Several weeks ago, my PopMatters article entitled “Paul McCartney: An Auteur” caused quite a stir. In that piece, I attempt to position Paul McCartney as an artist of the highest standard, one whose entire body of work must be taken seriously. Many of the comments I received criticized my lack of reasoning and found fault in positioning McCartney as a man who can do no wrong. I also received some feedback asserting that the Auteur Theory can only be applied to film due to the director’s position within a system of producers, screenwriters, actors, etc. The reasoning behind rejecting auteurism in music: it is laudatory that a director working within a hollywood studio system would be able to consistently leave a personal stamp on each of his films, but what is so impressive about a musician placing a personal stamp on his/her solo albums? This logic is sound; however, I wish to apply another aspect of the theory to music. Instead of using auteurism in the sense of a distinct creative vision persevering through studio interference, I believe it can apply to music in the way it forces an audience to evaluate an artist’s entire output.  Without this theory in place, I may not have been aware of many “lesser” films by great filmmakers. I recently viewed Scorsese’s New York, New York. Based on its disappointing box office returns and lukewarm reviews, one would think this was a poorly received, self-indulgent and anachronistic musical not worth watching. Rather than approaching it as a stand-alone film, auteurism forces us to perceive it as part of something greater: an important step in the development of a filmic genius. Placed in its proper context as the coked out artificially retro experiment between Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, New York, New York becomes a must see. I see no reason why this aspect of Auteur Theory can’t be applied to music. An album should not be examined as a stand-alone entity, but rather a piece to a larger puzzle. The artist’s personal and musical history must factor in the appreciation of a serious work. And all works by an artist/band containing genus must be considered serious works. You would be right to say that the “Auteur Theory” can not directly be applied to music. The musician does not shine in the spite of writer/actor/studio involvement like a film auteur can. Given this, perhaps the word “Auteur” is not the best word choice for this form of musical criticism. There are other connotations Truffaut’s Auteurism held that could be applied to music; however, specifically the genius identifying. I believe one could alter Truffaut’s famous one liner to my preferred brand of musical criticism: There are no good and bad albums, only good and bad musicians. In this way, I believe the greatest musicians can transcend the status of a rock star or a popular artist into the realm of fine artists.

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The year was 1973. Richard Nixon, after winning a landslide re-election victory the previous year, was embroiled in the Watergate scandal. The “flower power” movement was all but dead, one of the seminal bands of the era, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, was in tatters, and Neil Young was stoned and in despair. Young, a year removed from his star making album “Harvest”, went to work on his follow up studio album.  At his record companies insistence or his own choice, the planned follow up to “Harvest”, “Tonight’s The Night”, recorded after the death of roadie and close friend Bruce Berry, was shelved.  Young, in the mental state he was in, understandably created “On The Beach,” one of the most despairing albums of the decade.

The previous four years had been good to Neil Young.  He became the fourth member in “Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young”, one of the more popular bands of the era, in 1969, and together the act played the infamous Woodstock Festival in August of that year. He was a part of the band’s hugely successful “Déjà vu” album, released in 1970. This fame within a group setting allowed Young to branch out on his own. He released the critically acclaimed and modestly successful “After The Goldrush” in late 1970, but his next release, “Harvest”, was a landmark album which catapulted Young into a household name.  Many events occurring in Neil Young’s own life and the culture at large disallowed him to bask in his success, leading to the despairing mood of “On The Beach”.

Under the influence of “Honey Slides”, a goop of sautéed marijuana and honey, Neil Young entered the studio to reflect on the world around him and created “On The Beach”, the most personal record of his career. The album was produced in a haphazard manner. The arrangements were minimalistic, creating a bleakness reflecting its authors mood at the time. Rough monitor mixes of songs were chosen rather than a more polished sound. The drug use Young was under is also believed to play a major influence on the mellow mood of the album.

“On The Beach” is Neil Young’s masterpiece, an album crafted as a direct result of its historical time period, tumultuous and so bleak that hearing it causes emotional discomfort.

“Walk On”: The album opens up with its only vibrant upbeat song. “Walk On,” uses exuberant rockabilly guitar licks to back the song’s message of hostility towards its author’s critics.  One of the critics Neil Young is rumored to be addressing is Lynyrd Skynyrd. Young held a grudge with the southern rockers after they responded to his tune “Alabama” with “Sweet Home Alabama”. “I hear some people been talkin’ me down, bring up my name, pass it ‘round. They don’t mention happy times, they do their thing, I’ll do mine.” Is the line, which indicates Young is responding to his critics, possibly Lynryd Skynryd.  The opening track also contains its first taste of disdain with the “flower power” generation’s idealism: “Some get stoned, some get strange, but sooner or later it all gets real” criticizes the 60’s generation’s disconnect with the real world.

“See The Sky About To Rain”: A song Neil first wrote years earlier. It fits the ambience of this record very well, with its ominous feel. The sunshine of the hippie movement is about to be poured on. There’s something about the production of this album that I just love. This song isn’t a complex masterpiece, but the way its played, the instrumentation, and the overall laid back mood just makes it work.

“Revolution Blues”: This song is bordering on a tribute to Charles Manson. Its message is one of total disdain with the California celebrity lifestyle, which Young had become a part of with his “Harvest” success and rejects here. “Well I hear that Laurel Canyon is full of stars, well I hate them worse than lepers and I’ll kill them in their cars” is a shocking line that is the summation of Young’s distaste with the celebrity culture of the time. This song is the first of three on the album to include “Blues” in the title.

“For The Turnstiles”: This track addresses the stupidity of big business pressure against art.  This song was written shortly after Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young’s overblown stadium tour. Young had formed resentment and hostility towards his former band mates due to their growing concern with siding with the business aspect of the music industry over true artistic values. Young’s falling out with his fame-making band certainly had an impact on the despair of the entire album. This song is prophetic, considering the impending commercial artist excess of the 1970’s music industry.

“Vampire Blues”: The next entry into the “Blues trilogy,” Vampire Blues is a song attacking big oil millionaires. “I’m a vampire baby sucking blood from the earth, I’m a vampire babe, I’ll sell you twenty barrels worth” attacks the oil industries damage to the environment likening them to a blood sucking vampire. This song contains the first of many conflicts with Richard Nixon and his America. “Good times are coming, I hear it everywhere I go, good times are coming but they sure are coming slow” is a realistic look at the misplaced optimism in Richard Nixon’s America.

Neil Young’s conflict with Richard Nixon is at the center of this album. Young and Nixon had a bitter and strange relationship over the years. From an earlier Young penned song, Ohio’s lyrics “Tin soldiers and Nixon’s coming” to “Campaigner” which includes the line “Even Richard Nixon has got soul.” Neil Young never hid his disdain for the president of the time period. The ongoing Watergate scandal did nothing to help Young’s opinion of the commander in chief. Even featured on the albums cover art is a newspaper featuring the headline  “Senator Buckley Calls for Nixon to resign.” His disdain is clearly represented on the second side of the album.

The next two tracks on the album, the title song “On The Beach”, and Young’s ode to his wife “Motion Pictures” are in line with the remainder of the album’s despairing mood. “The world is turning, I hope it don’t turn away” from “On The Beach” is just a reminder of how the author was feeling about the changing world he was living in. Based in mellow melodic chords, the songs are relaxing yet filled with gloom, setting the perfect mood for the final song.

“Ambulance Blues”: The centerpiece of the album. It is widely considered Young’s best song. It is the final song in the “Blues Trilogy.”  “Ambulance Blues is the tour de force of Young’s recording career. Young summarizes his entire musical/political past, beginning with the idealism of “the old folkie days.” Then impressionistically evoking specific social traumas, among them Watergate and the Hearst saga. He addresses us with a populist truism, which he repeats in a voice that quietly spits in our faces “You’re all just pissin’ in the wind”. The last verse cites Nixon as both a symptom and cause of a predicament that is frightening beyond comprehension: “I never knew a man could tell so many lies, he had a different story for every set of eyes, how can he remember who he’s talking to, cause I know it ain’t me and I hope it isn’t you.” This song is filled with depressing imagery of the time. Burnouts stubbing their toes on garbage pales. It is the perfect end to such a depressing look on Young’s society at the time.

This album is significant standing alone as a piece of music, but combining the historical circumstances it was created under adds to its importance.  It is an honest portrayal of what was occurring at the time of its construction. As Neil stated himself:

“‘On the Beach is a record that reflected what was going on at that time, and what was going on in my life at that time, and I think, like anything, if it’s true in the first place, it’ll be true forever. It should just ring differently, but it will still ring. If you’re contriving it or working too hard to create something, then it’s not going to ring true later on. So I’m glad On the Beach is happening now, and I hope people get something out of it.’”

On the Beach places a pulse on the flower power hangover and reminds us that we are all just pissing in the wind.