NEIL IN A BOX

Canadian born but a long-term US resident (and eventually citizen), Neil Young was one of the dominant singer-songwriters of the 1970s. His inventory of classic albums—Harvest, After The Gold Rush, Tonight’s The Night, Comes A Time, to name a few—is extensive and inspirational. 

The 1980s were a different time. The personal collided with the professional in demanding ways, yet Young never put down his guitar nor hung up his touring boots. Focussing on the significant health needs of his son and distracted by disagreements with his record companies, Young still managed to release regular albums with even more variety of styles than in the previous decade. A selection of those releases are gathered on the fourth official boxed set Original Release Series Discs 13, 14, 20 & 21. That racy title may not win any marketing prizes, yet the numbers do signify something about the spread. 

First we have Hawks & Doves (October 1980), a stripped back LP with two distinct sides. The first features largely acoustic performances recorded between 1974 and 1977. Odd but somehow compelling, "The Old Homestead" is the centrepiece of the first half, a lyric that had many Young fans scratching their heads. The track also features a solo on bowed saw, an unusual choice. With opening cut "Little Wing" (not a Hendrix cover!) there is a pastoral mood reminiscent of a draft Comes A Time.

"Stayin’ power" kicks off the second side, a country flavoured tune about fidelity in tough times. Like the rest of this side, it was recorded during a session specifically for this LP. "Union Man" is solid Neil Young fare, a rollicking country stomper boot-scootin’ to and fro between sincerity and parody.

Overall Hawks & Doves is a pleasant, brief (30 minute) album.

Released in November 1981, Re.ac.tor saw Young reunite with rockin’ stalwarts Crazy Horse. A hard-driving set of ramshackle rock—Crazy Horse fans know the drill—it sounds great when you are in that particular mood, though one cannot help feeling that the lyrics could have received a little more attention. "T-bone" is the low point in this regard. Got mashed potatoes (x3) / Ain’t got no T-bone. Thankfully Re.ac.tor is rescued by the final two tracks, "Rap-id Tran-sit" and "Shots", which are strong and robust songs.

Passing over the divisive Trans, the rockabilly Everybody’s Rockin’ and another Crazy Horse collaboration, Life, the box jumps to the other end of the decade for This Note’s For You (April 1988).

This Note’s For You has a horn section, another departure for Neil Young but one that works well. No stranger to the blues, Young beefs up his twelve-bar and adds some R&B punch into the mix. The delightfully tongue-in-cheek "Ten Men Working" and the album’s grooving title track are uptempo foot-tappers, while the arrangement of "Life In the City" rocks so vigorously it threatens to overwhelm Young’s vocals. Horns can do that! Still, it’s a great track and the horns kick brass. By way of contrast, slower songs like "One Thing" and "Can’t Believe Your (sic) Lyin’" work well too, