyon was curdling into commercialism; Young sensed the rot before others. **Toxic Masculinity and Violence:** **"Down by the River"** remains one of rock’s most disturbing narratives—a first-person confession of domestic murder ("I shot my baby/Down by the river"). Young initially dismissed it as being about "blowin’ your thing with a chick," but later acknowledged it depicted a man "who had a lot of trouble controlling himself" . The lyrics suggest entitlement and possession curdling into violence ("When you could be taking me for a ride"), while the unrelenting bass line and group vocals create a haunting, inevitable atmosphere. **Relationship Stasis:** **"Round and Round"** explores the paralysis of pride in dying relationships—"How slow and slow and slow it goes/To mend the tear that always shows"—capturing the exhaustion of cyclical conflict without resolution . **Problematic Gender Politics:** **"Cowgirl in the Sand"** features lovely melodic sections and Talbot’s undulating bass, but the lyrics ("It’s the woman in you that makes you want to play this game") reek of 1969’s casual sexism, framing female autonomy as manipulative game-playing . While some defend it as period-appropriate, critics note that timeless art should transcend its era’s blind spots—and here, the lyrics anchor an otherwise transcendent musical achievement to dated gender attitudes. --- ### **Influence and Legacy: The Godfather of Grunge** *Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere* fundamentally altered rock’s trajectory. When released, it was "breathtakingly different"—a commercial risk that reversed Young’s fortunes and established the Crazy Horse sound as his primary vehicle . **Direct Influence:** Robert Plant quoted "Down by the River" during Led Zeppelin’s 1970 Royal Albert Hall performance . The album’s distorted, feedback-laden guitar work directly influenced the alternative rock explosion of the 1990s—Kurt Cobain, Thurston Moore, J. Mascis, and Trey Anastasio all absorbed Young’s anti-technique approach, where emotion trumped precision . By the early ’90s, Young was celebrated as a "Godfather of Grunge," performing with Pearl Jam and retaining credibility while his contemporaries faded into classic-rock nostalgia. **The Danny Whitten Factor:** This remains the only complete studio album featuring the original Crazy Horse lineup. Whitten’s death from heroin in 1972 ended an era. His rhythm guitar work and high harmonies were crucial to the album’s texture—he was, as drummer Ralph Molina noted, "the heart and the soul" of the group’s equation . The chemistry here is unrepeatable; subsequent Crazy Horse lineups could approximate but never replicate the fragile telepathy captured in these sessions. --- ### **Pros and Cons** **Strengths:** - **Raw Spontaneity:** The album captures a band discovering its identity in real-time, resulting in performances impossible to replicate . - **Guitar Innovation:** Young’s solos expanded rock’s tonal palette, proving that one well-placed note could carry more weight than a hundred scales. - **Melodic Strength:** Despite the abrasive textures, songs like "Cinnamon Girl" and "Round and Round" feature hooks that lodge permanently in memory . - **Vocal Chemistry:** The interplay between Young and Whitten (particularly on "Cinnamon Girl" and the title track) creates a singular vocal texture—high and lonesome, yet warm. - **Side One Sequencing:** The opening four-song run (through "Down by the River") represents one of the strongest sides in rock history . **Weaknesses:** - **Lyrical Blind Spots:** "Cowgirl in the Sand" suffers from dated, reductive gender politics that undercut its musical grandeur . - **Runtime Bloat:** While the extended jams are historically significant, "Down by the River" can feel interminable to modern listeners not attuned to its hypnotic intent—its nine-plus minutes demand patience. - **Side Two Drop-off:** After the powerhouse first side, the album loses momentum. "The Losing End (When You’re On)" and "Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets)"—despite Bobby Notkoff’s haunting violin on the latter—feel like placeholders compared to what precedes them . - **Deliberate Lo-Fi:** The "spitty" vocal on the title track and the generally unvarnished production, while intentional, may alienate listeners seeking polish over atmosphere. --- ### **Verdict** *Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere* is a masterpiece of controlled chaos—a document of four musicians catching lightning in a bottle before they even understood their own alchemy. It established Young as the patron saint of beautiful ugliness, proving that rock music could be simultaneously primitive and sophisticated, melodic and abrasive, spontaneous and meticulously constructed. While certain lyrical elements betray its 1969 origins, the musical innovation remains startlingly contemporary. This is where Neil Young became **Neil Young**, and where rock learned that perfection is often the enemy of truth.

The review section is crazy here. Love Neil Young? 5 star album. Hate Neil Young? 1 star. Personally, I enjoyed this more than After the Gold Rush, which I gave 4 stars. The thing is, people comment about his voice (not good) and his lyrics (uninspired), and I agree, but I don't listen to Neil Young to be moved, I listen to hear some nice guitar playing. Neil absolutely shreds on this album, and I'd argue moreso than Gold Rush, which unless I'm mistaken is a more critically acclaimed album, hence my higher rating. 4.5

Damn. For reasons unknown to me, I had never been familiar with Neil Young's work before. And what an amazing discovery it is. The vocals and guitar playing are both excellent. Incredibly good, especially for 1969.

Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River, and Cowgirl in the Sand all on one album is absolutely filthy work and more than enough to make up for this album being 57.1% filler tracks.

Loved it! I’m a big Neil Young fan, knew some of these songs from the Live Rust album but hadn’t heard this whole album before. Cinnamon Girl is an all-time classic from the Godfather of Grunge. I also enjoyed Down by the River and Cowgirl in the Sand but really the whole album is right up my alley and will definitely be coming in for repeated listens over the coming week.

This album was awesome, ESPECIALLY the back half.

this is the greatest album to ever exist in the history of albums. easily neil's best. perfect music all around.

So many hits I liked it

There’s a nostalgia here for a time I never lived (I’m a ’90s baby), but this album completely transported me like I could’ve existed in that era. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere has that lazy 70s hanging-out energy. Standouts: Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River, Cowgirl in the Sand, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Second times a charm! After a somewhat directionless debut Neil Young is confidently congealed on his sophomore solo.

