Crazy Horse (album): Difference between revisions

Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse
Studio album by Crazy Horse
Released	February 1971
Recorded	1970
Studio	Wally Heider (San Francisco); Sunset Sound (Los Angeles); A&M (Hollywood);
Genre	Country rock, roots rock, hard rock
Length	38:59
Label	Reprise
Producer	Jack Nitzsche, Bruce Botnick
Crazy Horse chronology

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Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	A−^[3]

Crazy Horse is the debut album by Crazy Horse, released in 1971 by Reprise Records. It is the only album by the band to feature Danny Whitten recorded without Neil Young, and it peaked at No. 84 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Background

Members of this band had already released an album in 1968 as The Rockets and had appeared on record twice with Neil Young as Crazy Horse. The core trio from the Rockets, Danny Whitten, Billy Talbot, and Ralph Molina, provided instrumental backing for Young's 1969 album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, and performed on most songs from Young's 1970 album After the Gold Rush. Producer/keyboardist Jack Nitzsche, who had been a member of Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew and played on records by the Rolling Stones, had worked with Young on his debut solo album and on tracks for Buffalo Springfield. He was drafted into Crazy Horse to back up Young on their short tour in early 1970. During sessions for Gold Rush, they met teenage multi-instrumentalist Nils Lofgren, who joined the band in time for this album. The band got a contract with Reprise Records after the exposure garnered from their association with Young.

This was Whitten's last recording before his dismissal from the group and subsequent death from an alcohol/diazepam overdose in 1972. Due to Whitten’s increasingly erratic performances (stemming from a heroin addiction and longstanding rheumatoid arthritis), guitarist Ry Cooder was retained as a session musician on three tracks. Cooder had worked previously with Nitzsche on sessions for the Stones and Young's debut solo album.

The album contains compositions from four principal writers. Whitten's ballad "I Don't Want to Talk About It" would be covered by a variety of artists, including Rita Coolidge; Everything but the Girl on their 1988 album Idlewild; and Rod Stewart, who had a chart-topping hit with the song in the United Kingdom, taken from his 1975 album Atlantic Crossing. Young's "Dance Dance Dance" was covered by The New Seekers in 1972, and Randy Newman had already performed Nitzsche's "Gone Dead Train" on the soundtrack for the 1970 film Performance by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg. The song was also covered by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth on their 1977 album Expect No Mercy;^[4] the group had previously covered "Beggars Day" on their 1975 album Hair of the Dog.^[5]

A live version of "Downtown" by Whitten and Young would appear on Young's 1975 album Tonight's the Night, entitled "(Come On Baby Let's Go) Downtown." On Neil Young's 2006 archival release Live at the Fillmore East 1970, the song is credited to Whitten alone. This song is not to be confused with "Downtown" from Young's 1995 album Mirror Ball.

Crazy Horse was released on compact disc on March 22, 1994, as part of the Warner Brothers archive series, produced for compact disc by Lee Herschberg. It appeared in its entirety as part of Rhino Handmade's Scratchy compilation from 2005, which also included outtakes from the sessions for this album. The compilation is no longer in print.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Gone Dead Train"	Russ Titelman, Jack Nitzsche	4:06
2.	"Dance, Dance, Dance"	Neil Young	2:10
3.	"Look at All the Things"	Danny Whitten	3:13
4.	"Beggars Day"	Nils Lofgren	4:28
5.	"I Don't Want to Talk About It"	Whitten	5:18

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Downtown"	Whitten, Young	3:14
2.	"Carolay"	Titelman, Nitzsche	2:52
3.	"Dirty, Dirty"	Whitten	3:31
4.	"Nobody"	Lofgren	2:35
5.	"I'll Get By"	Whitten	3:08
6.	"Crow Jane Lady"	Nitzsche	4:24

Personnel

Danny Whitten – guitars, backing vocals; lead vocals except as indicated below
Nils Lofgren – guitars, backing vocals; lead vocals on "Beggar's Day"
Jack Nitzsche – piano, backing vocals; lead vocals on "Crow Jane Lady"
Billy Talbot – bass, backing vocals
Ralph Molina – drums, backing vocals; lead vocals on "Dance, Dance, Dance"

Additional personnel

Ry Cooder – slide guitar on "I Don't Want to Talk About It," "Dirty, Dirty" and "Crow Jane Lady"
Gib Guilbeau – violin on "Dance, Dance, Dance"

Technical

Jack Nitzsche, Bruce Botnick – producer
Gary Burden – art direction, design
Joel Bernstein – photography
Lee Herschberg – digital mastering
Elliot Roberts, Ronald Stone – artist management

References

^ "Crazy Horse – Crazy Horse (1971, Santa Maria Pressing, Vinyl)". Discogs.
^ [1]
^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
^ Guarisco, Donald A. "Expect No Mercy - Nazareth". AllMusic. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
^ Guarisco, Donald A. "Hair of the Dog - Nazareth". AllMusic. Retrieved March 8, 2022.

