NEIL YOUNG Tonight's The Night 1975 UK REPRISE 1st PRESS MINT
£
101
$
133
£ 101
Sold For
Dec 31, 2012
Sold Date
Dec 21, 2012
Start Date
£ 24
Start price
4
Number Of Bids
Great Britain
Country Of Seller
eBay
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Description
NEIL YOUNG Tonight's The Night 1975 UK REPRISE 1st PRESS MINT
STUNNING COPY - TEXTURED GATEFOLD w/INNER - UNPLAYED
NEIL YOUNGTonight's The Night
UK REPRISE (K 54040) FIRST PRESSING (June 1975) OF THE NEIL YOUNG'S SUPERB "Tonight's The Night" LP
RECORDED IN 1973 BUT HATED SO MUCH BY REPRISE THAT IT'S RELEASE WAS DELAYED FOR OVER TWO YEARS - IT'S SUBSEQUENTLY BECOME ONE OF NEIL YOUNG'S MOST CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED WORKS
STUNNING COPY - PRACTICALLY UNTOUCHED AND POSSIBLY NEVER EVEN PLAYED
Written and recorded in 1973 shortly after the death of roadie Bruce Berry, Neil Young's second close associate to die of a heroin overdose in six months (the first was Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten), Tonight's the Night was Young's musical expression of grief, combined with his rejection of the stardom he had achieved in the late '60s and early '70s.
The title track, performed twice, was a direct narrative about Berry: "Bruce Berry was a working man/He used to load that Econoline van." Whitten was heard singing "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown," a live track recorded years earlier. Elsewhere, Young frequently referred to drug use and used phrases that might have described his friends, such as the chorus of "Tired Eyes," "He tried to do his best, but he could not."
Performing with the remains of Crazy Horse, bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina, along with Nils Lofgren (guitar and piano) and Ben Keith (steel guitar), Young performed in the ragged manner familiar from Time Fades Away -- his voice was often hoarse and he strained to reach high notes, while the playing was loose, with mistakes and shifting tempos. But the style worked perfectly for the material, emphasising the emotional tone of Young's mourning and contrasting with the polished sound of CSNY and Harvest that Young also disparaged.
He remained unimpressed with his commercial success, noting in "World on a String," "The world on a string/Doesn't mean anything." In "Roll Another Number," he said he was "a million miles away/From that helicopter day" when he and CSN had played Woodstock. And in "Albuquerque," he said he had been "starvin' to be alone/Independent from the scene that I've known" and spoke of his desire to "find somewhere where they don't care who I am."
Songs like "Speakin' Out" and "New Mama" seemed to find some hope in family life, but Tonight's the Night did not offer solutions to the personal and professional problems it posed. It was the work of a man trying to turn his torment into art and doing so unflinchingly.
Depending on which story you believe, Reprise Records rejected it or Young withdrew it from its scheduled release at the start of 1974 after touring with the material in the U.S. and Europe.
In 1975, after a massive CSNY tour, Young at the last minute dumped a newly recorded album and finally put Tonight's the Night out instead.
Though it did not become one of his bigger commercial successes, the album immediately was recognised as a unique masterpiece by critics, and it has continued to be ranked as one of the greatest rock & roll albums ever made.
PRESSED WITH THE FIRST ISSUE REPRISE LABELS WHICH CARRY THE "Made In UK" TEXT but no WB LOGO (all Warner releases (Reprise/Atlantic etc) from mid-1975 onwards carry the WB logo on the bottom rim text so only the very first releases of this LP have no WB logo)
COMPLETE MATRIX SET:
Side 1: K 54040 A2 (etched "HELLO WATERFACE") MS - 2221, 31884 - RE - 1, 1C, EXPORT
Side 2: K 54040 B2 (etched "GOODBYE WATERFACE") MS - 2221, 31885 - 1B, EXPORT
THE ALBUM IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL OUTER TEXTURED GATEFOLD SLEEVE PRINTED BY "Shorewood Packaging Co. Ltd., England"
COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL TEXTURED FINISH PHOTO INNER SLEEVE
Side 1:
Tonight's The Night (4:39)
Speakin' Out (4:56)
World On A String (2:27)
Borrowed Tune (3:26)
Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown (3:35)
Mellow My Mind (3:07)
Side 2:
Roll Another Number (For The Road) (3:02)
Albuquerque (4:02)
New Mama (2:11)
Lookout Joe (3:57)
Tired Eyes (4:38)
Tonight's The Night - Part II (4:52)
LABELS: MINT
Clean and unmarked labels with no evident spindle traces
VINYL Visual: MINT-
Both vinyl surfaces shine like-new.
There are some superficial in-vinyl brush marks (present from manufacture) - these have no audio significance whatsoever
VINYL Audio: MINT
This is an outstanding piece of work - emotionally raw, profoundly felt and one of his finest LPs and my play-check at loud volume found no audio issues of any kind - pristine playback throughout - beautiful copy
SLEEVE: MINT
As crisp, clean and fresh as the day it was made - a really exceptional example
INNER SLEEVE: MINT
Again, like new with no seam splits or seam wear
POST & PACKING:
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, NEW INNER SLEEVE WITH ANTI-STATIC LINER, QUALITY BOX (NOT ENVELOPE) MAILER AND AMPLE STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY
UK: 1st Class: £4.50 (recorded delivery)
EUROPE: Airmail: £12.00 (International Signed For delivery)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £17.00 (International Signed For delivery)
PAYMENT IS BY PAYPAL ONLY SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PAY BY SOME OTHER METHOD PLEASE CONTACT ME FIRST
I will combine postage (normally £2 or £3 per extra record) for items purchased within any 10 day period.
However, at the end of each 10 day period, all outstanding items will need to be paid for in full and will be posted to you.
Any items purchased after payment will be included in the next 10 period.
I am continually adding new items which may be of interest to you and it is impractical for me to allow payment to be postponed indefinitely in the expectation that you might wish to bid on future items.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation
Guarantee: The record is unconditionally guaranteed and I will offer a complete, no quibble refund (through Paypal) upon return of the item should you not be pleased with it in any way I will email you when payment has been received to let you know when the item will be posted. Please leave feedback upon receipt of the item so that I know you have received it safely. Any problems please email me. Thanks 486 (GS 6.5.1 (486))
