Young is joined by Crazy Horse and as a result, rings similar to some of his earlier recordings with the band. Side one is on the mellow side with Young on acoustic guitar and harmonica. Side two is much harder and rocking as Young lets rip on electric guitar. Much of that side comes off as muddled with the acoustic stuff brighter and folkier and more in tune with his successful Comes A Time LP. In addition to Crazy Horse, Nicolette Larson joins in on "Sail Away." Best cuts: "My, My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)," "Sail Away," "Powderfinger," "Thrasher," "Sedan Delivery."

- Billboard, 1979.

Bonus Reviews!

For the decade's greatest rock and roller to come out with his greatest album in 1979 is no miracle in itself -- the Stones made Exile as grizzled veterans. The miracle is that Young doesn't sound much more grizzled now than he already did in 1969; he's wiser but not wearier, victor so far over the slow burnout his title warns of. The album's music, like its aura of space-age primitivism, seems familiar, but while the melodies work because they're as simple and fresh as his melodies have always been, the offhand complexity of the lyrics is unprecedented in Young's work: "Pocahantas" makes "Cortez the Killer" seem like a tract, "Sedan Delivery" turns "Tonight's the Night" on its head, and the Johnny Rotten tribute apotheosizes rock-and-roll-is-here-to-stay. Inspirational Bumper Sticker: "Welfare mothers make better lovers." A+

- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.

The final year of each decade seems to be Young's ultimate inspiration, and Rust Never Sleeps is a major tenet for that heory. Arguably his most successful noncompilation release, it is imbued with rock poetry, anguished performance, and insightful vision. For all his celebrity and success, Neil Young still maintains the hungry, vigilant stance that gave such an electrifying edge to the music in the two preceding decades. "It's better to burn out than to fade away" -- "Down the timeless gorge of changes where sleeplessness awaits" -- "Then I saw black and my face splashed in the sky" -- "Welfare mothers make better lovers" -- "I'm makin' another delivery of chemicals and sacred roots" -- "Hey, hey, my, my/Rock & roll will never die/There's more to the picture/Than meets the eye" -- he may say it offhandedly, but he says it. More than just an essential Neil Young recording, this is an essential rock & roll record, and there aren't as many of those around. While sadly a bit compressed, the sound moves from bright, appropriately edgy acoustic, to raw, harsh raps of electronic assault -- it fits. A+

- Bill Shapiro, Rock & Roll Review: A Guide to Good Rock on CD, 1991.

Like the album that followed it, Live Rust, this is a live album. The difference is that this is a single disc containing all-new material. The songs are among Young's best ever, "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)," "Thrasher," and "Powderfinger," among them. * * * * *

- William Ruhlmann , The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.

Rust Never Sleeps (1979) and Weld (1991) are two great live albums -- the former a collection of awesome new songs, the latter serving notice of Young's turn-of-the-decade return to form. * * * * 1/2

- Alan Paul, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.

Effectively straddling different styles -- the acoustic first side featuring Nicolette Larson complements the vitriol of the electric side with Crazy Horse -- this tribute to the rowdy punk scene of the late '70s gave Neil back his street cred as American's leading iconclast folk-rocker. Some of the llyrics are pure haiku ("it's better to burn out than it is to rust") that became a philosophy and a rallying cry. * * * * *

- Zagat Survey Music Guide - 1,000 Top Albums of All Time, 2003.

In 1978, Young went on tour with a batch of songs his audience had never heard and got two albums out of it -- Rust Never Sleeps and the double LP Live Rust. Both are essential Neil Young, full of impossibly delicate acoustic songs and ragged Crazy Horse rampages. Highlights: "My My Hey Hey" (a tribute to Johnny Rotten), a surreal political spiel called "Welfare Mothers" ("make better lovers") and "Powderfinger," where Young's guitar hits the sky like never before.

Rust Never Sleeps was chosen as the 350th greatest album of all time by the editors of Rolling Stone magazine in Dec. 2003.

- Rolling Stone, 12/11/03.

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