Yet another singer with a nasal, whiney voice. But Neil Young gets away with this. I like most of his early works - must be my age - so 5 for Down By The River and Cowgirl and to spite everyone who gave it 1. You wankers probably love shit like Oasis.

I am almost exactly as old as this album. Neil's guitar is just .. well how do you describe genius? A true master at his craft and a one of a kind sound at only 23. I like the clean track sequence too, starting with one my favorites, Cinnamon Girl - slaps you to attention & is just bangin! Then a honky track followed by super slow & quiet. Smack in the middle, 9 min of blliss w Down by the River (I'd have given a 5 just for 1,4 & 7), then honky, the slow Running dry. Close it out with the gorgeous Cowgirl in the Sand. Good lord! Just aMAZING.

Debut with Crazy Horse. A true original. 1969 nobody sounds like this. I love the blend of country harmonies and raw exploratory jams like Cowgirl & DBTR which forged a template they have been using for the last 56 years. Stu & I saw them in May 2024 and the boys still bring that overdriven hard rockin’ rebel attitude!

Had it love him

Untouchable

Neil at his rocking best. Nobody else can take a one note guitar solo and get away with it. 4 absolutely stellar songs (Cinnamon Girl, Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, Down by the River and Cowgirl in the Sand) make up for the decidedly average make-weights.

5, love this record

The start of his golden period

Dusty, lonely, and beautifully stubborn. Rating: 4.7/5 Short Review: This album feels like wide open space and unresolved feelings. Rough, simple, and emotionally honest in that way Neil Young does where it sounds casual but cuts deep. Favorite Track: Cowgirl in the Sand. Wandering, haunted, and strangely peaceful.

Might just be my favourite Neil Young album, has so many songs that I just utterly love. Kicking off with Cinnamon Girl, a riff that rhythmically embeds itself in you so that 4 hours later you’re still tapping along to it, slightly headbanging to it. He really is the GOAT, I love it. It’s a perfect album, it’s 5.0/5.0. 5.0/5.0 Best Song: Down By The River

Fuck me I forgot what a good album this is, every song is a perfect banger. He’s insane, he does simple stuff better than anyone. Best song has to be down by the river.

A classic. Down By The River and Cowgirl in the Sand. Proto-Lofi. 9.5/10

Four excellent songs, Cinnamon, River, Corwgirl, and the title track. Two good songs Losing end and Running Dry. One mediocre track Round and Round

Neil Young er et kjent navn for meg, men jeg har til gode å utforske katalogen hans. Melankolsk og behagelig country-rock her. Virkelig bra ved andre-tredje lytt. La oss si fem stjerner da. Cinnamon Girl må for øvrig ha vært en inspirasjonskilde for Bowie. Top 3: Down by the River, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets)

First Listen; 4.5; Really enjoy how crunchy and punchy many of these songs are. There is a lot of jamming and noodling throughout, but it comes through with enough emotion and effort that it works well. There's also a lot of dark, driving moments that are counterbalanced by a chorus that opens things up and lets things breathe. Can't believe that I never listened to this album before. I love songs that just jam on open chords, and this nails that sound perfectly. Favorite Tracks: Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River

Neil is so much better than those maga pussies like Morgan waa-waa

Great album, one of my favourite’s from Neil young.

The first truly great album by my all time favourite artist. Neil wrote Cinnamon Girl, Down By The River and Cowgirl in the Sand in a single day whilst suffering from a fever. He did more for music in one afternoon than most artists achieve in their lifetime… and we’re lucky enough to have another 50+ years of the crazy bastard. The easiest of 5 stars.

incredible album. good high energy heavy distortion electric guitar tracks combined with slower, acoustic, folkier pieces make this an emotionally and sonically interesting album.

Empecé a escuchar este álbum sin ninguna expectativa y sin saber absolutamente nada de Neil Young & Crazy Horse, y me sorprendió lo mucho que me gustó. Es un álbum sin skips, primer gran descubrimiento gracias a este sitio 𖹭

I love most of these songs.

I've shared my thoughts on Neil Young, once I got hooked, I was really hooked. I'm not sure if there is an album of his I don't have, either in vinyl, CD, or electronic file. This one is a really great one.

Outstanding album. I was only familiar with two of these songs when I first turned on the record, and even then not super familiar. It’s weird, because I feel like I’ve heard a lot of Neil Young in my life, but this seems like kind of a quintessential album that has never come to my attention. Throughout most of the songs, there’s a driving groove that makes the long, contemplative (but never too complex) guitar (and fiddle?) solos feel lively and crisp. I say this is someone who finds jam bands extremely dull (see: my review of the Allman Brothers’ “Live at Fillmore East,” the album I listened to yesterday). I’ll probably be picking a copy of this up on vinyl, or at the very least streaming it again in the near future.

Loved it. Timeless. Hadn’t really listened to much of Neil Young’s older stuff and this was incredible.

Straight gas loved every song. Cowgirl in the sand is always a classic but my new fav is the losing end! Never heard her before

Great album. Maybe not the best of Neil Young but still great with amazing songs.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse at their best. The classics like Cinnamon Girl and Down by the River are here but there’s not a bad song on this record. Round and Round is an underrated gem.

I enjoyed listening to this again so much I put the Fillmore East 1970 set on straight after.

This is my favorite Neil Young album and I think his best work with Crazy Horse. I've listened to it so many times, and was one that got me into playing guitar. It's an all-timer for me.

You guys are totally singing my song (s). I bought this when I was ten and just beginning to suspect that Buffalo Springfield was just a little too LA Cowboy for my tastes. As soon as I heard the guitar tone for "Cinnamon Girl," I was along for the full ride. Especially since it has one of the great one-note solos of all-time - right up there with "I Can See For Miles." "Losing End" and the title track are very good and pretty close to Springfield. So it's "Down By The River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" that really make this proto-grunge classic.

Title track is an ATJ. This record choogles.

Neil Young stole the band members from The Rockets and crushed it

Second Neil Young I've gotten on this list and it's great. Having the full backing band really gives the songs depth here. Standouts include Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River, and Cowgirl in the Sand

Classic Neil. Love these tunes.

