HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Tonight's the Night'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian / American songwriter
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...
. It was recorded in August–September 1973, mostly on August 26, but its release was delayed until June 1975. It peaked at No. 25 on the ''Billboard'' 200. In 2003, the album was ranked number 331 on ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' magazine's list of
the 500 greatest albums of all time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...
, moving up to number 330 in the list's 2012 edition and climbing further to number 302 in the 2020 update. The album is the third and final of the so-called "Ditch Trilogy" of albums that Young released following the major success of 1972's ''
Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most l ...
'', whereupon the scope of his success and acclaim became so difficult for Young to handle that he subsequently experienced alienation from his music and career.


Content

''Tonight's the Night'' is a direct expression of grief.
Crazy Horse Crazy Horse ( lkt, Tȟašúŋke Witkó, italic=no, , ; 1840 – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota war leader of the Oglala band in the 19th century. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by w ...
guitarist Danny Whitten and Young's friend and roadie Bruce Berry had both died of drug overdoses in the months before the songs were written. The title track mentions Berry by name, while Whitten's guitar and vocal work highlight "Come on Baby Let's Go Downtown"; the latter was recorded live in 1970. The song would later appear, unedited, on a live album from the same concerts, '' Live at the Fillmore East'', with Whitten credited as the sole author. Fans have long speculated that an alternate version of ''Tonight's the Night'' exists. Neil Young's father, Scott Young, wrote of it in his memoir, ''Neil and Me'':
Ten years after the original recording, David Briggs and I talked about ''Tonight's the Night'', on which he had shared the producer credit with Neil. At home a couple of weeks earlier he had come across the original tape, the one that wasn't put out. "I want to tell you, it is a handful. It is unrelenting. There is no relief in it at all. It does not release you for one second. It's like some guy having you by the throat from the first note, and all the way to the end." After all the real smooth stuff Neil had been doing, David felt most critics and others simply failed to read what they should have into ''Tonight's the Night'' – that it was an artist making a giant growth step. Neil came in during this conversation, which was in his living room. When David stopped Neil said, "You've got that original? I thought it was lost. I've never been able to find it. We'll bring it out someday, that original."
The band assembled for the album was known as The Santa Monica Flyers. It consisted of Young,
Ben Keith Bennett Keith Schaeufele (March 6, 1937 – July 26, 2010), better known by his stage name Ben Keith, was an American musician and record producer. Known primarily for his work as a pedal steel guitarist with Neil Young, Keith was a fixture of ...
,
Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a memb ...
, and the Crazy Horse rhythm section of Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina. One track as stated above was taken from recordings of an earlier tour with Crazy Horse, and another from an earlier session with his band for ''
Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most l ...
'', The Stray Gators.


Liner notes

Included with the early original vinyl releases of ''Tonight's the Night'' is a cryptic message written by Young: "I'm sorry. You don't know these people. This means nothing to you." On the front of the insert is a letter to a character called "Waterface"; scratched into the run-out grooves on side one is the message "Hello Waterface" while the run-out grooves on side two read "Goodbye Waterface". No explanation is given to this person's identity. In
Jimmy McDonough Jimmy McDonough is a biographer and journalist. He is best known for his biographies of Russ Meyer, Andy Milligan, Tammy Wynette, Al Green, and Neil Young. He is noted by critics for his remarkably exhaustive accounts and for his tendency to avo ...
's ''Shakey'', Young says that "Waterface is the person writing the letter. When I read the letter, I'm Waterface. It's just a stupid thing—a
suicide note A suicide note or death note is a message left behind by a person who dies or intends to die by suicide. A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depen ...
without the suicide."McDonough, Jimmy. ''Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography''. New York: Random House Inc., 2002 The picture of
Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...
in the insert is taken from a
bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made a ...
tape Young came across and, feeling bad that Orbison most likely did not know the bootleg existed, printed it in the insert for him to see. The back of the insert has some text superimposed over the credits to Young's '' On the Beach'' album, released a year earlier. This text is reportedly the lyrics to a '' Homegrown''-era unreleased song titled "Florida", characterized by McDonough as "a cockamamie spoken-word dream, set to the shrieking accompaniment of either Young or enKeith drawing a wet finger around the rim of a glass." When unfolded, a whole side of the insert features a lengthy article printed entirely in Dutch. It is a review of a ''Tonight's the Night'' live show by Dutch journalist Constant Meijers for the Dutch rock music magazine ''
Muziekkrant OOR ''OOR'' is the oldest currently published music magazine in the Netherlands. ''Oor'' is the Dutch word for ear. Until 1984 it was published as ''Muziekkrant Oor''. History The magazine was first published on 1 April 1971, being founded by Bar ...
''. In 1976 Young said he chose to print it "Because I didn't understand any of it myself, and when someone is so sickened and fucked up as I was then, everything's in Dutch anyway." Meijers later spent a week at Young's ranch in California: during this visit, Young explained that he chose the article after some Dutch girls who were visiting him translated the story and made him aware of the fact "that someone on the other end of the world exactly understood what he was trying to say." The
Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...
label on the vinyl copy was printed in black and white rather than the standard orange color, a process Young undertook again on the CD label art for 1994's '' Sleeps with Angels''. Early editions of the sleeve were made on blotter paper. In ''Shakey'', Young maintains that along with the inserts there was a small package of glitter inside the sleeve that was meant to fall out ("our Bowie statement"), spilling when the listener took the record out. However, neither McDonough nor Young archivist Joel Bernstein have yet found a copy of ''Tonight's the Night'' featuring the glitter package.


