The Rockets (album)

Last updated
The Rockets
Rocketsalbum.jpg
Studio album by
Released1968
Genre Blues rock, folk rock, psychedelic rock
Length28:57
Label White Whale
Producer Barry Goldberg
Crazy Horse chronology
The Rockets
(1968)
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
(1969)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

The Rockets is the sole release by the Rockets in 1968. Selling only about 5,000 copies, it was far from a success. Nevertheless, the album found among its fans Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young, who would soon take rhythm guitarist/lead vocalist Danny Whitten, bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina for his backing band on the album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere . They first dubbed themselves War Babies, but Young renamed them Crazy Horse, a name that would stick. The Rockets soon folded due to Young's insistence on having Whitten, Talbot and Molina keep to a strict practice schedule (although the group was honored by the subtitle of one of Young's songs from Everybody Knows this is Nowhere: "Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets)"). Talbot and Molina have remained as part of Crazy Horse to this day, and all of the other Rockets, except for Leon Whitsell, would eventually collaborate with Young.

Contents

"Hole in My Pocket" was released as a single. Whitten's "Let Me Go" was prominently covered by Three Dog Night on their 1968 debut. "Mr. Chips" was allegedly about Ahmet Ertegün's refusal to sign the band to Atlantic Records. The Rockets had been previously known as The Psyrcle on Lorna, a division of Autumn Records.

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Hole in My Pocket" (Danny Whitten)
  2. "Won't You Say You'll Stay" (Whitten)
  3. "Mr. Chips" (Whitten)
  4. "It's A Mistake" (Ralph Molina, Billy Talbot)
  5. "Let Me Go" (Whitten)

Side two

  1. "Try My Patience" (Leon Whitsell)
  2. "I Won't Always Be Around" (L. Whitsell)
  3. "Pill's Blues" (George Whitsell)
  4. "Stretch Your Skin" (L. Whitsell)
  5. "Eraser" (L. Whitsell)

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>Decade</i> (Neil Young album) 1977 compilation album by Neil Young

Decade is a compilation album by Canadian–American musician Neil Young, originally released in 1977 as a triple album and later issued on two compact discs. It contains 35 of Young's songs recorded between 1966 and 1976, among them five tracks that had been unreleased up to that point. It peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAA in 1986.

<i>Tonights the Night</i> (Neil Young album) 1975 studio album by Neil Young

Tonight's the Night is the sixth studio album by Canadian / American songwriter Neil Young. It was recorded in August–September 1973, mostly on August 26, but its release was delayed until June 1975. It peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard 200. The album is the third and final of the so-called "Ditch Trilogy" of albums that Young released following the major success of 1972's Harvest, whereupon the scope of his success and acclaim became so difficult for Young to handle that he subsequently experienced alienation from his music and career.

<i>After the Gold Rush</i> 1970 studio album by Neil Young

After the Gold Rush is the third studio album by the Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released in September 1970 on Reprise Records. It is one of four high-profile solo albums released by the members of folk rock group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their chart-topping 1970 album Déjà Vu. Young's album consists mainly of country folk music along with several rock tracks, including "Southern Man". The material was inspired by the unproduced Dean Stockwell-Herb Bermann screenplay After the Gold Rush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crazy Horse (band)</span> American rock band

Crazy Horse is an American rock band best known for their association with Neil Young. Beginning in 1969 and continuing to the present day, they have been co-credited on a number of Young's albums, with 15 studio albums and numerous live albums being billed as by Neil Young and Crazy Horse. They have also released six studio albums of their own, issued between 1971 and 2009.

<i>Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere</i> 1969 studio album by Neil Young with Crazy Horse

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is the second studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released in May 1969 on Reprise Records, catalogue number RS 6349. His first with longtime backing band Crazy Horse, it emerged as a sleeper hit amid Young's contemporaneous success with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, ultimately peaking at number 34 on the US Billboard 200 in August 1970 during a 98-week chart stay. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA.

Danny Ray Whitten was an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with Neil Young's backing band Crazy Horse, and for the song "I Don't Want to Talk About It", a hit for Rod Stewart and Everything but the Girl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Talbot</span> American singer-songwriter and musician (born 1943)

William Hammond Talbot is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the bassist of Crazy Horse.

<i>Left for Dead</i> (Crazy Horse album) 1989 studio album by Crazy Horse

Left for Dead is a 1989 album released by the group Crazy Horse.

<i>Zuma</i> (Neil Young & Crazy Horse album) 1975 studio album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse

Zuma, the seventh studio album by Canadian/American musician Neil Young, was released on Reprise Records in November 1975. Co-credited to Crazy Horse, it includes "Cortez the Killer", one of Young's best-known songs.