[1] "Crazy Horse – Crazy Horse (1971, Santa Maria Pressing, Vinyl)". Discogs.

[2] [1]

[3] Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.

[4] Guarisco, Donald A. "Expect No Mercy - Nazareth". AllMusic. Retrieved March 8, 2022.

[5] Guarisco, Donald A. "Hair of the Dog - Nazareth". AllMusic. Retrieved March 8, 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Redirect|Beggars Day|Beggar's Day|Slave to the Grind}}
-{{refimprove|date=December 2010}}
+{{more citations needed|date=December 2010}}
-{{Infobox album
+{{Infobox album|
+| name       = Crazy Horse
- | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
+| type       = [[Album]]
- | Name = Crazy Horse
+| artist     = [[Crazy Horse (band)|Crazy Horse]]
- | Type = [[Album]]
+| cover      = CrazyHorseCD.jpg
- | Artist = [[Crazy Horse (band)|Crazy Horse]]
+| alt        =
- | Cover = CrazyHorseCD.jpg
- | Released = February 1971
+| released   = February 1971
- | Recorded = 1970
+| recorded   = 1970
+| venue      =
- | Genre = [[Country-rock]], [[roots rock]], [[hard rock]]
+| studio     = {{hlist|[[Wally Heider Studios|Wally Heider]] ([[San Francisco]])|[[Sunset Sound]] ([[Los Angeles]])|[[A&M Studios|A&M]] (Hollywood)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Crazy-Horse-Crazy-Horse/release/2315599|title=Crazy Horse – Crazy Horse (1971, Santa Maria Pressing, Vinyl)|website=[[Discogs]]}}</ref>}}
- | Length = 38:59
+| genre      = [[Country rock]], [[roots rock]], [[hard rock]]
- | Label = [[Reprise Records|Reprise]]
+| length     = 38:59
- | Producer = [[Jack Nitzsche]], [[Russ Titelman]]
+| label      = [[Reprise Records|Reprise]]
- | Last album  =
+| producer   = [[Jack Nitzsche]], [[Bruce Botnick]]
- | This album  = '''''Crazy Horse''''' <br /> (1971)
+| prev_title = [[Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere]]
- | Next album  = ''[[Loose (Crazy Horse album)|Loose]]'' <br /> (1972)
+| prev_year  = 1969
+| next_title = [[Loose (Crazy Horse album)|Loose]]
+| next_year  = 1972
 }}
 {{Album ratings
-|rev1 = [[Allmusic]]
+| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
-|rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>[{{Allmusic|class=album|id=r4714|pure_url=yes}}]</ref>
+| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r4714|pure_url=yes}}]</ref>
-|rev2 = [[Robert Christgau]]
+| rev2 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
+| rev2Score = A−<ref>{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: C|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=C&bk=70|accessdate=February 23, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>
-|rev2Score = A−<ref>[http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=286&name=Crazy+Horse Robert Christgau review]</ref>
 }}<!-- Automatically generated by DASHBot-->
-'''''Crazy Horse''''' is the debut album by [[Crazy Horse (band)|Crazy Horse]], released in 1971 by [[Reprise Records]]. It is the only album by the band to feature [[Danny Whitten]], and it peaked at #84 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album chart.
+'''''Crazy Horse''''' is the debut album by [[Crazy Horse (band)|Crazy Horse]], released in 1971 by [[Reprise Records]]. It is the only album by the band to feature [[Danny Whitten]] recorded without Neil Young, and it peaked at No. 84 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album chart.
-== History ==
+==Background==
-Members of this band had already released an album in 1968 as The Rockets, and had appeared on record twice with Neil Young as [[Crazy Horse (band)|Crazy Horse]]. The core trio from the Rockets, [[Danny Whitten]], [[Billy Talbot]], and [[Ralph Molina]], provided instrumental backing for Young's 1969 album ''[[Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere]]'', and performed on some songs from Young's 1970 album ''[[After the Gold Rush]]''. Producer/keyboardist [[Jack Nitzsche]], who had been a member of [[The Wrecking Crew (music)|Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew]] and played on records by [[The Rolling Stones]], had worked with Young on his [[Neil Young (album)|debut album]] and on tracks for [[Buffalo Springfield]]. He was drafted into Crazy Horse to back up Young on their [[Live at the Fillmore East (Neil Young album)|short tour]] in early 1970. During sessions for ''Gold Rush'', they met teenage guitar prodigy [[Nils Lofgren]], who joined the band in time for this album, picking up a contract with [[Reprise Records]] after the exposure garnered from their association with Young.