My first NY album a classic a must have for any NY fan

I'm a huge Neil young fan so obviously this will score high. 3 outstanding tracks that still get played a lot at live shows.

I am not that big of a Neil Young fan, but this is undeniably a great album. I already knew Cinnamon Girl through the Type O Negative cover, but besides that there are a bunch of really great songs. I especially really enjoyed the last song, with the extended solo. Low 5.

I've always loved this album. I learned every song on guitar.

I don't think I've heard this album before. My loss. Great songs with the obvious standouts being Cowgirl in the Sand, Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River and the title track. This is my favorite version of Neil Young; rocking with Crazy Horse. If someone didn't know anything about him, I'd tell them to start here.

With this album, Neil Young shows us the power that one note repeated for exactly the right duration can have on a guitar solo. Both "Cinamon Girl" and "Down By the River" have guitar solos that begin this way and prove that sometimes that is all you need. I think this is a great album. Neil Young and Crazy Horse give us some short rockers (Cinamon Girl and the Title track), some folkier/more country songs to get his guitar twanging ("The Losing End" and "Running Dry") and two psychadelic jams for the ages ("Down by the River" and "Cowgirl In the Sand" was ). I LOVE the two long tracks on this album. You can really get lost in the jam and while Young's soloing is not virtuosic it is interesting and dynamic leaving me something new to find every time I lsiten to them. Young is sometimes called "the Godfather of Grunge" and you can hear why in the opening chords of the album. This is a dirty guitar tone and emotion matters more than slickness. His voice is the same way. I'm into it.

On se. Legenda

kifejezetten meglepodtem, hogy ez nekem tetszik

This is unfair. I was brought up listening to Neil Young - he’s my Dad’s favourite artist. Such a nostalgic fave for me and I can’t rate objectively. 5/5 for Neil.

If your album is 7 songs long you can’t afford any duds, and luckily there aren’t any here: it’s a mixture of grungey rock classics and country tunes that sounded ordinary at first but were actually quite decent once I got to know them. Extended jams aren’t usually my favourite thing but generally the chord progressions here are strong enough, and the guitars rugged enough, to make them enjoyable. Plus, the big choruses (when they eventually return) are a release worth waiting for. 4.5

I wrote up a whole long thing and then I erased it because I don’t think I need that many words to say this album fucking rips and Neil Young is the greatest.

I looked at the track list for this album, and knew this would be a banger. Cinnamon Girl - 10/10. Classic Crazy Horse. Everybody Knows this is Nowhere - 9/10. More restrained than Cinnamon Girl, but that's no complaint. Round and Round (It Won't Be Long) - 8/10. More pure folk rather than folk-rock. Neil Young does this well, but he's better when he embraces the rock fusion. Down By The River - 10/10. One of Neil and Crazy Horse's best. I can't believe anymore that I once didn't care for Neil's singing. The Losing End (When You're On) - 8/10. Elegant in its simplicity. Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets) - 8/10. Great tune, chord progression sets the mood VERY well. Excellent composition, good instrumentation, Does Neil Young ever miss? Cowgirl In The Sand - 10/10. Great guitar work, Classic Neil Young vocals, incredible guitar solo in the middle. This is what truly great music sounds like.

Master's thesis on rock style developed during the 1960s. Endlessly awesome guitar riffs on this. Down by the River could loop for hours and you would not realize it. And then he does it again with Cowgirl in the Sand. Not even the best Neil Young album!

This album is a great intro to Neil Young. It's stripped down and carries his depth and mood, and if you hate that you'll probably dislike everything he does. This is a great album.

Through this I've listened to so much Neil Young. I'm not sure why I avoided him for all of these years. I listened to a lot of music obviously influenced by him in my formative years. I enjoyed something new every listen. It sounded great in headphones and on the car stereo. It's hard to describe, but I would just get lost in the sound. It was like the warmth of reading a good book.

Neil young and crazy horse are such a great combination of electric riffs with dreamy acoustic backing + bass lines

I think I do prefer Neil Young in this way. The folky bits on Harvest made some sort of impression on me, but this is more my jam. Straight rock tunes played by Neil and Crazy Horse; now that’s the spirit. There’s plenty of good to go around here and I think I mean that more this time than with Harvest. Cinnamon Girl is a classic opener, the title track flourishes with these satisfying harmonies in the chorus. Round And Round is a warm third-piece that feels like a cool winter’s breeze. A handshake of the mind if I may say. Then of course: Down By The River. It’s 9 minutes of some verses, a killer chorus and a canvas of guitar sketches. To the man who doesn’t like aimlessness, they may not enjoy this tune (or the closer Cowgirl In The Sand), but I personally do like the momentum they build. Besides the jam, they are greatly written songs. There is one song I don’t care about and it’s Running Dry, but the rest is cool for me. It's a project that I feel more at home with. 
 (8/10, 5/5 on this scale)

The. Absolute best

The best Neil young album

Incredible album. At least 30% of it is really depressing but at the end I always think, "That was a lot of fun, let's do it again." It's not perfect and kind of drags at times but I don't care. It's one of my favorite artists ever right at the beginning of his peak. Play 'Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere' at my funeral.

Fantastic album. It's not my favorite Neil Young but I've still got a good bit of nostalgia attached to it.

Better than that one Neil young album I didn't love

Neil is a god

Finally!! I get it now. Three Neil Young albums in and I’m finally introduced to this banger of an album. You know it’s good when you have to spend the day trying to pick between multiple favorites. Ultimately, I ended up going with “Cowgirl in the Sand” over the all time classic “Down by the River.” That being said, “Cinnamon Girl” and “Running Dry” also deserve a shoutout. I’m an absolute sucker for extended riffs and songs that just go on and on and mix things up like those do. After previously listening to 2 other Neil Young albums, I felt like some of the songs were just a bit too light on notable Rock aspects, and existed as mostly filler. This one, on the other hand, absolutely rocks from top to bottom. Finally, after all this time, I can give a Neil Young album something higher than a 3. Higher than a 4, even. I truly enjoyed the hell out of this one. Way to go Uncle Neil. You’ve earned this rating. Here’s hoping there’s another 5 coming from you in the future. As always, time will tell.

Best folk rock album

Neil Young is one of those artists that’s hit or miss for me depending on the album, but this one hits hard. It’s got that country twang mixed with the grit of garage rock, and several of the tracks jam out a bit longer than usual. If grunge could’ve existed in the late 60s, this would’ve been it.

Hurrah! Neil Young! For a moment, I stupidly thought I'd give it a 4 because it's maybe not my favourite a Neil Young album, but then Cowgirl in the Sand started and I just can't not give this a 5. I especially like the guitars on this album, but song-writing is great as ever and there's just something about his voice that I love.

Hadn't listened to this in ages. Forgot just how good it was. Great proggy rock.

Definitely one of his best albums ever. You can hear the grunge starting to come out on 2 tracks. Cowgirl in The Sand and Down by The River. Who was his Cinnamon girl around this time who he lost and sings about thru out the album. He goes from pining about her to shooting her down at the river. Great album!!

I dig it more than I anticipated

Classic. Love it.

Was not very familiar with Neil young. Impressed me as a guitar player. Phenomenal!

Fantastic work

Nobody writes like Neil…

Wiedermal ein Klassiker. Eigenwilliger, konsequent sein Ding durchziehender Künstler.

Game changer from Uncle Neil. Every song is a classic. I've heard it referred to as the first grunge record. I don't hear that probably because Neil is wearing a flannel shirt on the cover

There's no easing into this album. The sound of Neil's double drop D distorted "Old Black" Les Paul guitar slaps you in the face from the very first second of Cinnamon Girl - it's one hell of a way to get your attention. The unpolished rawness of the guitar mixed with the very polished harmonies and melodies feels like Neil was laying down the groundwork for Nirvana. I can imagine Nick Cave listening to "Down by the River" for the first time, taking notes. Speaking of, that guitar solo is one of my all-time favorite things. Sticky, rough and clumsy in all the right ways, dipping in and out, and for such a long solo, not self-indulgent in any way, simply lifting the energy of the song and augmenting it in the best possible way. What more can I say about this, except that it's an absolute classic, that paved the way for so many bands, especially in grunge and alt rock.

Brilliant, if anything its too short! 5/5

Dolce ad amaro come solo Neil young può essere. Stupendo

Neil and Crazy Horse hit the ground running with this album. No skips.

Nice!

Neil Young is one of those artists that’s hit or miss for me depending on the album, but this one hits hard. It’s got that country twang mixed with the grit of garage rock, and several of the tracks jam out a bit longer than usual. If grunge could’ve existed in the late 60s, this would’ve been it.

Absolute masterpiece.

Just utter perfection - garage rock raised to the highest level. Neil threw out the playbook, write a fistful of damn near perfect songs, and then jammed out with the dudes in the garage. Of course, the dudes in question were hugely talented session musicians who could jump in and improvise with him, creating a sound thats so effortless it sounds like it might just fall apart into messiness. But they never ever let it go. My vinyl copy is definitely well loved and scratchy, and honestly, it’s perfect for the sound of this classic.

I usually don't care for noodly guitar jams, but the ones on Down by the River and Cowgirl in the Sand go crazy. That guitar feedback is absolutely insane for a popular album from 1969! Easily Neil's best studio album (though I'd maybe put Weld ahead overall), and an absolute essential for fans of country rock and the noisier side of things alike.

Bon rock de papa, on sent la vibe 70' avec un son un peu proche de Creedence par moments, très cool Chanson préférée : Down by the river

Classic.

Awesome album, really surprised me.

Amazing. I absolutely love his voice and down by the river was so fun to listen to fully through. Loved the jamminess in here and it makes me want to listen to Niel Young and Crazy Horse

Vastly underplayed album. Understandable when the songs are 10 minutes long, but no excuse for the rest. 9 out of 10 = five stars all day long

Great music!

Love that I got an album I love it has a super busy couple of days as I begin teaching year 35 5/5

Killer. I have the Neil Young appreciation gene, so when people say they don't like his voice, I hear you, but I don't really know what you want from the world. I've listened to this album countless times and it still feels fresh and desperate and immediate, and full of romanticized Crazy Horse magic, which it was - the band had been together for about a week when they recorded it and Neil had a 103 degree fever when he wrote a bunch of the songs in one afternoon. That cover photo is the best pointillist painting ever.

Most importantly, I need to establish that “Cinnamon Girl” is a perfect rock song. It’s built around a killer riff and a stomping rhythm, and it benefits from economy, employing hand claps, some strategic “yeah yeahs” and a perfect one-note guitar solo, ending just shy of the 30-minute mark and leaving you wanting more. Magnificent. The rest of the album rarely lets up, with “Down by the River” and “Cowgirl in the Sand” setting the template for Young’s deep library of devastating extended-length jams. It’s guitar rock of the highest order paired with Young’s uncanny songwriting. I could make a case for this being his finest album, even though it was just the first in a string of remarkable records.

I, like many people, have long looked at this album as the big bang, the moment that Neil got heavy and that's not untrue. However, after years with the album and a fresh listen in the auspices of this project, have rethought how I think about the album. It is a rejection of the over production of his first solo record... it is less polished and grimy. However, it is also like a Rosetta Stone to Neil... there is the tender ballad, the country stomper, and of course the double guitar monster of the Horse and Neil with extended guitar jams. It is a hell of an album that on any day may be my pick for his best work.

A good album to just drift to

<3 neil young

Classic

good

I like Cinnamon Girls. I confess to using it as a pet name for multiple partners. I think I’d like to go back home and take it easy. But my home is now occupied by the KKK. Neil’s down home gee-tar and his revolt against the Confederacy is me. It won’t be long. It won’t be long. A comforting approaching final silence. I saw this thing today with David Byrne talking about James Brown and he said the Godfather said, “Every instrument is percussion.” N&CH get it. Bounce and snap and growl under Young Neil’s plaintive eternally childlike falsetto. Fucking love these spare squeaky solos flirting with discordance. Be on my side; I’ll be on your side. It’s so hard for me now, but I’ll make it somehow, though I know I’ll never be the same. Won’t you ever change your ways? The violin is the whole story and it broke my fucking heart. But soon these things are overcome and can’t be recognized. Cowgirl in the Fucking Sand. The fecund soil of genius from which grew Camper Van and Flaming Lips and Dinosaur Jr and a million bright brilliant burning babies that still guide me through the dark. Exiled gods of goodness bless Neil Young. I’ve seen him twice. Once at Conan‘s last Tonight Show. Conan and Andy hunched together in the shadows in commiserative mourning. Neil in the spotlight, picking and wailing and enveloped in an aura you could fucking SEE. We all levitated just a bit off our seats. All of us. This is a perfect record to me.