Critical reception

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of '' Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as '' Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone'', and has ...
wrote in the original ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' review: In a follow-up review published in the 1983 edition of '' The New Rolling Stone Record Guide'', Marsh writes: Chris Fallon of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television ...
'' said, "''Tonight's the Night'' is that one rare record I will never tire of."


Track listing

All songs written by Neil Young, except where noted.


Personnel

*
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...
– vocals; guitar on "World on a String", "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown", "Mellow My Mind", "Roll Another Number", "Albuquerque", "New Mama", "Lookout Joe", and "Tired Eyes"; piano on "Tonight's the Night", "Speakin' Out", and "Borrowed Tune"; harmonica on "World on a String", "Borrowed Tune", and "Mellow My Mind"; vibes on "New Mama" *
Ben Keith Bennett Keith Schaeufele (March 6, 1937 – July 26, 2010), better known by his stage name Ben Keith, was an American musician and record producer. Known primarily for his work as a pedal steel guitarist with Neil Young, Keith was a fixture of ...
pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can ...
, vocal on "Tonight's the Night", "Speakin' Out", "Roll Another Number", "Albuquerque", and "Tired Eyes"; pedal steel guitar on "World on a String" and "Mellow My Mind"; vocal on "New Mama";
slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos t ...
, vocal on "Lookout Joe" *
Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a memb ...
– piano on "World on a String", "Mellow My Mind", "Roll Another Number", "Albuquerque", "New Mama", and "Tired Eyes"; vocal on "Roll Another Number", "Albuquerque", and "Tired Eyes"; guitar on "Tonight's the Night" and "Speakin' Out" * Danny Whitten – vocal, electric guitar on "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown" *
Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spe ...
– electric piano on "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown"; piano on "Lookout Joe" * Billy Talbot – bass all tracks except "Borrowed Tune", "New Mama", and "Lookout Joe" *
Tim Drummond Timothy Lee Drummond (20 April 1940 – 10 January 2015) was an American musician from Canton, Illinois. Drummond's primary instrument was bass guitar and he toured and recorded with many notable artists, including Conway Twitty, Bob Dylan, Jame ...
– bass on "Lookout Joe" * Ralph Molina – drums, vocal all tracks except "Borrowed Tune" and "Lookout Joe" *
Kenny Buttrey Aaron Kenneth Buttrey (April 1, 1945 – September 12, 2004) was an American drummer and arranger. According to CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history". Buttrey was born in Nashville, Tennessee, became ...
– drums on "Lookout Joe" * George Whitsell – vocal on "New Mama"


Charts

Year End Album Charts


Certifications


Covers

In 2018, Australian singer-songwriter
Emma Swift Emma Swift (born 15 December 1981) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Before becoming a musician, she was a radio broadcaster, hosting Americana music show ''In the Pines'' on FBi Radio and ''Revelator'' on Double J at Australian Broadcastin ...
covered "Mellow My Mind" on a split 7-inch single with Pony Boy (the recording pseudonym of Los Angeles singer-songwriter Marchelle Bradanini), on which both musicians covered Neil Young songs. Vermont band
Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike G ...
has covered "Albuquerque" 16 times.


References


External links


Lyrics
a
HyperRust.org


also at HyperRust.org
''Tonight's the Night''
at Myspace (streamed copy where licensed) {{Authority control Album chart usages for Canada Album chart usages for Netherlands Album chart usages for UK2 Album chart usages for Billboard200 1975 albums Neil Young albums Albums produced by David Briggs (producer) Reprise Records albums Albums produced by Neil Young Albums produced by Elliot Mazer