一聽音樂網

On the Beach這張發行于1974年的專輯被稱為是Neil Young 的Ditch Trilogy之一，另外兩部曲是Time Fades Away(1973)與Tonight's the Night(1975)。這個名稱源自于老楊本身的一段話："This song put me in the middle of the road. Travelling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there." 這首歌指的是讓他成為流行巨星的排行榜冠軍曲Heart of gold，老楊本身極度不適應、也不喜歡這種成名后所帶來華而不實的明星生活型態，他寧愿選擇一條較艱難卻有趣的多的道路，除此之外，多年好友Crazy Horse吉他手Danny Whitten與樂團巡迴經紀人Bruce Berry相繼因藥物問題而去世也帶給老楊極大的打擊，因此這三張專輯內容流露的盡是黑暗與絕望的氣息，于是又被稱為是Doom Trilogy或者是Depression Trilogy，而On the Beach里的Revolution blues、Vampire blues與Ambulance blues三首歌明白點出了老楊當時的心境，這三首歌曲也是這張專輯里著名的藍調三部曲Blues Trilogy。

在音樂部份，On the Beach的曲調雖是以民謠與鄉村搖滾為主，但是整體卻佈滿深沉的憂鬱，吉他、口琴、鋼琴、貝斯與鼓擊都因沾滿老楊哀愁的思緒而變得低調起來，是一種疲累到腳步沉重緩慢以至于幾近無法行走的狀態，整個人頹然地癱坐在椅子上動彈不得，再加上老楊本身尖而細的嗓音，高音單薄但韌性十足，彷彿像針一般刺進你的心里，逼使自己正視那一塊不想碰觸的角落，然而即使流膿也是一件好事，因為所有的不快樂都隨著聆聽On the Beach這張專輯而被洗滌乾凈，那是一種痛徹心扉后的舒服暢快，靈魂在此也得到拯救，而且沒有人該是永遠悲傷自憐的，老楊也想藉著三部曲之末篇On the Beach的發行(比Tonight's the Night晚錄製卻因唱片公司的考量而早一年出版)出清那段時間累積的負面情緒，于是在這張專輯里唯一一首輕快、帶有些許陽光氣息歌曲Walk on的出現便具有某種程度上的正面意義，讓我們明白唯有放下過去繼續往前走，未來才能值得期待，正如歌詞所陳述，"sooner or later, it all gets real."。


Recorded after (but released before) Tonight's the Night, On the Beach shares some of that album’s bleakness and crude production—which came as a shock to fans and critics alike, as this was the long-awaited studio follow-up to the commercial hit Harvest—but also included hints pointing towards a more subtle outlook, particularly opener "Walk On".

While the original Rolling Stone review described it as "One of the most despairing albums of the decade", later critics such as All Music Guide’s William Ruhlmann used the benefit of hindsight to conclude that Young "[w]as saying goodbye to despair, not being overwhelmed by it". The despair of Tonight's the Night, communicated through intentional underproduction and lyrical pessimism, gives way to a more polished album that is still pessimistic but not so much so.

Much like Tonight's the Night, On the Beach was not a commercial success at the time of its release but over time attained both a cult following and high critical regard. The album was recorded in a haphazard manner, with Young utilizing a variety of session musicians, and often changing their instruments while offering only bare-bones arrangements for them to follow (in true Tonight's the Night tradition). He also would opt for rough, monitor mixes of songs rather than a more polished sound, alienating his sound engineers in the process.

Throughout the recording of the album, Young and his fellow musicians consumed a homemade concoction dubbed "Honey Slides", a goop of sauteed marijuana and honey that was, in manager Elliot Roberts' words, "...much worse than heroin. Much heavier." (Shakey: Neil Young's Biography, Jimmy McDonough). This may account for the mellow mood of the album, particularly side two of the original LP. Young has said of it "Good album. One side of it particularly—the side with "Ambulance Blues", "Motion Pictures" and "On the Beach"—it's out there. It's a great take." (Shakey)

For nearly two decades, rarity made a cult out of On the Beach—deleted from vinyl in the early 1980's and only briefly released on cassette—the old slip case style, as well as 8-track tape, it headed the list of most-desired albums not released on CD. Along with three other mid-period Young albums, it had been withheld from re-release until 2003; the reasons remain murky but there is some evidence that Young himself didn’t want the albums out on CD, variously citing “fidelity problems” and legal issues. Beginning in 2000, over 5000 fans signed an online petition calling for the release of the album on CD; this wish was finally granted in 2003.