Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Rust Never Sleeps [REPRISE]

Why you'll love it

Half acoustic, half roaring, Rust Never Sleeps peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and is widely heard as a blueprint for grunge.

This edition

• Remastered
• Lyrics included
• Pressed in the Netherlands

About the album

Neil Young borrowed his title from an old rustproofing slogan, and he meant it: keep moving or seize up. In 1978 he took Crazy Horse on a tour full of brand-new songs, then built this album from those shows, overdubbing in the studio where it suited him.

Side one is Neil alone with an acoustic guitar and harmonica, opening with "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)" and taking in "Thrasher" and "Pocahontas." Flip it and Crazy Horse come crashing in for "Powderfinger," one of his most loved songs, "Welfare Mothers" and the howling "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)."

The fuzz-drenched second side became a touchstone for Nirvana and Pearl Jam a decade later. Few records have aged this well, which, given the title, is exactly the point.

Also at Kops: more Neil Young on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Reprise (cat# 552058-1), a reissue of the 1979 album.