Album Review: Neil Young - Tonight’s the Night (50th Anniversary)

Retrofitted for 2025, Neil Young’s lo-fi, 1975 garage classic Tonight’s the Night is a bit cleaner and brighter in its 50th Anniversary presentation. And while purists might hear this as sacrilege, they can take comfort knowing Tonight remains as stoned and bleary-eyed as ever in remastered form and the gems Young excavted from his vault make this a golden anniversary-worthy celebration.

Young’s voice was roached - in a good way - giving the vocals a rough hew to go with the rough-hewn music, created by Young; guitarists Nils Lofgren and Danny Whitten; pedal steel man Ben Keith; keyboardist Jack Nitzsche; and the Crazy Horse rhythm section of Billy Talbot (bass) and Ralph Molina (drums) among other compatriots.

The extra tracks have the rare advantage of fitting seamlessly with the hazy county-blues, folk-rock of this second entry in Young’s so-called Ditch Trilogy. And in the case of “Lookout Joe,” Young simply replaced the album track with the long-shelved original recording - a splendid move.

Joni Mitchell makes an appearance on her own “Raised on Robbery,” and the band seems to tighten up ever so slightly in her presence. Talk about respect.

“Walk On,” which would appear on On the Beach, also gets the original-recording treatment. And “Wonderin’,” which was destined for the Shocking Pinks in 1983, appears in full cosmic-country glory.

Where unnecessary padding so often plagues expanded reissues, Tonight’s the Night (50th Anniversary) leaves the listener wanting more. Which is exactly as it should be.

Grade card: Neil Young - Tonight’s the Night (50th Anniversary) - A

Talking Early Daze With Crazy Horse's Billy Talbot

Round two with Billy T! A few years back, I chatted with Crazy Horse bassist Billy Talbot. With the recent release of Early Daze, which mops up some generally unreleased material from the Danny Whitten-era of the band, it made sense to go back for more. Always fun to be able to ask one of the original dudes all of my nerdy questions. Like, how did they come up with the "Down By The River" groove? Who brought in the "Be My Baby" breakdown in "Winterlong"?! What the hell was David Briggs like?!?! All is revealed! Sort of!

Neil Young and Crazy Horse Sleeps with Angels 1994 Reprise ——————————————————————— Tracks: 01. My Heart 02. Prime of Life 03. Driveby 04. Sleeps with Angels 05. Western Hero 06. Change Your Mind 07. Blue Eden 08. Safeway Cart 09. Train of Love 10. Trans Am 11. Piece of Crap 12. A Dream that Can Last ———————————————————————

Ralph Molina

Frank Sampedro

Billy Talbot

Neil Young