Neil Young: Tonight's the Night (2LP, 50th anniversary, clear vinyl, indie exclusive) [REPRISE]

Why you'll love it

This indie exclusive 50th anniversary set comes on clear vinyl with six bonus tracks, an etched side D and a gatefold jacket. Rolling Stone ranks Tonight's the Night among the 500 greatest albums of all time.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Clear vinyl
• Indie exclusive
• 50th anniversary edition
• Six bonus tracks
• Etched side D
• Gatefold jacket
• Stereo mix
• Pressed in the Netherlands

About the album

After the huge success of Harvest, Neil Young turned away from the middle of the road and headed, as he put it, for the ditch. Tonight's the Night is the deepest point of that trilogy, a raw, grieving record made in the wake of the deaths of Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry. He cut most of it in a single night, August 26, 1973, at S.I.R. Studios in Los Angeles, then sat on it for nearly two years.

The band (Nils Lofgren, Ben Keith, and Crazy Horse's Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina) plays loose and live, and Young sings with no polish at all, which is exactly the point. The title track bookends the album, "Tired Eyes" and "Mellow My Mind" ache, "Albuquerque" drifts down a lonely highway, and "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown" is a 1970 Fillmore East performance with Whitten himself on lead vocal. The bonus side adds "Walk On," "Wonderin'," "Everybody's Alone," a "Speakin' Out" jam and a third take of the title song.

Half a century on, it stands as one of Young's most powerful statements and a touchstone for every band that ever chose feeling over finish. It is the least varnished record in a catalogue that has never been big on varnish.

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

Tracklist

Listen

On Reprise, a reissue of the 1975 album.