It's hard not to like Neil Young if you love rock music, but it's almost impossible to keep track of his vast catalogue. As of July 2026, he has released 45 studio albums, along with 22 live albums, soundtracks, EPs, box sets and much more. I know perhaps a dozen of his records, mostly from the 1970s and 1990s, but even when it comes to the classic Neil Young albums, there are still plenty of gaps in my listening. Today I learned that his fifth album "On the Beach" forms part of the so-called Ditch Trilogy, recorded after the huge mainstream success of "Harvest", at a time when Young was going through a profound personal and artistic crisis. It's rougher, simpler and more downbeat than "Harvest", and it takes a few listens to reveal itself. Once it does, though, it says a great deal about the essence of Young's music, which has always been political in the broadest sense and deeply sympathetic towards outsiders and those left behind. It's as authentic, principled, uncompromising and unconventional as Neil Young himself. It's not his best album—because with Neil Young, such a thing probably doesn't exist—but it is certainly one of his finest. And the album is worth hearing for the tender, haunting intensity of "Ambulance Blues" alone.