Tonight's the Night by Neil Young

A constant theme on this list is the easy availability and ruinous effect of drugs (particularly heroin) on people involved in the music biz. Neil Young saw two friends die from overdoses in a short space of time - roadie Bruce Berry and guitarist Danny Whitten, the latter’s death happening on the night that Young had dropped him from his band Crazy Horse, compounding the grief and guilt.

As a result, this album is a raw howl of despair, with many rough edges but undeniable emotion. The opening and closing title tracks are a direct tribute to Bruce Berry, but other songs also directly reference drugs, especially “Come on Baby Let’s Go Downtown” which makes scoring drugs sound as easy and routine as going to the supermarket for your weekly shop.

Young himself wasn’t immune from temptation, although his drug of choice was booze, with the track “Borrowed Tune” being improvised around the music from “Lady Jane” by the Rolling Stones with the lyrics being a reflection on someone struggling and knowing that they’ve hit rock bottom. It wasn’t a huge surprise that even though the album was recorded in 1973 the record company sat on it until 1975, hoping for something a little more commercial.

Don’t do drugs, kids.