This is phenomenal, just fantastic

Hard to not be prejudiced since this is one of my faves. This is one lives in my metaphorical cd changer of autumn soundtracks alongside De Stijl, The Argument, and Rated R.

Cinnamon Girl and Down by the River are on this!

truly a remarkable album

this was one of my first bargain bin blind buys

This may have been nowhere but this was the beginning of a journey on a long, unsteady, downright rewarding road for Neil Young. Across seven tracks, Neil got on his Crazy Horse and said goodbye to the 60s the only way he'd preferred to do; epics, scenic imagery, and a chock-full of lore surrounding the songs in its wake. It's a hell of a welcome from a guy who we'd become too familiar with seeing and the stories he'd weave from one corner to another would come to define his catalog in some forms or others; turns out that nowhere is a good place to start.

Neil walks in, says "we're doing this in that-and-that way", Crazy Horse nods, they play, and make one of the best albums ever. A simpler time when there was no inner conflict, no emotional turmoil, and no visceral hate. Just pure talent on display. The two closers on each side are the creme de la creme of this album. The jammy grungy guitar interplaying between Neil and Danny is what makes this such an enjoyable listen (also what makes them such easy inclusion into any live set). Cinnamon Girl is a grandiose entry into a prolific era, and the duo of The Losing End and Running Dry is a foreshadowing of Neil's talent in penning songs that make your heart swell with emotion. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is a quick song that was once a favorite of mine, due to its simple nature and the longing for, well, a retreat to a simple way of living. Overall, it's an album full of anger and bitter emotions, a staple of Neil's career, but compared to what's to come, a very tame effort, and commercial at that. A fun combo that yielded amazing results. It's stupid to say, but this is what a bucket of gravel would sound like. Will I end it with that? Of course I will.

I never got into Neil Young; it’s the voice. But as I get older, I’ve softened on Young, especially after reading 1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music and listening to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young while I read it. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere was supposed to be Young’s 2nd solo album. He borrowed 3 guys from another band that he was supposed to help record their album, but after recording and touring with those guys, Young decided the album would become his & Crazy Horse’s 1st album, rather than a solo album. And the band he "borrowed" his bandmates from was finished. This album is a classic to me just because of Cinnamon Girl. I'm sure you've heard it. It has one of the best guitar solos of all time. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere does have its misses with Round and Round and The Losing End, but the other 5 songs are bangers. Down By the River, about a man killing his gf for cheating, is badass, tho some might say problematic with the subject matter. But I can assure you, Young didn't actually kill his gf down by the river…I think. Other standouts are the title track & Cowgirl In the Sand. This album is filled with folky country and hard rock. It will go into my regular rotation.

Loved this - thx!.

I have discovered through the 1001 that I actually am an early Neil Young fan. Who knew? So far his first three albums have been great. Many of the songs on here are radio darlings: Cinnamon Girl (which I first heard as a Type O-Negative cover), Down by the River, and Everybody Knows. Once again, the jammier deep cuts like Cowgirl in the Sand are worthy of multiple listens. Normally I go with the key tracks. This time, the only track I DIDN’T care for was the Losing End, which was a little too Hank Williams for me. If this one appears while digging for vinyl, it’s coming home.

Supposed to be working but instead I’m jamming, play down by the river for me one more time neil

Neil and his loose ass rock with crazy horse. Not sure I’m as big a fan as was say 10 yrs ago, but still this album through to Zuma are what I would consider peak Neil. Is he the best singer, guitarist or songwriter- no on all accounts. But he sure drives his own lane, however contradictory that may be and has remained fairly relevant for 60 yrs, if headlining festivals at 79 yrs old without any autotune etc is anything to go by while still fighting against the establishment be it most recently the BBC (Glastonbury)or Spotify (Joe rogan)Was edging to 4 stars but few re listens; cinnamon girl, everybody, down-by the river, cowgirl are all low down grunge archetype classics 5 fucking stars.

Four of the greatest songs to come out of rock music history, and three songs that I’d be totally fine with never hearing again.

9/10 They could never make me hate you Neil Young, even if you’re Canadian or whatever

If you'd asked me when I was about twenty-one, I'd probably have said this was my favorite album ever. I wouldn't go that far now, but I could still listen to "Down by the River/Cowgirl in the Sand" all day long--they're two of the most distinctive songs I can think of by any songwriter/musician. No one could have made this album other than Neil Young, which is why, like all Neil Young albums, it contains a couple of duds ("Round and Round" and "Requiem") . . . but the rest of it is stellar.

Love this record. Neil is all ornery and ragged and the band locks in, and you might think a 4 minute two note guitar solo is not a good idea, but here it is. Neil and Crazy Horse rock on this like scrappy aggro minimalists.

Ride the horse

This one really grew on me fast. I went in expecting something a bit more laid-back, but what I got was this raw, ragged edge that I didn’t know I needed. There's something about the way the guitars just hang there, almost lazy but weirdly precise, that pulled me in. It’s scruffy and unpolished in the best way — like it doesn’t care if you’re listening, which only makes you listen harder. I found myself completely locked into the groove of it before I realised how much I liked it. “Down by the River” and “Cowgirl in the Sand” are the big epics, and they really sprawl out in this beautiful, gritty mess that feels half jam and half exorcism. But I’ve got a soft spot for the title track too — it’s simple and sunny and gives the album a breather. I wouldn’t call this one of my all-time favourites, but I definitely get why it’s so beloved, and I’ll happily return to it when I want something with a bit of rough-around-the-edges heart.

