In 1987, Neil Young released Life. It wasn’t his worst album but, then again, it definitely wasn’t his best. After his well loved and respected first 10 years as a solo artist (roughly 1969-1979 with Crazy Horse sporadically backing), Neil Young entered an 8 year drought (roughly 1980-1988).
Ironically, this dry spell, spent just-off the major American music radar, was when Neil Young’s immediate disciples (the first generation raised on 1969’s Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, 1974’s On the Beach and 1979’s Rust Never Sleeps) came of serious-record-making-age.
One of the best of this new breed was Dinosaur Jr.
In their frontman J Mascis, as most any retrospective biography on the band will tell you, the American music underground saw a powerful return of the guitar hero of old. His instrument churned so wildly, sped so loudly, and changed so suddenly and magnificently it’s sometimes difficult to believe it’s just one man. Yet, as was also true of his hero Neil Young, Mascis’ playing was as much about melody and beauty as it was shear sonic assault. J learned to be one of the best, from one of the best.
Check out these two albums, one recorded by J Mascis (with Dinosaur Jr) at 21 years old in 1987 and the other by Neil Young (with Crazy Horse) at 23 in 1969:
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Hey there. I love Neil Young - thanks!
Head swaying and bobbing in a stoned like rhythm listening to Neil Young’s Crazy Horse music - left to bang my head up against the garage door after J Mascis “sonic assault!” Are you sure Neil Young had any influence on this boy?
I get this kind of question a lot when discussing “influence”. It’s important to keep in mind we’re not talking about a direct 1:1 association (it’s not like The Rolling Stones of 1964 covering a Bo Diddley song of the same year). Having an influence doesn’t mean you’re a cover band or just straight ripping off a sound. It means you take a certain sound, a certain style, a certain way of creating music and pushing previous boundaries and make it your own in order to push things even further. There’s no doubt nearly 20 years of musical ideas passed between these releases. Yet, there’s also no doubt the modern understanding and experience J expressed in his songs directly channeled Neil’s sonic imprint.