+Members of this band had already released an album in 1968 as The Rockets and had appeared on record twice with Neil Young as [[Crazy Horse (band)|Crazy Horse]]. The core trio from the Rockets, [[Danny Whitten]], [[Billy Talbot]], and [[Ralph Molina]], provided instrumental backing for Young's 1969 album ''[[Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere]]'', and performed on most songs from Young's 1970 album ''[[After the Gold Rush]]''. Producer/keyboardist [[Jack Nitzsche]], who had been a member of [[The Wrecking Crew (music)|Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew]] and played on records by [[the Rolling Stones]], had worked with Young on his [[Neil Young (album)|debut solo album]] and on tracks for [[Buffalo Springfield]]. He was drafted into Crazy Horse to back up Young on their [[Live at the Fillmore East (Neil Young album)|short tour]] in early 1970. During sessions for ''Gold Rush'', they met teenage multi-instrumentalist [[Nils Lofgren]], who joined the band in time for this album. The band got a contract with [[Reprise Records]] after the exposure garnered from their association with Young.
-This was Whitten's last album release before his death from a drug overdose in 1972. For the recording of this album in the fall of 1970, they also recruited [[Ry Cooder]], who had worked previously with Nitzsche on sessions for the Stones. Cooder plays on three tracks.
+This was Whitten's last recording before his dismissal from the group and subsequent death from an [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]]/[[diazepam]] overdose in 1972. Due to Whitten’s increasingly erratic performances (stemming from a [[heroin]] addiction and longstanding [[rheumatoid arthritis]]), guitarist [[Ry Cooder]] was retained as a [[session musician]] on three tracks. Cooder had worked previously with Nitzsche on sessions for the Stones and Young's debut solo album.
-The album contains compositions from four principal writers. Whitten's ballad, "[[I Don't Want to Talk About It]]", would be covered by a variety of artists, including [[Rita Coolidge]]; [[Everything but the Girl]] on their 1988 album ''[[Idlewild (Everything but the Girl album)|Idlewild]]''; and [[Rod Stewart]], who had a hit with the song in the [[United Kingdom|U.K.]], taken from his 1975 album ''[[Atlantic Crossing]]''. Neil Young's "Dance Dance Dance," was covered by [[The New Seekers]] in 1972, and [[Randy Newman]] had already performed Nitzsche's "[[Gone Dead Train]]" on the soundtrack for the 1970 film ''[[Performance (film)|Performance]]'' by [[Donald Cammell]] and [[Nicolas Roeg]]. The song was also covered by the Scottish hard rock band [[Nazareth (band)|Nazareth]] on their 1977 album ''[[Expect No Mercy]]'', as was "Beggar's Day" for the group's 1975 album ''[[Hair of the Dog (album)|Hair of the Dog]]''.
+The album contains compositions from four principal writers. Whitten's ballad "[[I Don't Want to Talk About It]]" would be covered by a variety of artists, including [[Rita Coolidge]]; [[Everything but the Girl]] on their 1988 album ''[[Idlewild (Everything but the Girl album)|Idlewild]]''; and [[Rod Stewart]], who had a chart-topping hit with the song in the [[United Kingdom]], taken from his 1975 album ''[[Atlantic Crossing]]''. Young's "Dance Dance Dance" was covered by [[The New Seekers]] in 1972, and [[Randy Newman]] had already performed Nitzsche's "Gone Dead Train" on the soundtrack for the 1970 film ''[[Performance (film)|Performance]]'' by [[Donald Cammell]] and [[Nicolas Roeg]]. The song was also covered by the Scottish hard rock band [[Nazareth (band)|Nazareth]] on their 1977 album ''[[Expect No Mercy]]'';<ref>{{cite web |last1=Guarisco |first1=Donald A. |title=Expect No Mercy - Nazareth |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/expect-no-mercy-mw0000654492 |access-date=March 8, 2022 |website=[[AllMusic]] |language=en}}</ref> the group had previously covered "Beggars Day" on their 1975 album ''[[Hair of the Dog (album)|Hair of the Dog]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Guarisco |first1=Donald A. |title=Hair of the Dog - Nazareth |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hair-of-the-dog-mw0000191068 |access-date=March 8, 2022 |website=[[AllMusic]] |language=en}}</ref>
-A live version of "Downtown" by Whitten and Young would appear on Young's 1975 album ''[[Tonight's the Night (Neil Young album)|Tonight's the Night]]'', entitled "(Come On Baby Let's Go) Downtown." On Neil Young's 2007 vault release ''[[Live at the Fillmore East (Neil Young album)|Live at the Fillmore East 1970]]'', the song is credited to Whitten alone.
+A live version of "Downtown" by Whitten and Young would appear on Young's 1975 album ''[[Tonight's the Night (Neil Young album)|Tonight's the Night]]'', entitled "(Come On Baby Let's Go) Downtown." On Neil Young's 2006 archival release ''[[Live at the Fillmore East (Neil Young album)|Live at the Fillmore East 1970]]'', the song is credited to Whitten alone. This song is not to be confused with "[[Downtown (Neil Young song)|Downtown]]" from Young's 1995 album ''[[Mirror Ball (Neil Young album)|Mirror Ball]]''.
-''Crazy Horse'' was released on compact disc on March 22, 1994, as part of the [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Brothers]] archive series, produced for compact disc by Lee Herschberg. It appeared in its entirety as part of [[Rhino Records|Rhino Handmade's]] ''[[Scratchy: The Complete Reprise Recordings|Scratchy]]'' compilation from 2005, which also included outtakes from the sessions for this album.  That compilation is no longer in print.
