Recorded after (but released before)
Tonight's the Night,
On the Beach shares some of that album's bleakness and crude
production—which came as a shock to fans and critics alike, as this was the long-awaited studio follow-up to the commercially and critically successful
Harvest—but also included hints pointing towards a more subtle outlook, particularly on the opening track, "Walk On". (...)
The album was recorded in a haphazard manner, with Young utilizing 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.
