Neil Young – Everybody Knows This is Nowhere – VG+/VG

Released in 1969, Neil Young’s brooding masterpiece, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, marked a departure from the folk-rock sounds of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Backed by the raw power of Crazy Horse, his longtime backing band, Young crafted a hazy, distorted soundscape that mirrored the album’s themes of alienation and disillusionment.

The album is a journey through a restless, unsettled landscape. Jangly guitars weave melancholic melodies, while Young’s distinctive vocals rasp tales of longing for a faraway “home” and grappling with the emptiness of a rootless existence. Haunting feedback and distorted riffs punctuate the songs, creating a sense of urgency and unease.

Despite the bleakness, there’s a raw beauty to Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. The driving rhythms and Young’s impassioned vocals create a sense of desperate hope, a yearning for connection in a world that feels devoid of meaning. It’s an album that captures the anxieties and frustrations of a generation, a timeless document of a search for belonging in a world that seems to offer none.