Shoreline Amphitheatr (10-17- 1998
"Ambulance Blues" is the final song on Young's fifth album, On The Beach.
At just under nine minutes long, it was never going to get a lot of
radio play, and its conversational feel makes it an unlikely choice for
jukeboxes or party playlists. Still, it's counted among Young's greatest
artistic achievements. Johnny Rogan in The Complete Guide to the Music of Neil Young
goes so far as to call it the "summit of Young's achievement as a
singer songwriter... the most likely candidate as his greatest and most
memorable composition."(Songfacts)
On the Beach is the fifth studio album by Canadian-American musician
Neil Young, released by
Reprise Records
in July 1974. The album is the second of the so-called "Ditch Trilogy"
of albums that Young recorded following the major success of 1972's
Harvest, whereupon the scope of his success and acclaim became apparent; Young subsequently experienced alienation, and
On the Beach was inspired by his feelings of retreat and melancholy stemming from it.