| "The Loner" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byNeil Young | ||||
| from the albumNeil Young | ||||
| B-side | "Sugar Mountain" | |||
| Released | February 21, 1969 | |||
| Recorded | August 28, 1968 | |||
| Studio | Wally Heider Recording Sunset Sound Recorders TTG Recording, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 3:05 (single) 3:55 (album) | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriter | Neil Young | |||
| Producers |
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| Neil Young singles chronology | ||||
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"The Loner" is a song byNeil Young, his first solo single. It was released on hissolo debut album in November 1968, and then an edited version as his debut solosingle three months later onReprise Records. It missed theBillboard Hot 100 chart completely, but over time has become a staple of his performance repertoire. Both it and "Sugar Mountain", itsB-side recorded live at the Canterbury House inAnn Arbor, Michigan, were released on album together for his 1977 compilation,Decade.
"The Loner" was written whileBuffalo Springfield was in its last throes. The widely held assumption that the song was written aboutStephen Stills (who covered the song on his 1976 albumIllegal Stills[1]) can perhaps not be disproved (Young himself rarely provides clarity on such issues), but it is perhaps more likely that the song is autobiographical in nature, especially since Young was, of all Springfield members, the most bothered by playing as a member of a band.[2]
Recorded with former Springfield memberJim Messina (bass) andGeorge Grantham (drums) (they were uncredited on the album sleeve), it is the first Young track produced byDavid Briggs, with whom Young would collaborate until Briggs's death.[2] Strings were arranged by David Blumberg, whom Young met through Briggs.[3] Young's guitar is inDouble drop D tuning;[4] "psycho guitar noises" were made, according to Briggs, by putting the guitar through aLeslie speaker[5] (the sound has also been referred to as a "fuzztoned rave-up"[6]). The lyrics are characterized by dread and disorientation, coming from an "immobile protagonist" who "witnesses extraordinary visual displays".[7]
Praise came quickly.Rolling Stone said: "'The Loner' is a contemporary lament that features a nice blending of Neil's guitar with strings in non-obtrusive fashion, allowing Young's balanced ice-pick vocal to chip effectively at the listener."[8]Cash Box said that there was "tremendous power in the instrumentals and [Young's] vocal."[9] Allmusic critic Matthew Greenwald stated that "lyrically, it's one of Young's finest autobiographical songs, a virtual self-portrait.[1] The song is still played live, as is one other song fromNeil Young, "The Old Laughing Lady".[2] Stephen Stills has played the song live with and without Young.[10][11]
The song was featured on the soundtrack of the 1970 movieThe Strawberry Statement and is included on the movie soundtrack album.
"The Loner" has been covered by the following artists:
