54.
Pardon My Heart -- Neil Young and Crazy Horse (from
Zuma)
Like CSN, Neil upped his songwriting game in 1974 in part due to the CSNY reunion tour and planned album (which never happened). Many of these songs were about his breakup with actress Carrie Snodgress, the mother of his oldest son. In fact, his next solo album after CSNY fell apart was supposed to be Homegrown, a collection of songs about the breakup and the physical and emotional debauchery it led him to. Dozens of these songs were recorded in late '74 and an album was prepared for release in early/mid '75. But one night at a party, Neil played a cassette with Homegrown on one side and Tonight's the Night, a ragged concept album about the seedy side of the counterculture and the early deaths that resulted from it that his label had rejected in 1973, on the other. Everyone there, including members of Crazy Horse and The Band, told him that they liked Tonight's the Night better and he should release it instead of Homegrown. Using his renewed clout from the (financial, at least) success of the CSNY tour, Neil convinced his label to shelve Homegrown and put out Tonight's the Night, which it did in mid-75.
This didn't mean Neil completely forgot about the Homegrown songs, though. They dribbled out on subsequent albums, tours and archival releases. And finally, this summer, Homegrown got an archival release in its own right.
One of the first of the breakup songs to see the light of day was Pardon My Heart, released on Zuma, Neil's next album of new material, issued in late '75. Most of Zuma is earthshaking rock and roll, capped by Cortez the Killer, arguably my favorite song of all time (it's
#1 on my Neil list and #1 on my 1975 list, and was taken by Tim). Pardon My Heart,
#43 in my Neil countdown, by contrast is graceful and subdued, with gentle harmonies and absolutely heartbreaking lyrics.
Pardon my heart
If I showed that I cared
But I love you more than moments
We have or have not shared
&
Pardon My Heart did not appear on the Homegrown archival release, but we don't know if its tracklist is an exact match with what Neil intended to release in '75. I doubt he remembers.
Tomorrow morning: A song that may or may not appear in
@krista4's solo Beatles countdown.