Cinnamon Girl - 5/5 Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - 5/5 Round & Round (It Won't Be Long) - 4/5 Down by the River - 5/5 The Losing End (When You're On) - 5/5 Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets) - 3/5 Cowgirl in the Sand - 5/5 Average score: 4.6/5 (rounding up)

This is an impressive outing from Neil Young and Crazy Horse. The first half especially is some of the best that country rock has to offer. Would recommend.

My youth, all on one fabulous album.

Perhaps I was too hasty to dismiss Neil Young in an earlier review. This was sublime.

Neil is definitely not everyone's "cup of tea". But he has a place on my personal Rock and Roll Mount Rushmore, and this is one of his best.

4 out of 7 of the tunes here are straight classics.

I do like Neil, but I really liked this

About fifteen years ago, a crew would consistently come by my place for vinyl parties. Those were the days in my life where I look back already and say ‘those were the days.’ People would bring their new vinyls, but we’d also spin a lot of classics. ‘Everybody Knows This is Nowhere’ was a constant. If ever I felt critical of its jammy nature, I’d just keep nursing the joint and the instrumental sections suddenly seemed too short. That melody from Cowgirl in the Sand still floats around in my mind at random times. Truly just an incredible album. I never understood why he shot his baby when she could drag him over the rainbow, but he sure turned the trauma into an epic song. Way to go, Neil.

Listened Before? N Really good stuff, even for an accomplished guy like Neil Young. I really love this album and I'll revisit it many times. Records like this are why I am doing this project. Added to Library? Y Songs added to Playlist: Down By the River

I love Neil Young, especially with Crazy Horse. This album has three absolute bangers, and the rest are very good songs as well. I could listen to this just about any day.

I am a Neil Young fan and this is one of my favorite albums of his. I can listen to it at any time and any day. I regularly listen to it. So easy to give this 5 stars....

Neil Young! Another generational songwriter. And just like the last I'm a fan. Neil's got a super captivating style. Despite the lengths, the songs all feel like they never go on more then they deserve to. I wasn't expecting to give mr. young a ten already but I think I am! 10/10

4 1/2 stars. Highlights: Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River, Cowgirl in the Sand

Neil Young... former rock star... now big, dumb blowhard... but, when he was hot he was hot... five stars for this one... Cinnamon Girl, Down By The River, Cowgirl in the Sand... need i say more? the title track is a banger... the other songs top... to know that he has a FEW albums that are way better than this one, is a bit awe inspiring... gotta give it up...

oh wow, an album I already know so well. I mean. Absolute banger. TWO 10 minute songs. Neil you dog. Down by the river rocks.

An all time classic and a formative album for me. Cinnamon Girl is one of the best songs ever IMO.

I think this one reached me at a great time. Very enjoyable listen!

Amazing 10/10

Beautiful

Another banger from Neil.

Fa estoy amando los aspectos mas prog rock de este album. Creo que se balancea muy bien con el resto de canciones asi mas tradicionales country rock. Tipo hay cada solo en esto... en la cancion de 9 min especialmente. Pero en running dry por ejemplo la parte instrumental con el violín re chillón? Suuuuuuper ethereal lo amo.

Classic. Didn't get to listen to the whole thing, but I'm very familiar with it. Love pretty much all of it. The guitars are wonderful, but I have to mention the bass playing. So slinky and groovy.

Great. Not a Neil Young fan but I loved this album

Fantastic album that combines great melodies, ragged and crunchy performances, and a couple of Young’s best tunes.

Loose and rocking, good songs and a couple long jams

Neil Young is a Canadian treasure and his output here is nothing short of magnificent.

Repeat listen

A hallucinatory hillbilly classic. Perfect for a hazy spring drive.

another absolute and clear 5! one of my fave neil young albums. cinnamon girl never gets old, such a great song! i love neil young’s guitar playing style. his solos are just great even though they may not be perfect or clean in someone else’s eyes. to me they hold a lot of emotion and character.

just an absurdly godlike display of musical vocabulary...lush hypnotic ballads, upbeat boppers, dirges, and ofc huge guitar workouts, all in a voice both literal and artistic that is just instantly vivid and unstoppable. many moments make me think this is exactly what music Should Be. difficult to write about, at least atm, but yet more proof that neil young is likely one of the great Defining Artists of future azzy, whenever i get to the full soaking in his work

Yes

Znači ovaj album ima naslovnu stvar, cinammon Girl, cowgirl in the sand i down by the Water, pa nek mi netko kaže nešto protiv starog neila.

so good man

Neil Young album #3 and the best one so far. I can't think of any reason to give this less than 5 stars; the whole thing is solid. Cinnamon Girl has always been one my favorite songs of his, but this was my first time listening to this album in its entirety. CG is bold and grungy and features beautiful vocal harmonies from Danny Whitten. They had a great rapport playing guitar together as well, especially in Down by the River. Another favorite moment is the haunting violin feature on Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets). I'm kind of rushing this review, but I really like this album!

Neil Young’s best album. The guitar solos are iconic

Goddamn, been too long since I’ve given this one a spin and listen to Crazy Horse blow doors down. Cinnamon Girl/Down By the River/ Cowgirl in the Sand make this record, the rest of the record is solid, but it doesn’t waste time with a lot of filler. It breathes easy and leaves plenty of room for just the right amount of jamming when necessary.

Fantastic sound! I really enjoyed this listen and have a new favorite artist to explore.

9/10

Saw Neil Young, thought "here we go, another Young album I have to get through". Really wasn't looking forward to it, was not in the mood. Turns out to be my favourite Neil Young album thus far, and an absolutely beautiful record. Every song is great. Crazy Horse bring a lot to the table. Wow! That's why I love this 1001 albums process so much. You are forced to listen to albums you otherwise wouldn't.

Brilliant guitar solos mixed with well crafted lyrics. Very campfire-esque vibe. Really loved it.

