Neil Young's finest album by a fair margin. It's ungimmicky and aggressively uncommercial: let's see, we've got 3 or 4 twelve-bar blues songs, one banjo-pickin' slice of the Ozarks, two straight folk songs, and one ponderous ballad. Not exactly Harvest, Part II.

This is the album where Young finally learned to just not give a dang what anyone else thought he should be doing with his music. "Walk On" is a stoic but upbeat kiss-off to the people who'd claimed Young was artistically 'dead,' and it's intentionally mirrored in the last song on the album, "Ambulance Blues." The point of "Motion Pictures" has little to do with movies and everything to do with the lines "All those people think they've got it made/But I wouldn't buy, sell, borrow, or trade/Anything I have to be like one of them/I'd rather start all over again." Similarly, the cryptic lyrics of "For The Turnstiles" (which showcases one of the most taut, finely-calibrated arrangements of any Young song, period) are clarified by the final verse, where the narrator passively observes the fickle crowd abandoning its team, leaving them to "die on the diamond" while they scatter for the turnstiles.

As for "Ambulance Blues" (the best song) it may be poor taste to go directly after your critics, but the resigned manner in which Neil does it is absolutely essential to the concept of this album, whose overriding themes speak about strength through irony and wry detachment, and about throwing off the crippling yoke of others' expectations.

So I wonder if the symbolism of the title & cover isn't often lost on people. While most of these songs may sound extremely doomy, Neil is ON THE BEACH: he's come through the fire and made it to the water's edge. This shouldn't be heard as a dark and depressing musical experience, but rather as a passionately redemptive one. Which is why, if you buy into the confessional ethos of the singer-songwriter genre in the first place, this should be your alpha-omega album. Whatever it is you're looking for emotionally: it's in here.

I just recently bought this on CD. I really never got into this one back when it came out as an LP. I had always been into Neil, but after a while I guess I just burnt out on him and it was about when this one appeared. Bottom line is I have re-visited Neil on many occasions and have periods where I want to hear him all the time and then I get out of the mood for a while but I always return. On The Beach is one that I never heard and as I read other reviews I became intrigued. I have not been disappointed! This CD is full of everything that is Neil Young. The guitarwork is typical Neil in that it is simple and yet hauntingly effective as a framework for what I feel have got to be some of his best lyrics and singing. A lot of the reviews refer to this as a "dark" Neil Young album and there is no denying the truth of that analysis. It doesnt get any more serious, or relevant to todays society than "Revolution Blues" where as an outcast living on the edge of society talks of murdering Hollywood stars in their cars. However, the unique dark Neil Young humor, wit and sarcasam abounds in cuts like my personal favorite "Ambulance Blues" where he spouts that "Mother Goose is on the skids and the shoe aint happy and neither are the kids". Only Neil could come up with this kind of stuff and use it in a serious manner. Walk On, For the Turnstiles, and On The Beach are also standout cuts that are as good as anything he has ever written. In my opinion it is one of the most consistant of all the Neil Young offerings. In short, I love this one and recommend it to anyone who likes Neil.

In my opinion, this is Neil Young's finest album. The album is sparse, with personal, enigmatic, and sometimes bleak lyrics. I first heard this when I was lucky enough to find a used LP in a head shop when I was in college back in the late 90s. Needless to say, the album blew my doors off. I'd already gotten in to Neil, courtesy of a classmate, but this album proved to be a real find. I was elated when it was finally released on CD.

On the Beach is probably my favorite Neil song of all time. The lyrics are interesting and the emotion conveyed is incredible. In addition, I don't think Neil's guitar ever seemed as plaintive as it does here. Simply beautiful despair. Crack a bottle of wine and put this one on with the lights low.

After the success of HARVEST, Neil went through a murky period where he released some albums leaving fans begging for another HARVEST. Personally, I really like ON THE BEACH and had to wait a long time for it to be released on Disc. It contains some of my favorite Neil Young lines. In his recent 2007 tour he performed "Ambulance Blues" from this CD and I was about one of five people screaming. Some of the songs off this CD appeared on DECADE.

I have always thought that this was one of his strongest albums. The songwriting is thoughtful, interesting, and clever. The music is equally solid. Even his take on familiar genres--blues, ballads--are fresh and strong. His singing is as good as it ever gets, which may be an acquired taste for some, but he is at his peak here. Along with "After the Gold Rush", "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere", and "Harvest", I think this work completes the Holy Quadrangle of early Neil Young.