Ragged Glory (1990)

I think of Ragged Glory as “my” Neil Young album as I bought it (on cassette!) when it first came out (Freedom had been out for a bit when I got into Neil). The first new Neil album to come out after I was introduced to him, an album my dad didn’t know and it came out when my fandom for Neil was probably at it’s highest. He was a new obsession for me, spending hours listening to tapes of my dad’s records. And, of course, this came out right at the age where I could go to concerts with my dad. So we saw the Smell the Horse Tour in January 1991 (more on that when I cover Weld). So yeah, Ragged Glory is seared into my brain as a special album. It’s not as immediately identifiable as his 70s work, but it’s definitely a continuation of that Zuma sound that is what fans think of most when they think of Neil. It’s the Horse, Old Black’s specific tone, and long jams.

It’s so good.

A little bit of context for how they recorded Ragged Glory. The band recorded in a plywood barn on Neil’s Broken Arrow ranch (that “country home”) for a couple weeks, playing a different set of songs every day and not reviewing any of the recordings. Then, with producer David Briggs, they went back through them and selected the best takes. This allowed them to “not think; thinking is deadly for the Horse.” A more detailed account of how the album was recorded is this article by engineer John Hanlon.

“Country Home” hits me different now. As a teen, I saw the word “country” and heard a bit of twang and never registered just how good this track is. It rolls off the top of this album so well. The guitar tone is familiar and clean (surprising given how much monitor bleed this album has), but that harmony! Oh my days. It’s so gorgeous, probably one of my favorite Crazy Horse harmonies in Neil’s catalog now. The harmonies in general on this album are fantastic. And this is one of the songs that was originally written in the 70s but never recorded. The next song, “White Line,” was also from the 70s and recorded for Homegrown in a more laid back style. It’s a roller here, giving you a better sense of the feeling barreling down the highway, keeping an eye on the title reference.

What can you say about “Fuckin’ Up” that hasn’t been said before? It’s probably the song from this session with the longest legs, having been covered extensively by other bands like Pearl Jam and Bush and become a staple of Neil’s live shows ever since. That groove is simple but unforgettable. Interestingly this is one of a handful of songs in Neil’s entire catalog with a co-writing credit, by none other than Poncho. Frank Sampedro replaced Danny Whitten on rhythm guitar and has proved himself to be one of Neil’s most versatile collaborators, having survived the tumultuous 80s to even appear on This Note’s For You and Freedom, when Crazy Horse’s rhythm section was sent packing.

Here we go with another great sing-a-long chorus harmony by Neil and the Horse (and another song first written in the decade prior). “Over and Over” was always one of my favorites on the album. Half the songs here start with a guitar solo before a lyric is uttered and this is no exception. It’s a straight love song, nothing especially thought-provoking or unique to the lyrics, but given that epic “Like a Hurricane” quality that makes the love talked about feel more grandiose and mythic. A couple short verses, the wonderful chorus, and we are back in another guitar solo. There’s a case to be made that this album contains Neil’s best guitar playing and the sounds he wrings out of Old Black here are a perfect demonstration. This track makes me think of zooming around the coast in the summer (this may have coincided with a family vacation…). I’ve become lightly obsessed with this song.

“Love to Burn” is the second longest song here at ten minutes. I remember this being a favorite of mine back in the day, probably because of the guitar playing, but in retrospect it’s a bit redundant (the longest song, “Love and Only Love” does what it does better, I think). That said, the guitar solo about three minutes in is exceptional. It’s only now that I realize how personal the lyrics are. I find I have less patience for “Farmer John” than I did as a teen. Recorded on the last day of the sessions amidst an earthquake, they did it as sort of a lark and that’s how it feels. It breaks up the sameness of some songs a bit, with it’s herky-jerky stomp and drunken caroling. Most of Ragged Glory feels like it’s floating on a bed of guitar solos and beautiful choruses, which can make some of the songs blend together a little bit. It was smart to break them up a bit, but there’s a bit too much hokeyness to this cover for my ears in 2022.

The excellent “Mansion on the Hill” flew over my head way back when, but now I understand it to be an ode to Neil’s Topanga Canyon days, where drugs and parties were everywhere and frequent. There’s also a pun in the title referring to Charles Manson, who Neil knew briefly. Fantastic song, it just soars majestically…”psychedelic music fills the air…” The follow up “Days That Used To Be” was written in the same session as “Ordinary People” and “Crime in the City” and is heavily inspired by Bob Dylan’s “My Back Pages.” It’s a great, tight song, and would be a standout on any album that didn’t contain some of the best Crazy Horse jams of Neil’s career.

Speaking of which…”Love and Only Love” is the penultimate song and serves as somewhat of a giant encapsulation of the entire album. Full of memorable grooves, a great hook, and Neil’s longest and most intricate guitar solos. No wonder this song became a centerpiece of live shows in the three decades since. “Love and only love will endure/Hate is what you think it is/Love and only love will break it down” might be a motto for Neil’s life.

The album ends with a live recording of “Mother Earth (Natural Anthem),” a harmonized paean to nature and a plea for more ecological care and concern. It’s sung to the tune of the traditional folk song “The Water is Wide” and backed by Neil riffing on Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner.” I like it, it’s a little out of place, but it’s so earnest, it’s hard to deny it’s poignancy:

Respect Mother Earth
And her giving ways
Or trade away
Our children's days

One final thought on the timing of this album. It was recorded in 1990 and released in 1991, which is when “grunge” became the new dominant genre on the scene. Nirvana had released one album, Pearl Jam’s debut was about to come out, Soundgarden was on the cusp of breaking through. Neil was quickly embraced by this movement (especially by Pearl Jam: more on that in a few weeks) and dubbed the “Godfather of Grunge.” It’s a media label, but it’s an interesting way to frame Neil’s continuing relevance. Despite going far afield of his classic 70s sounds, he returned to it just as that sound was being adopted by a new generation. I was a fan of all of those bands and it felt right to me to listen to this older musician right along with the new ones.

Top 3:

1. Over and Over
2. Country Home
3. Mansion on the Hill

Cut song: Farmer John

I think I owned a shirt from this tour that said “Don’t Spook The Horse” on it with a drawing of a horse head. I never knew until semi-recently that it was a song on the b-side of the “Mansion on the Hill” single. The instrumental is great and fits right in on Ragged Glory, but the vocal is another joke. I kind of wonder if Neil had the music but not the lyrics and this was just him trying out vocals on it. In a lot of ways, I wish this was on the album as just an instrumental. It’s got a great laid-back vibe that I’d take over “Farmer John.” Apparently Briggs hated this song. Given these lyrics and vocal performance, I get it.