Great Neil Young record

Really enjoyed this album over a Neil young greatest hits

If Neil Young had finished his career with CSNY he still would have been famous for all time. Between that and Buffalo Springfield, he produced a lot of iconic music in a short time. A listen to his first album may have had you thinking that it would be better if that were so. His second album, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere would have changed that opinion in a heartbeat. It propelled Young to stardom as a solo artist, alongside his backing band Crazy Horse, and he kept going from there. The rest of his albums througout the 1970s were hit makers and part of the common culture of the time. Many of the songs from that era are staples of classic rock. This is the album that kicked it off. Standout songs such as Cinnamon Girl and Down By The River, as well as Cowgirl in the Sand capture the emerging zeitgeist of the era and sound more 70s than 60s. It was Country Rock that got the balance between Country and Rock correct, and is a formula that can stll be heard in modern Country Music today. It's unfortunate that Young's music became less accessible, that the balance shifted more toward Rock, and that his politics overcame his muscianship later in his career, especially in the 1990s. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, however, captures Young at the beginning of his solo career, mature enough to make memorable music, but young enough to be idealistic. It launched him to stardom before he fizzled.

One of my favorite Neil Young records. Straight rocker.

Actually incredible pick. Best new album I've heard so far. Love the songwriting, love the electric guitar.

Bloody brilliant album. Fast becoming a fan of Neil Young.

Yes

Amazing record, especially the first side. A bit less consistent on the second, bur hard to argue with an album that includes those first 4 songs.

Neil Young has so many records out that they are of inconsistent quality. When he’s on he’s on. On this one he is on.

I love this album and has two of my favourite Neil songs - cowgirl in the sand and down by the river. The solos on both of these are full of so much emotion and his voice is so beautiful. Be on my side, I’ll be on your side.

Lovely.

was really good, will realisten soon and give a good review. 8/10 so far

I was tempted to go 4/5 because of some of these misses, but the highs are so high. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere is one of my all time favorite songs. Huge album in my life. Down By The River was one of the first songs my Dad taught me and I’ve probably “jammed” playing over those chords 100 hours. Em….7th!? Revolutionary. To be fair, I also have vivid memories desperately changing the song when Round and Round, Losing End or Running Dry hit. Round and Round is...inexplicable. Been thinking about my critiques of Pavement, that they were sloppy, when listening to this. At first glance some of this may seem "sloppy" as well, but in my mind this playing style is free / instinctual vs. careless / sloppy. I think its a fine line. An imperfect album for sure, but one of my favorites.

This is a special record, amazing throughout. So influential. Great guitar playing, long and meanandering but also tight and without a wasted moment at the same time??

I’m at a 5. I truly don’t know what went wrong with Rust Never Sleeps – did I just not have the tolerance for it? Was the folk half THAT bad for a guy who’s shown to have great songwriting chops in the several albums we’ve gotten since? It’s the only Neil Young album I haven’t given a 5, and I feel like I need to revisit it, given that it was the 7th album we got. Regardless of all that, this is a stellar album; the only “meh” here is “The Losing End (When You're On)”, and I still thought it was a pretty solid track that just didn’t click for me. The rest of this is a great rock album, and Crazy Horse’s contributions that shined on the back half of Rust Never Sleeps are in full force here, arguably better, more fleshed out, and more grand, in a way that really enhances the album experience. Even with the two longer tracks on this album, both of which are excellent, this thing flew by. Neil Young’s vocals are great, though his lyricism is a bit flatter here than on Harvest or After The Gold Rush. The instrumentation is what sells this album by a mile – the extended guitar solos, the grunge-y feel (for 1969!), & the twangy hint of folk & country scattered into this really makes it work. I don’t wanna go on a longer diatribe, because I think the music truly speaks for itself here; I just really, really liked this. I think it’s easily deserving of a 5, and it’s absolutely worth being on the list. Neil Young is really, REALLY good at this.

One of the better Neil Young albums IMO

I prefer Neil when he's properly rockin', so his collabs with Crazy Horse are usually right up my alley. This is no different

Last time it was a Neil Young album I was like holy shit I need to listen to more Neil Young and then never did. Now its a different Neil Young & Crazy Horse album and holy shit I need to listen to more Neil Young

Das zweite Studioalbum von Neil Young, aufgenommen mit seiner Band Crazy Horse. Es wurde im Mai 1969 in den Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles, Kalifornien, produziert und ist ein wichtiger Meilenstein in Youngs Karriere. Das Album kombiniert Elemente von Folk, Rock und Country, was es zu einem frühen Beispiel für den charakteristischen Sound von Neil Young in den folgenden Jahren machen sollte. Die Band bestand zu diesem Zeitpunkt aus Neil Young (Gesang, Gitarre), Billy Talbot (Bass), Ralph Molina (Schlagzeug) und Danny Whitten (Gitarre). Young, der kanadische Musiker, konnte mit diesem Werk eine breite Palette von musikalischen Einflüssen in einem einzigartigen Stil vereinen. Das Album wurde von Neil Young selbst produziert, wobei der Sound bewusst rau und ungeschliffen gehalten wurde, was den Charakter der Musik verstärkte. Herausragend auf dem Album sind vor allem die Songs Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River und Cowgirl in the Sand. Diese Stücke verbinden einfache, aber eingängige Melodien mit langen, improvisierten Gitarrensoli, die typisch für den Rock der späten 1960er und frühen 1970er Jahre sind. Besonders Down by the River und Cowgirl in the Sand stachen durch ihre psychedelischen Elemente und ausgedehnten instrumentalen Passagen hervor. Das Genre des Albums lässt sich schwer auf nur eine Kategorie festlegen, da es sowohl Rock als auch Folk und Country-Elemente umfasst. Der Mix aus akustischen und elektrischen Gitarren, kombiniert mit Youngs markanter Stimme, bildet die Grundlage für den einzigartigen Sound des Albums. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere ist ein wichtiger Schritt in Neil Youngs künstlerischer Entwicklung. Es stellt eine gelungene Mischung aus rauem, energiegeladenem Rock und introspektiven Folk-Elementen dar. Das Album bleibt ein entscheidender Moment in der Geschichte von Young und Crazy Horse und hat einen bleibenden Einfluss auf die Rockmusik der 1970er Jahre.

