a variety of session musicians, and often changing their instruments while offering only barebones arrangements for them to follow (in a similar style to Tonight's the Night). He also would opt for rough, monitor mixes of songs rather than a more polished sound, alienating his sound engineers in the process. Throughout the recording of the album, Young and his colleagues consumed a homemade concoction dubbed "Honey Slides", a goop of sauteed marijuana and honey that "felt like heroin", at the behest of session musician and de facto producer Rusty Kershaw. This may account for the mellow mood of the album, particularly the second half of the LP. Young has said of it "Good album. One side of it particularly—the side with 'Ambulance Blues', 'Motion Pictures' and 'On the Beach'—it's out there. It's a great take." Availability For about two decades, rarity made a cult out of On the Beach. The title was deleted from vinyl in the early 1980s and was only briefly available on cassette and 8-track cartridge tape, or European imports or bootlegs. Along with three other mid-period Young albums, it was withheld from re-release until 2003. The reasons for this remain murky, but there is some evidence that Young himself did not want the album out on CD, variously citing "fidelity problems" and legal issues. Beginning in 2000, over 5,000 fans signed an online petition calling for the release of the album on CD. It was finally released on CD on Reprise Records in August 2003. Music On the Beach is a folk rock album exploring themes of anger, alienation, and cautious optimism. "Walk On", the album's opener, has Young combining his melancholy outlook with a wish to move on and keep living. The track is followed by a rendition of his Harvest-era "See the Sky About to Rain", which had been covered by the Byrds a year earlier on their eponymous reunion album. "Revolution Blues" was inspired by Charles Manson, whom Young had met in his Topanga Canyon days. "For the Turnstiles" is a country-folk hybrid featuring Young's banjo guitar and a harmony vocal from Ben Keith, who also plays dobro on the track. The side closes with "Vampire Blues", a cynical attack on the oil industry. Side two of the LP version opens with "On the Beach", a slow, bluesy meditation on the downsides of fame which has been covered by many artists including Radiohead