Neil Young / On the Beach (1974)
Back in the 90s, this record was nearly impossible to find. On vinyl, in the pre-internet age, it was a massive collector's item. I don't think it was even available on CD. For years, I'd wanted to hear it top-to-bottom, but couldn't. Every single time I'd walk into a record store, I'd look for it. Empty handed every time.
Somewhere in the mid-to-late 90s, my brother, while living in Cincinnati, phoned and told me to look out for something in the mail. He was so ecstatic that he called me back a few minutes later, "Ok, it's On the Beach. On vinyl." I nearly collapsed. This is a record collector's dream. When you finally land that long sought-after record. It's only happened a few times in my life, but when it does, it's like hitting gold. I remember the post office held the package for whatever reason. When I found out it was there, I drove down as fast as I could. I was handed the large square box. I ripped it open right there. And right as I dug into the cardboard, suddenly little pieces of vinyl started falling out of the box. It was SHATTERED. In a thousand pieces. I stood there just staring at it. The post office could do nothing. I thought about trying to tape the pieces together. Literally thought that that would make it work. It was a loss.
A few years later, eBay and other resources made tracking down this masterpiece a bit easier. Still quite rare, it's now out there. And the album was finally released on CD. I now have a few copies of each, and it remains my favorite Neil Young record, along with Tonight's the Night (and After the Gold Rush and probably a few more).
