Following the success of Harvest, Neil Young released three albums known as the Ditch Trilogy. They represent Young’s anxiety over fame and a creative drift from the chart-topping hit “Heart Of Gold”. He answered the blockbuster album with a raw trio of releases—Time Fades Away, On The Beach, and Tonight’s The Night. Dark, emotionally bare, and fueled by apprehension and personal loss.
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Writing in the liner notes to Decade, Young said, “[‘Heart of Gold’] put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there.”
So let’s travel to the ditch with Young and discover three roadside gems you might have missed.
“Journey Through The Past” from ‘Time Fades Away’ (1973)
For years, Young abandoned Time Fades Away to decay in the archives. The sudden death of Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten, which occurred before the 1973 tour, may have influenced Young’s aversion to the live album. This was his first stop in the ditch. Recorded with The Stray Gators, the tour was riddled with drugs, fights, and riots. “Journey Through The Past” is a lonely piano ballad. Here, his new destination gets weighted down by his past.
When the winter rains come pouring down
On that new home of mine
Will I still be in your eyes and on your mind?
“On The Beach” from ‘On The Beach’ (1974)
In “On The Beach”, Young grapples with fame while struggling with his need for an audience. Harvest brought great fame, but also isolation. While recording the album at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, Young and others downed something they called “honey slides.” Elliot Roberts, Young’s longtime manager, said the cocktail “was debilitating. People passed out.” The cocktail left the musicians catatonic. You can imagine the scene: Young and his backing band, tracking this seven-minute slow burner on the stuff.
Now I’m living out here on the beach
But those seagulls are still out of reach
I went to the radio interview
But I ended up alone at the microphone.
“Tonight’s The Night” from ‘Tonight’s The Night’ (1975)
The final chapter in Young’s trilogy of albums. The title track tells the story of Young’s roadie, Bruce Berry, who died from a heroin overdose. His death happened only a few months after Whitten’s. Fame and commercial success may have inspired Young to head for the ditch. But he also lamented how drugs had ruined his friends’ lives. He’d been here before, of course, most notably heard on “The Needle And The Damage Done”. That song also appeared on Harvest. The masterpiece responsible for Young’s time in the trench, where he continued to record some of his best work.
Bruce Berry was a working man
He used to load that Econoline van
A sparkle was in his eye
But his life was in his hands.
Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images
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