Vrhunski album!! Baš ima svega, od laganica do peglica, a voza cijelo vrijeme 👌🏻mislim da mi je Cowgirl najdraža, ali Down by the River je baš klasik na koji uvijek mogu odlijepiti. Ovo će morati biti 5/5, 9/10.

Outstanding Crazy Horse album. The guitar work is incredible

Classic early Neil solo album. I really hope that he didn't really shoot his baby :(

Total classic, it was great to listen to it again. I own this on vinyl

Really nice guitar riffs, jazzy but at the same time country-ish. Little tracks but long, and a few great ones.

We love Neil.

5/5. If this was just three songs, Cinnamon Girl jam at 10 minutes, keep Down by the River the same, and extend Cowgirl by another 10 minutes, it would be awesome. Let's be real, Neil is not a great guitar player but he is a good enough guitar player to jam, and that's what it's all about here. Not all of the songs are perfect, sure, but in the context of the album, they create good breaks between the jams. I wouldn't say I would play one outside of the album but front to back it's perfect. It's a little difficult to get into at first but once you get the energy they are going for, which feels like a jam session in a park, then it lets you relax and vibe with the simple solos and riffs. Best Song: Cinnamon Girl, Down By The River, Cowgirl In The Sand

It's a sound of pop soft rock woth some country instrumenta, the motives are very in love and my hymn is now Running Dry)

One of the greatest guitar albums ever.

8.5/10 I like this a lot. Would put this on while driving somewhere.

This was a great vibe. Really chill, comfy music. Lyrics were wonderous and nice to follow along to.

I know this, but listening to it a few more times in its entirety finally, let me see what masterpiece it actually is. It is so raw and honest in its performance and in the way the production and recording capture the art. Danny’s guitar playing is simultaneously simple and complex, which threw me in and kept my complete focus, especially on Down by the River.

Alright, this will be the fourth Neil Young album I've listened to on my journey. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere is the first album he worked on with the band Crazy Horse, and I already covered a later collaborative album with them, Rust Never Sleeps. Not only do I enjoy this more than Rust Never Sleeps, but this is the most enjoyment I've had from Neil since Harvest. The key here is Crazy Horse's guitarist Danny Whitten. He played amazingly on this record, where a variety of riffs pop off with ease from him, and the interplay he had with Neil was stellar. I already knew the guitar work was good from the opening track "Cinnamon Girl", but the rest of the album delivered in spades. Aiding that notion is the tight rhythm section of Billy Talbot on bass and Ralph Molina on drums that carry the tonal weight, with the lone exception of the soft acoustic ballad of "Round & Round (It Won't Be Long) as Neil and Robin Lane's harmonized vocals sing of a spiraling down path towards self-destruction. In fact, Neil's lyrics are potent and well-varied throughout the experience, from relationships found and lost on "Cinnamon Girl", "The Losing End (When You're On)" and "Cowgirl in the Sand", to scathing accounts of the music industry on the title track, to the requiem "Running Dry" reminiscing about the band The Rockets whose members went on to become Crazy Horse on, to probably one of the most striking tales of murder I've heard on "Down by the River". What more can I say about such an excellent album? Everybody Knows This is Nowhere fully embodied the sound of an ambitious songwriter who wanted to stake his claim with a band he found pathos with. This was the start of an excellent partnership.

Quite simply, this sounds fantastic. Just one trigger warning: If you're squealing about the Beatles' "Run for Your Life," you are really going to have trouble with "Down By The River."

Wow. This album is available on Spotify. I remember buying this CD. 5/5

Ragged, loose and haunting – haunting because it all feels so heartfelt and vulnerable. The power comes from the tension in the frayed dueling axes – rough and ragged intertwinings (that seem like dark, eerie thinking in "Down By the River" and the eerie-ominous background "la-la-las"), which then get sort of unhurried and spare and ominous. Engaging/edgy riffs abound – the opening solo on "Cowgirl" is fully gripping, as is nearly every second of the 10+ minutes (probalby because about seven of those minutes are solos). The layered vocals, which can get a little warbly and nearly broken, are also compelling, but that's the risk with such poignant vulnerability. There's tenderness and determination, discouragement and a touch of insanity all along the edges; the singing on "Round and Round" sounds like a prayer. Similarly, the fiddle on "Running Dry" nearly breaks one's heart. In other words, there's plenty of madness and sorrow (as the song promises) but whether it's too much one must decide for oneself. Either way, this is an underrated masterpiece.

6 stars

The roots of alt country. Several Neil Young classics. Tasteful harmonies and great raw guitar arrangements. As a collection of songs it’s up there with his best.

I liked this a lot, way more than I thought. I didn't recognize anything at all on it. Everything was different but still fits together, never felt stagnant, never felt repetitive. Felt very 60s, but in a good way. Got CCR vibes at times, didn't realize this would lean as country as it did. I loved everything on this, a couple of long songs that I didn't want to end. I thought Down By The River was the best song, then heard Running Dry and I almost forgot about Down By The River. Then I heard Cowgirl on the Sand, and forgot about the other two. I feel like a bunch of Indy Rock bands have been chasing this sound and feeling for my whole life. I could believe that it came out 5 years ago, instead of 50. I think those 3 songs are all in the top 5-7 songs I've heard through this so far. If this isn't a 5, I'm not sure what is.

5 stars off of "Down by the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" by themselves. Throw in the title track and "Cinnamon Girl" and we're in business. 7 tracks, 40 minutes in and out, no filler....classic album

a stoner classic, and a wonderful combination of band and singer

A sound all of his own. A unique and heartwrenchly 'broken' voice and a dirty and imperfectly perfect guitar tone. Also Crazy Horse have to be one of the greatest backing bands. The song writing is on point and can't fault the record

Solid

Excellent Neil Young album!

What an absolute balm this album is. Young is a master beyond his years. I wish I’d been alive in 1969 to experience this in its time. Also, talk about track 1 bangers—Cinnamon Girl is so rad!

I knew all these songs, but had not listened to the album from start to finish. A masterpiece for sure.

Great album

Beautiful album. Every song is great and I appreciated his singing much more than usual. Favorites: Pretty much all of them

Fuck yes. Beef would be proud