“There was a band playing in my head,” Neil Young sang on “After the Gold Rush” in 1970 And over the course of his 60+-year career, the elusive sound of that imaginary band has driven the ever-mercurial songwriter through countless phases and stages. He’s gone through an array of backing bands searching for the musicians who are able to make his musical dreams a reality, whether it’s his on-again/off-again love affair with Crazy Horse, dalliances with grunge superstars or his frequent trips to Nashville. Below, an entirely subjective ranking of those various bands.
15
Stills-Young Band
Even Neil couldn’t stand this band in the end, famously ditching Stills and co. in the middle of a major U.S. tour in support of 1976’s Long May You Run LP. A little too slick, a little too sleazy, a little too boring! Still, he recently unearthed an excellent Stills-Young Band studio outtake on Archives Vol. II: a devastated version of the divorce dirge “Separate Ways”.
14
The Shocking Pink
Did we just mention genre swerves? The short-lived Shocking Pinks let Young indulge his rockabilly side. Everybody’s Rockin’ is a low point in the discography; however, some 1983 bootlegs are a hoot, with Neil finding an authentically deranged Sun Records sweet spot.
13
The Bluenotes
Another one of Neil’s 1980s genre swerves, the big band stylings of the Bluenotes didn’t comes across too well on their lone studio album This Note’s For You. But the Bluenote Café live album (recorded in 1987 and 1988, released in 2015) gives them their due, delivering swinging, hard-edged R&B and piercing guitar from Young.
12
Friends & Relatives
As their name suggests, this may have been a little too cozy of a backing band. Touring behind 2000’s Silver and Gold, the only official evidence we have is the semi-lackluster Road Rock V1 live album. But sparks occasionally flew, mainly thanks to the explosive drums of Jim Keltner, who kicked Young’s ass in to gear on such tunes as “Words” and “Cowgirl in the Sand”.
11
The Chrome Dreams Band / His Electric Band
Touring the world from 2007-2009, this group was another grab-bag, featuring Ben Keith (often on rhythm guitar instead of his usual pedal steel), Young’s then-wife Pegi Young, International Harvester Michael Anthony, bassist Rick Rosas, and drummers Ralph Molina and Chad Cromwell. They provided a sturdy, if slightly anonymous, foundation for long “No Hidden Path” jams as well more oddball moments like a surprisingly successful cover of “A Day in the Life”.
10
Pearl Jam
Neil burnished his “Godfather of Grunge” crown with Mirror Ball, the 1995 LP that saw Pearl Jam —his former opening act —doing their best Crazy Horse impression. The collab wouldn’t last long, but the album (and subsequent European tour) demonstrated that Vedder and co. understood the assignment.
9
The Chrome Hearts
Young’s newest band is a multi-generational affair featuring 3/5 of the Promise of the Real plus veteran session keyboardist and songwriter Spooner Oldham. Their debut 2025’s Talking to the Trees was a so-so affair. However, the live album As Time Explodes and the forthcoming Second Song suggest that the Chrome Hearts are a force to be reckoned with.
8
The Restless / The Lost Dogs
Young emerged from his genre-hopping 1980s wilderness with an early 1989 tour across the U.S., Australia and Japan with the cheekily named Restless, featuring various members of Crazy Horse, the Bluenotes and the Stray Gators. With rarely-since played numbers from the El Dorado EP in the repertoire, Neil unleashed some of the fieriest guitar work of his career —which is saying something.
7
The Trans Band / The Royal Pineapples
A motley crew of characters from Neil’s past, this group only lasted one tour —the controversial 1982 jaunt in support of the electro-pop Trans. But when things clicked, the Trans Band had substantial chemistry, best displayed in the In Berlin film. And who can resist Neil and Nils’ bizarro dance routine on “Transformer Man”?
6
Promise of the Real
With Willie Nelson’s kids Lucas and Micah at the helm, Neil’s live shows between 2014 and 2019 got a youthful shot in the arm. Indeed, these were some of the longest and most varied concerts of Young’s career, with setlists that went way deeper than almost any other era, as the Real reintroduced such rarities as “Like An Inca”, “Revolution Blues” and “Change Your Mind”.
5
Booker T & the M.G.’s
It doesn’t make sense on paper, perhaps, but this team-up worked magnificently on Young’s 1993 tour. The M.G.’s (with legendary drummer Jim Keltner behind the kit) could go wherever their leader took them, whether through a stormy, feedback drenched “Down by the River” or a charming cover of Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay”.
4
The International Harvesters
Though they didn’t really get a chance to shine in the studio, the country-fried International Harvesters sound absolutely brilliant on the mid-1980s live collection A Treasure, belatedly released in 2011 — especially on such barnstorming tracks as “Grey Riders” and “Southern Pacific”.
3
The Santa Monica Flyers
Fuelled by cheeseburgers, tequila and more illicit substances, this reconfigured Crazy Horse lineup (with Lofgren and Keith added to the mix) followed Young into the ditch on Tonight’s the Night and its subsequent, fully wasted tour, finding grief and joy in equal measure.
2
The Stray Gators
This group was made up mostly of Music City session players, but they were more than just slick Nashville cats. With Ben Keith’s ghostly pedal steel and Kenneth Buttrey’s skeletal drum patterns at the fore, the Gators brought their considerable talents to some of Young’s most beloved songs, including “Heart of Gold” and “Old Man”. And as Time Fades Away ably demonstrates, they could also rock out with the best of them.
1
Crazy Horse
From 1969 through 2024, Young returned again and again to the elemental sound of Crazy Horse. With Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina supplying that brutal beat and Danny Whitten, Poncho Sampedro, Nils Lofgren and Micah Nelson on sensitively simple second guitar over the decades, the band has given Neil the perfect backdrop for his most soaring moments. Their last tour was unexpectedly truncated due to health concerns, but Young recently assured fans that the Horse is “alive and well.”