Landing on Water (1986)

For whatever reason, I chose to disguise the music, and keep everything inside the music, and not reach out, do things in styles that I knew would piss everybody off so nobody would even buy it or listen to it. (Interview with Spin, 1994)

The interview above also has Neil describing a bit of a scorched earth scenario for Landing on Water’s theme: landing on water in a crashing plane is considered almost impossible (obviously this was 20 years before Sully). Neil laughs about the absurdity of landing where there’s no floor. Absurd is a good descriptor for Landing on Water, despite it sounding exactly like the year it was from and honestly, sounding a hell of a lot like the popular rock music of the past decade. That’s the strangest thing about this odd album, it’s perfectly in tune with its time, but also prescient of the melding of acoustic, electronic, and electronic production that will overtake the radio waves 30 years later.

But to return to the quote I started this off with, it’s clear that Neil is attempting to make a hit record by copying the sounds and production of hit records…but he knew that his fans would hate it and not buy it. It’s telling that his tenure with Geffen is almost over (the next album would be his last there). What a weird guy. I can’t think of another music artist who cares less than him if something sells/is listened to.

The bizarre thing is that I kind of dig this album. It’s not at all what I like about Neil or why I became a Neil fan, but it hits at other preferences of mine, specifically electronic music. The high electronic notes and synthesized strings and sound effects on “Weight of the World” are just cool. And certainly a lot more successful than Trans. Some of these songs even rock, with great guitar playing and hard hitting percussion (“Violent Side” isn’t one of them, which is one of the cheesiest things Neil has ever done)…but it’s that overly effected percussion and electronic bass that bugs people. Maybe I’m just a child of the 80s, but those aren’t the parts of this effort that bother me. The aforementioned cheesy “Violent Side” is what makes me look for the skip button. Where “Weight of the World” proves Neil can rock with electronics, “Violent Side” seems like a cut and paste job on any popular 80s song.

“Hippie Dream” is another “Thrasher”-style stab at the sellout side of CSN, coming across as a lament for the ideals of the era Neil came up in. It’s ironic he’s singing this while making a grab for the current music style du jour. But that’s what makes the context of this album so interesting. He’s doing something that demonstrates what a successful artist should do to make his label happy, knowing it won’t work and Geffen will still suffer. Rather than letting Neil just be Neil, Geffen tried to interfere and got burnt. Neil won in the end. “Bad News Beat” is pretty lightweight and of a type with “Violent Side.” Just not much interesting going on here.

The terribly titled “Touch the Night” is Neil trying to be Eddie Money or Don Henley and coming across very out of place. However, “People on the Street” is more on the Talking Heads side of things and it works for me. It’s not as subtle, of course, but it’s one of the songs here that I think does what it was suppose to do. Be funky and oddly poignant, with audience pleasing flourishes and catchy phrases. “Hard Luck Stories”…sigh, could be any 80s commercial or TV show theme song. I know he performs this in other contexts and I’m curious to hear what it sounds like separated from this overly processed production.

The last three songs are where this experiment are most successful and most like the opening “Weight of the World,” shifting back towards rock music accompanied by electronics, as opposed to the middle of the album’s play for “pop.” “I Got a Problem” has a great riff and catchy melody without tipping over into cheese. “Pressure” is very earnest with dryer drums and less flourish. You can actually hear Steve Jordan play on this. It’s still incredibly emblematic of the year it was made, but feels more sparse and sincere. The album closes with “Drifter,” and its distinct repeating guitar sound. I’m honestly surprised this song wasn’t popular. It seems perfectly designed for a crossover hit, with classic Neil song and guitar, despite the percussion production keeping it in line with the rest of the album.

Will I ever listen to this album again? Most likely not, but I rate it higher than the last three albums, that’s for sure.

Top 3:

1. I Got a Problem
2. Weight of the World
3. People on the Street

Cut song: Violent Side