+''Crazy Horse'' was released on compact disc on March 22, 1994, as part of the [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Brothers]] archive series, produced for compact disc by Lee Herschberg. It appeared in its entirety as part of [[Rhino Records|Rhino Handmade's]] ''[[Scratchy: The Complete Reprise Recordings|Scratchy]]'' compilation from 2005, which also included outtakes from the sessions for this album. The compilation is no longer in print.
 ==Track listing==
-===Side one===
 {{tracklist
+| headline = Side one
-| writing_credits = yes
-| title1          = [[Gone Dead Train]]
+| title1          = Gone Dead Train
 | writer1         = [[Russ Titelman]], [[Jack Nitzsche]]
 | length1         = 4:06
-| title2          = Dance, Dance, Dance
+| title2          = [[Dance, Dance, Dance (Neil Young song)|Dance, Dance, Dance]]
 | writer2         = [[Neil Young]]
 | length2         = 2:10
@@ Line 50: / Line 51: @@
 | writer3         = [[Danny Whitten]]
 | length3         = 3:13
-| title4          = Beggar's Day
+| title4          = Beggars Day
 | writer4         = [[Nils Lofgren]]
 | length4         = 4:28
 | title5          = [[I Don't Want to Talk About It]]
-| writer5         = Danny Whitten
+| writer5         = Whitten
 | length5         = 5:18
 }}
-===Side two===
 {{tracklist
+| headline = Side two
-| writing_credits = yes
-| title1          = Downtown
+| title1          = [[Downtown (Crazy Horse song)|Downtown]]
-| writer1         = Danny Whitten, Neil Young
+| writer1         = Whitten, Young
 | length1         = 3:14
 | title2          = Carolay
-| writer2         = Russ Titelman, Jack Nitzsche
+| writer2         = Titelman, Nitzsche
 | length2         = 2:52
 | title3          = Dirty, Dirty
-| writer3         = Danny Whitten
+| writer3         = Whitten
 | length3         = 3:31
 | title4          = Nobody
-| writer4         = Nils Lofgren
+| writer4         = Lofgren
 | length4         = 2:35
 | title5          = I'll Get By
-| writer5         = Danny Whitten
+| writer5         = Whitten
 | length5         = 3:08
 | title6          = Crow Jane Lady
-| writer6         = Jack Nitzsche
+| writer6         = Nitzsche
 | length6         = 4:24
 }}
-== Personnel ==
+==Personnel==
-* [[Danny Whitten]] — [[vocals]], [[guitars]]
+* [[Danny Whitten]] – [[guitars]], [[backing vocals]]; [[lead vocals]] <small>except as indicated below</small>
-* [[Nils Lofgren]] — guitars, [[backing vocals]]; lead vocal <small>on "Beggar's Day"</small>
+* [[Nils Lofgren]] – guitars, backing vocals; lead vocals <small>on "Beggar's Day"</small>
-* [[Jack Nitzsche]] — [[piano]], backing vocals; lead vocal <small>on "Crow Jane Lady"</small>
+* [[Jack Nitzsche]] – [[piano]], backing vocals; lead vocals <small>on "Crow Jane Lady"</small>
-* [[Billy Talbot]] — [[bass guitar|bass]], backing vocals
+* [[Billy Talbot]] – [[bass guitar|bass]], backing vocals
-* [[Ralph Molina]] — [[drum kit|drums]], backing vocals; lead vocal <small>on "Dance Dance Dance"</small>
+* [[Ralph Molina]] – [[drum kit|drums]], backing vocals; lead vocals <small>on "Dance, Dance, Dance"</small>
 ;Additional personnel
-* [[Ry Cooder]] — [[slide guitar]] <small>on "I Don't Want to Talk About It," "Dirty Dirty," "Crow Jane Lady"</small>
+* [[Ry Cooder]] – [[slide guitar]] <small>on "I Don't Want to Talk About It," "Dirty, Dirty" and "Crow Jane Lady"</small>
-* [[Gib Guilbeau]] — [[violin]] <small>on "Dance Dance Dance"</small>
+* [[Gib Guilbeau]] – [[violin]] <small>on "Dance, Dance, Dance"</small>
+;Technical
-* [[Russ Titelman]] — [[record production|producer]]
+* Jack Nitzsche, [[Bruce Botnick]] – [[record production|producer]]
-* [[Gary Burden]] — art direction
+* [[Gary Burden]] – art direction, design
-* [[Joel Bernstein]] — photography
+* [[Joel Bernstein]] – photography
-* Lee Herschberg — [[audio mastering|digital mastering]]
+* [[Lee Herschberg]] – [[audio mastering|digital mastering]]
-* [[Elliot Roberts]], Ronald Stone — artist management
+* [[Elliot Roberts]], Ronald Stone – artist management
-== References ==
+==References==
 {{reflist}}
-== External links ==
-* [http://www.crazyhorseband.com/ Crazy Horse]
-* [http://www.rhinohandmade.com/browse/ProductLink.lasso?Number=7884 Rhino Scratchy compilation]
 {{Crazy Horse (band)}}
+{{Authority control}}
 [[Category:1971 debut albums]]
 [[Category:Crazy Horse (band) albums]]
-[[Category:Albums produced by Russ Titelman]]
+[[Category:Albums produced by Bruce Botnick]]
 [[Category:Albums produced by Jack Nitzsche]]
+[[Category:Albums recorded at A&M Studios]]
+[[Category:Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios]]
+[[Category:Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders]]
 [[Category:Reprise Records albums]]
-[[Category:English-language albums]]

