Neil Young hates this record. Or, he did for about forty years. It’s messy. It’s loud in the wrong ways, the vocals are shredded, and you can practically smell the tequila and bad vibes radiating off the vinyl. Yet, for a certain breed of music obsessive, Time Fades Away is the holy grail of "ditch" era Neil. It’s the sound of a man sabotaging his own superstardom in real-time.
He had just come off Harvest. He was the biggest folk-rock star on the planet. "Heart of Gold" was a massive hit. Most people in that position would have played it safe, toured the hits, and smiled for the cameras. Neil didn't do that. Instead, he hit the road with a band of Nashville session greats—The Stray Gators—and played a set of entirely new, unreleased material to audiences who just wanted to hear "Old Man."
It was a disaster. It was also brilliant.
The Tour That Broke the Band
You can't talk about Time Fades Away without talking about Danny Whitten. Danny was the heart of Crazy Horse, the guy who gave Neil that ragged, soulful counterpoint. He died of a drug overdose just before the tour started. Neil felt responsible. He’d fired Danny from the rehearsals because the guitarist was too high to function. Danny went home and died that night.
That’s the ghost haunting this album.
The tour started in early 1973. Neil was devastated, guilty, and physically ill with a throat infection. He recruited The Stray Gators—Ben Keith, Jack Nitzsche, Tim Drummond, and Kenny Buttrey—to back him up. On paper, they were the best in the business. In reality? They were used to the precision of a studio, not the chaotic, high-volume, emotional purging Neil was demanding.
Money made it worse. The sidemen were being paid huge sums, but they wanted more. They were arguing about "points" on the live album while Neil was trying to keep his soul from leaking out on stage. He ended up resenting them. He ended up resenting the audience. Eventually, he just started drinking tequila to numb the whole experience.
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Record it Live, Forget the Studio
Most live albums are greatest hits packages. Time Fades Away is different because these weren't hits. They were brand-new songs. The title track kicks things off with a staggering, drunken energy. Neil’s voice is pushed to the absolute limit. It’s a song about the loss of innocence, about a kid growing up and realizing the world isn't what he thought it was.
"Journey Through the Past" is a rare moment of tenderness, but it feels fragile. Like it might shatter if you breathe on it. Then you get "L.A.," a biting, cynical look at the city that was supposedly the center of the musical universe. Neil sings about the city sinking into the ocean with a kind of grim satisfaction.
The recording quality is... unique. It was recorded directly to two-track 16-bit digital using the CompuScene system, which was incredibly primitive at the time. This is why it sounds so harsh. There’s no "warmth" here. It’s cold, brittle, and jagged. For years, Neil refused to release it on CD because he hated the audio quality. It became the most bootlegged "official" album in rock history because it was out of print for decades.
The Mystery of the Missing Songs
The album only has eight tracks. But the tour was massive. There are dozens of soundboard recordings floating around in the hands of collectors that show just how weird things got.
- "The Bridge" is a piano ballad that feels like a desperate plea for connection.
- "Last Dance" ends the album with a repetitive, almost punishing refrain of "no, no, no."
- "Don't Be Denied" is the centerpiece. It’s an autobiographical gut-punch.
In "Don't Be Denied," Neil talks about his parents' divorce, being bullied at school, and finally finding success only to realize it didn't fix anything. When he screams "Don't be denied!" at the end of the track, it’s not an inspirational slogan. It sounds like a threat. It sounds like a man trying to convince himself that he’s still alive.
Why It Was Deleted for 40 Years
Neil Young has a long memory. He associated Time Fades Away with the worst period of his life. The death of Danny Whitten, the friction with the band, the vocal cord issues—it was a "dark period."
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Fans begged for a digital release. Every time a new "Archives" project was announced, people looked for this album. Neil would tease it, then pull it back. He once called it "the worst record I ever made." He eventually softened his stance, but for a long time, if you wanted to hear it, you had to hunt down a dusty vinyl copy at a used record store.
Honestly, the scarcity added to the myth. If it had been easily available on Spotify in 2008, would we care as much? Maybe not. But the fact that it was "the forbidden album" made people listen closer when they finally got their hands on it. They realized it wasn't a "bad" album. It was a brutally honest one. It was the first installment of the "Ditch Trilogy," followed by Tonight’s the Night and On the Beach. These three records represent a total rejection of commercialism.
The Personnel Friction
Jack Nitzsche was a genius, but he was a difficult man. He reportedly spent much of the tour shouting at the audience and making life miserable for the other musicians. David Crosby and Graham Nash eventually joined the tour to help with backing vocals, but even their pristine harmonies couldn't mask the tension.
The drumming situation was another mess. Kenny Buttrey, a legendary session drummer who played on Harvest and Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, couldn't handle the volume. Neil wanted him to hit the drums harder. Buttrey was a finesse player. Eventually, he left and was replaced by Johnny Barbata. You can hear the shift in energy. Barbata is a powerhouse, and on tracks like "Last Dance," he’s absolutely hammering it.
The Legacy of the Ditch
Most artists today are terrified of losing their "brand." They have PR teams and social media managers ensuring every release is "on-brand" and optimized for the algorithm. Time Fades Away is the anti-algorithm. It’s a mess. It’s poorly recorded. It’s uncomfortable.
But that’s why it matters.
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It reminds us that art isn't supposed to be comfortable. It’s supposed to be a reflection of a human being’s internal state. In 1973, Neil Young was a wreck. He didn't hide it. He put it on a 12-inch piece of wax and sold it to the world.
If you’re looking to understand the real Neil Young—not the "Heart of Gold" guy, but the "Shakey" guy—you have to listen to this record. It’s the moment he decided that his integrity was worth more than his record sales. He’s been following that North Star ever since.
How to Listen to It Today
Don't just stream it on crappy laptop speakers. This album needs air. It needs to be loud.
- Find the Original Vinyl: If you can find a 1973 pressing with the lyric sheet (which was printed like a newspaper), grab it. The analog grit suits the music.
- Listen to "Don't Be Denied" First: It’s the heart of the project. If that song doesn't move you, the rest of the album probably won't either.
- Read the Lyrics: Neil’s writing here is incredibly raw. It’s less poetic and more conversational than Harvest.
- Compare it to Tonight’s the Night: Listen to these two back-to-back. Time Fades Away is the public breakdown; Tonight’s the Night is the private wake.
The "Ditch Trilogy" started here. It was a brave move. It was a stupid move. It was the most Neil Young thing he could have possibly done. We're still talking about it fifty years later because it's one of the few times a major rock star was completely, terrifyingly honest with his audience. Time might fade away, but this record remains a jagged, beautiful scar on the history of rock and roll.
If you want to dive deeper into this era, your next move is to track down the "Tuscaloosa" live album. It’s another 1973 recording from the same tour, but with a slightly different vibe. It fills in the gaps that this record leaves behind. From there, move straight into the Official Release Series box sets to hear how the audio was finally restored.