Tonight's the Night was actually a couple of years old by the time of its release in the summer of '75 and had gone through a few minor changes within its original track listing and mixing. Tonight's the Night's core of material was actually worked on in 1973, setting up shop in downtown Los Angeles' Studio Instrumental Rentals rehearsal space with Crazy Horse members  Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina and Nils Lofgren, and the addition of Young mainstay, Ben Keith. This point in time was a rough period for Neil personally and professionally; losing close friends to drug overdoses/deaths, an indifferent brief marriage to actress Carrie Snodgress and fathering a son with minor cerebral palsy, coupled with the success of his landmark Harvest album in '72 and feeling the grip of the corporate commercial grind, Tonight's the Night displays the artist's vulnerabilities without excuse or pardon and the stark, loose, chaotic and depressing elements spook the listener into a delusional, paranoid and uneasy feeling, which for me, lies its appeal.

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The album  bookends  2 versions of the title track;  the opening cut seems more settled into a groove and vibe than its closing counterpart which is a bit more "liquid". It tells a blurry story of former CSNY roadie Bruce Berry and his succumbing to heroin, which sets the tone immediately throughout the record's duration.  There are a few quiet numbers in the forms of "New Mama", an acoustic number with sparse harmony accompaniment and piano, as well as "Borrowed Tune", displaying a melancholic Neil at the piano, admitting at the end of the number he stole the melody from the "Rollin' Stones"(Lady Jane is the number in question). This kind of naked starkness is what draws the listener into the mind of the creator at hand and I can easily say this record is by far one of his most enigmatic releases(Next to Trans, Everybody's Rockin and This Note's For You), although the ensemble sound is very much in the usual vein of his then current rock style with a country flavor. Cuts like Albuquerque, Lookout Joe and World on a String display these qualities and then there are the more shambolic moments of Mellow My Mind, Roll Another Number (for the Road) and Tired Eyes, that gives one the impression you're just as intoxicated as the musicians themselves are!

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Neil included an homage to his fallen collaborator, Danny Whitten(Crazy Horse) with a live recording of a lost classic, "C'mon Baby Let's Go Downtown", sung lead by and featuring some great riffing by Mr. Whitten whom Neil had tried to save from the clutches of heroin. Danny was supposed to accompany Neil in support of what would have been the Harvest/Time Fades Away tour, but unfortunately overdosed, thus being a catalyst for the creation of Tonight's the Night. If you're a casual fan of Neil's, this record is not for you. This is definitely one for the die hard fan. 

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Rating Grade- A