v t e Crazy Horse
Billy Talbot Ralph Molina Nils Lofgren Micah Nelson Danny Whitten Frank "Poncho" Sampedro Jack Nitzsche George Whitsell Greg LeRoy John Blanton Rick Curtis Michael Curtis Sonny Mone
Crazy Horse	Crazy Horse Loose At Crooked Lake Crazy Moon Left for Dead Gone Dead Train: The Best of Crazy Horse 1971–1989 Scratchy: The Complete Reprise Recordings
Neil Young & Crazy Horse	Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere After the Gold Rush Zuma American Stars 'n Bars Rust Never Sleeps Live Rust Re·ac·tor Life Ragged Glory Weld Arc Sleeps with Angels Broken Arrow Year of the Horse Greendale Live at the Fillmore East Americana Psychedelic Pill Colorado Return to Greendale Way Down in the Rust Bucket Barn World Record Chrome Dreams Odeon Budokan Dume Fuckin' Up Early Daze
Songs	"Dance, Dance, Dance" "I Don't Want to Talk About It" "Downtown"
Songs (with Neil Young)	"Cinnamon Girl" "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" "Down by the River" "Cowgirl in the Sand" "I Believe in You" "Southern Man" "Tonight's the Night" "Tired Eyes" "Danger Bird" "Cortez the Killer" "Like a Hurricane" "Lotta Love" "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" "Powderfinger" "Sedan Delivery"
Related articles	Neil Young The Rockets She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina