In the short space of three albums, folk singer-songwriter Fred Neil managed to quietly influence a generation. Without finding much commercial success himself, he left his imprint on popular music with a collection of songs that would see successful covers by a multitude of artists.
Along with Tim Hardin, Fred Neil seems to have been one of the most-covered unknown artists of his generation. But unlike Hardin, whose albums were often “enhanced” in the studio with awful backing arrangements (I believe against his will and at times without even his knowledge), Neil’s own performances are fantastic all on their own. He has an deep, resonant voice—atypical yet expressive and alluring, and he kept his arrangements spare and fresh.
He lays bare the isolation at the heart of the rambling man archetype on his first album, evoking a restless soul eternally on the move, never feeling at home or at ease, capable of fleeting moments of genuine love but unable to commit. On his second album he gives the archetype an existential seeker’s heart in his richest songs, “The Dolphins” and “Everybody’s Talking.”
For his third album, he brings the rambling to the musical structure itself, in long, aimlessly meandering musings. He seems almost about to fall apart. I don’t include anything from it here, because it doesn’t feel of a piece with the rest. For some, the third album will have train wreck appeal—the legions of alt-hipsters convinced that Big Star’s Third/Sister Lovers is their best will no doubt find a new reclamation project to champion.
This playlist contains a generous selection from his first two albums.
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