On The Beach (1974)

The thing to remember about On The Beach is that it was recorded after Tonight’s the Night, the alcohol-fueled musical wake for Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry that wouldn’t be released until 1975. After recording that album, the band went out on tour and exorcized their grief night after night, bottle after bottle. For his next recording adventure, Neil exchanged grief for sleaze and alcohol for “honey slides” (alcohol was still there, though). Honey slides were a concoction that Ben Keith and cajun fiddler Rusty Kershaw introduced to the sessions, fried marijuana combined with honey:

Rusty would pour it down your throat and within ten minutes you were catatonic. (Eliott Roberts, Shakey)

That catatonic feeling pervades On The Beach. Tonight’s the Night and On The Beach are like two halves of the same feeling, one in the midst of grief, the other the exhale afterwards. To put it another way, Tonight’s the Night is the album that sounds like a drunken party and On The Beach is the album you play on the way home. Of course, in typical Neil fashion, these are released out of order. The record company (and Neil to some extent) weren’t sure about releasing Tonight’s the Night so we got On The Beach first.

I don’t think it’s being hyperbolic to say that “Walk On” is one of Neil’s greatest songs. For one, it’s “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” before that was ever a twinkle in Shawn Carter’s eyes. Neil is grappling with stardom again and people talking about him, but instead of complaining about it, he realizes it’s really nothing to do with him. The other reason this is one of his best songs is that it’s just so lively and fun. No wonder Poker Face signed off it’s inaugural season with it. The song had its genesis in those Tonight’s the Night sessions, even making it onto early track lists and the crazed tour that preceded this recording. The personnel is almost identical on both versions, but the earlier version has Nils Lofgren and a more pronounced slide guitar by Ben Keith. The final version improves on that sound by putting Neil’s incredible guitar riff up front, while his vocal take is in general a lot more upbeat. You can almost see his smile while listening.

Neil has been trying to find a take and a home for “See The Sky About To Rain” since at least 1970 when it started showing up in solo shows. He recorded a jaunty version with the Stray Gators during the Harvest sessions but in most other versions, it remains a pretty sleepy piano-led number. Aside from its imagery and poetry, it’s never been a song that held my attention and honestly feels a bit out of place on On The Beach. I would have rather seen the incredible “Bad Fog of Loneliness” in this slot. Thematically and sonically it fits the album better. It had even been recorded by David Briggs at Broken Arrow during the first sessions for this album (where “Walk On” and “For The Turnstiles” came from). It’s one of those typical Neil wrinkles that “Bad Fog of Loneliness” clearly belongs on this album but wouldn’t get an official release until the Live at Massey Hall album in 2007.

Speaking of those early sessions, David Briggs started recording Neil for this album at Broken Arrow ranch late in 1973, but shortly became ill and couldn’t continue the recording. Neil decamped with Ben Keith and Tim Drummond to Sunset Sound in Hollywood with producer Al Schmitt for what they termed “Hollywood Babylon.” These sessions form the bulk of the album and represent a purposely sleazy side of the music industry. Ben Keith would bring Rusty Kershaw into the fold. Aside from the honey slides, Kershaw would be the de facto producer of the album. He suggested making the studio more homelike, bringing furniture in and bringing all the musicians closer to together. He especially wanted to play close to Neil’s “heavy vibe” and essentially anticipate his songs before ever hearing them. Quite the character, he pulled a knife on Stephen Stills when the latter grabbed a guitar out of his hands. So you’ve got Hollywood sleaze, a crazy Cajun fiddler, and a catatonia-inducing concoction being poured down throats.

When it came time to record “Revolution Blues,” David Crosby was nervous. Not only did Kershaw just laugh at Crosby, but here was a song about Charles Manson, with Neil taking on the persona of Manson, talking about killing celebrities in their cars. The Band’s Levon Helm and Rick Danko provide the funkiest rhythm of Neil’s career, but first they all got a taste of Kershaw’s producing tactics. Feeling like the playing wasn’t evoking “revolution” enough, he started smashing chairs in the studio to get everyone amped up on what “revolution” was really about. The take on the album is the one they recorded right after that. Levon’s drums are punchy and Danko’s bass plunks and stretches out like a jazz player’s. Neil is at his most unhinged here, with dark lyrics evoking the craziness of Manson and alluding to the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders. Neil actually met Manson at Dennis Wilson’s house in in 1968 and even tried to help him get a record deal. It took him a minute to connect the dots in 1969, then another five years to address it in song.

The other Briggs recording from the ranch, “For The Turnstiles” features Neil on banjo and Ben Keith on dobro, with Ben providing loose harmonies. It gives the feeling of two guys on a porch singing an old traditional song. It’s an excellent song in Neil’s catalog, one of the most pure sounding recordings (listen to those foot stomps). The song is all about how it’s hard to make it in music while on tour in the 70s. Fans would come see their local openers then head for the exit (turnstiles) when the touring band came on stage. Big difference to today, where audiences mostly come for the headliner and sometimes give the openers a hard time. It’s a beautifully honest and bare song that shows just how special Neil’s writing was at this time.

In 1973-74, the world was in the grip of the OPEC oil crisis and “Vampire Blues” sees Neil taking on the persona of an oil magnate sucking blood (oil) from the earth. It’s one of his most obvious metaphors but still apt. That odd swiping sound? Tim Drummond scraping a credit card on his beard. Of the songs ending in “Blues” on this album, it’s the most classically blues. However, “On The Beach” might have Neil’s most personally bluesy guitar playing of the album, with an extended solo that is pure emotion. Featuring Graham Nash on an ever present Wurlitzer humming in the background along with Ben’s “hand drums,” it’s a seven minute fever dream. Honey slides translated into sound. Neil expresses his loneliness even when surrounded by people, his need for people combined with a desire to be apart. It’s laconic and multilayered, basically something that could only be created deep in the zone.

“Motion Pictures” is one of the few songs to actually feature Rusty Kershaw, specifically a tweaked out slide guitar turn. The song is so sleepy and drugged out, it sounds like it could fall asleep at any moment. A beautiful ode to Neil’s then-partner Carrie Snodgress, it’s no doubt a clue to just how melancholy Neil was at their deteriorating relationship. Their relationship wouldn’t last much past the release of the album.

Neil closes out On The Beach with a nine-minute tour de force. Many critics have cited “Ambulance Blues” as the best song of his career. Every Neil fan can argue about the actual best Neil song, but you can’t deny this one deserves it’s place in the conversation. Gorgeous guitar playing, a subtle turn on fiddle by Kershaw, sparse rhythm from Ralph Molina, and a loose bass by Ben Keith all wrap around Neil’s complex lyrics. He looks at his past and tries to reconcile it with what he sees going on now. Allusions to CSNY, Patty Hearst, the Navajo murders, and Nixon swirl around personal meditations on music critics. And in the midst of it all, a classic Neil turn: “It’s hard to say the meaning of this song.”

Top 3:

1. Walk On
2. For The Turnstiles
3. Ambulance Blues

Cut song: See The Sky About To Rain (just imagine Bad Fog of Loneliness in that slot)

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