Album of the Day

Released in 1988, THIS NOTE’S FOR YOU was Neil Young’s first album back at Reprise Records after several years with Geffen – and it’s arguably the best of the genre explorations he made that decade. Inspired by the success of a blues mini-set he’d been doing on tour the preceding year, Young brought a set of R&B-influenced songs to the studio along with a band including a six-piece horn section (who would’ve been known as The Bluenotes were it not for Harold Melvin’s objections). If the music was roots-oriented, the lyrics were of-the-moment, with the commercialization of rock a prominent theme; the title track’s parody of sponsorship prompted MTV to ban it before later naming it Video of the Year. If you’ve ever been inspired by the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s passion, then THIS NOTE’S FOR YOU.