Another extract from Neil Young 1963 to 1970: Every Album, Every Song (On Track…)
This was the mid-sixties and the 20-year-old Neil was, like most others, totally smitten with Dylan and his poetic innovations in songwriting. Unlike most, Neil was as greatly impressed by Dylan’s contemporary Phil Ochs, who he rated just as highly.
Instead of seeking to form another band, Neil decided to go solo, develop his songwriting and perform in the folk clubs. It was here that he developed his lyrical style and also met Joni Mitchell, who had a big impact on him and his writing. That encounter also led to the involvement of another character, who was destined to have a huge bearing on his music and career – his later manager Elliot Roberts.
That songwriting of Neil’s was beginning to take off. The Guess Who, featuring a friend from the early days, Randy Bachman (a local muso who created a unique echo effect, much coveted by Neil, by passing sound through a tape recorder and went on to form Bachman Turner Overdrive), had a Top 40 hit with one of Neil’s songs, ‘Flying On The Ground Is Wrong’, which gave him some encouragement.
In the course of this solo period, Neil went to New York and met up with Richie Furay, who was playing folk in the clubs. Richie was smitten with Neil’s ‘Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing’ and Neil taught him the song, which became a part of Richie’s solo act. Richie would later share the song with Stephen Stills. This would turn out to be another vital cog in the machine that became Buffalo Springfield.