<i>Crazy Horse</i> (album) 1971 studio album by Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse is the debut album by Crazy Horse, released in 1971 by Reprise Records. It is the only album by the band to feature Danny Whitten recorded without Neil Young, and it peaked at No. 84 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Sampedro</span> American musician

Frank "Poncho" Sampedro is an American retired guitarist and member of the rock band Crazy Horse, known mainly for his longtime collaboration with singer-songwriter Neil Young. Sampedro has played and recorded with Young in many other configurations aside from Crazy Horse and earned co-writing credits on several Young songs. Out of all Young's musical collaborators, Sampedro has proven perhaps the most adept at working with the mercurial artist. "Most people turn a corner. Neil ricochets," says Sampedro.

<i>Live at the Fillmore East</i> (Neil Young album) 2006 live album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse

Live at the Fillmore East is a live album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse featuring guitarist Danny Whitten, released in 2006. It also has the distinction of being the first album released as part of the Neil Young Archives series of archival recordings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Molina</span> American musician (born 1943)

Ralph Molina is an American musician, best known as the drummer for Neil Young's backing band Crazy Horse.

<i>The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972</i> 2009 box set by Neil Young

Neil Young Archives Vol. 1: 1963–1972 is the first in a planned series of box sets of archival material by Canadian-American musician Neil Young. It was released on June 2, 2009, in three different formats - a set of 10 Blu-ray discs in order to present high resolution audio as well as accompanying visual documentation, a set of 10 DVDs and a more basic 8-CD set. Covering Young's early years with The Squires and Buffalo Springfield, it also includes various demos, outtakes and alternate versions of songs from his albums Neil Young, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After the Gold Rush, and Harvest, as well as tracks he recorded with Crazy Horse and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young during this time. Also included in the set are several live discs, as well as a copy of the long out-of-print film Journey Through the Past, directed by Young in the early 1970s.

<i>Loose</i> (Crazy Horse album) 1972 studio album by Crazy Horse

Loose is a 1972 album by the rock band Crazy Horse, the follow-up to their self-titled debut. It marked the departure of founding guitarist Danny Whitten, as well as Jack Nitzsche and Nils Lofgren. In their place for this album were George Whitsell and Greg Leroy on guitars, and John Blanton on organ.

<i>At Crooked Lake</i> 1972 studio album by Crazy Horse

At Crooked Lake is a 1972 album released by the group Crazy Horse. The album marked the departure of guitarist and former Rockets member George Whitsell, as well as organ player John Blanton. In their place for this album were Rick and Michael Curtis.

<i>Gone Dead Train: The Best of Crazy Horse 1971–1989</i> 2005 compilation album by Crazy Horse

Gone Dead Train: The Best of Crazy Horse 1971–1989 is a 2005 compilation album released by Crazy Horse.

<i>Scratchy: The Complete Reprise Recordings</i> 2005 compilation album by Crazy Horse

Scratchy: The Complete Reprise Recordings is a 2005 compilation album released by the group Crazy Horse. It is a re-issue of the first two Crazy Horse albums, Crazy Horse and Loose, on Reprise Records, with bonus tracks and the first single by the pre-Crazy Horse group Danny & The Memories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (song)</span> Neil Young song

"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" is a song written by Neil Young that was originally released as the title track of his 1969 album with Crazy Horse, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. The song was written earlier, and a different version was originally considered for Young's 1968 solo debut album Neil Young

<i>Neil Young Archives Volume II: 1972–1976</i> 2020 box set by Neil Young

Neil Young Archives Volume II: 1972–1976 is a 10-CD box set from American-Canadian folk rock musician Neil Young that was initially released in a limited deluxe box set on November 20, 2020. The release is the second box set in his Neil Young Archives series, following 2009's The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972, and covers a three-and-a-half-year period from 1972–1976. The track list was officially announced on the Neil Young Archives site on September 20, 2020, with the first single, "Come Along and Say You Will", being posted to the site as the Song of the Day on October 14. The set then went up for pre-order on October 16, 2020, as an exclusive release to his online store, with only 3,000 copies being initially made available worldwide. After selling out the following day, Young announced several weeks later that a general retail version, as well as a second pressing of the deluxe box set, is expected to be released to market on March 5, 2021. This was followed by the release of a second single, "Homefires", on October 21, and a third, an alternate version of "Powderfinger", on November 3.

References

  1. Unterberger, Richie. The Rockets at AllMusic