I've been listening to On the Beach all day, Neil Young's fifth studio album, released on Reprise in 1974. I've always loved this album because of "Revolution Blues," his fast-paced high-strung ode to Charles Manson and the "ten million dune buggies comin' down the mountains." The song features Young on lead, Levon Helm on drums, David Crosby on rhythm, and Rick Danko on bass. Quite the personnel for an exceptional track. 

But as I listened today, I changed my favorite, as I usually do, to "Ambulance Blues." 

According to Wiki, "The song explores Young's feelings about his critics, Richard Nixon and the state of CSNY." That last part referring to the lyrics "You're all just pissing in the wind," which apparently "was a direct quote from Young's manager regarding the inactivity of the quartet." 

The song is said to have been influenced by Bert Jansch's "Do You Hear Me Now?" But I hear more of a similarity between "Needle of Death," which Young said was "such a beautiful and angry song." 

See if you can hear it. 

The California sound brings many musicians from the past to mind, specifically from the late 60s, when the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and Joni Mitchell and the Mamas and the Papas dominated the folk rock pop thing that was echoing down from the tree-lined, smoke-hazed Laurel Canyon rooftops. Music was all around Los Angeles, with the Doors down in Venice Beach doing their own carnival rock and roll, and the Beach Boys out in Hawthorne creating surf pop gold. But the main music of LA, the real heart and soul of the scene, was coming from a small neighborhood nestled between Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley.

The Byrds, led by Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, and David Crosby, formed in the dim light of the Santa Monica folk club, the Troubadour. The three members all lived in Laurel Canyon, and with the addition of Michael Clarke on drums and Chris Hillman, were ready to start recording. "Mr. Tambourine Man," off their debut, and "Turn Turn Turn," off the follow-up, both reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but neither of those songs were originally written by the Byrds. The band would never reach the commercial success they deserved, and combined with an ever revolving lineup, would disband by 1973. The Byrds have been credited with creating the folk rock sound, specifically the California folk rock sound, and were insanely influential, especially in paving the way for the psychedelic sound.

Meanwhile in the Canyon, David Crosby, fresh off his Byrds departure, met Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield at Cass Elliott's house. Not soon after, the two met Graham Nash of British band The Hollies. The trio hung out in the Canyon and jammed, and on one fortuitous night at Joni Mitchell's house, they realized the power of their harmonies and their potential as a full-fledged band. Neil Young, former member of Buffalo Springfield, had just released his second album, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, off Reprise Records, when he joined Crosby, Stills, and Nash to create the super harmonizing quartet. The foursome all lived in the Canyon, and were the backbone of the Canyon jam sessions that took place at Joni Mitchell's and Cass Elliott's homes. 

Gene Clark, the main creative and writing force behind the Byrds, abandoned the band due to social anxieties and a chronic fear of flying, but remained in Los Angeles, embarking on a remarkable but commercially unsuccessful solo career. Roger McGuinn, the only permanent member of the Byrds, would never achieve commercial or critical success in any other outfit. Chris Hillman got some credit for forming the Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram Parsons, but they were never directly related to the Canyon scene. 



I'll write more on this later. Working on a larger piece about the Canyon sound. 

The end.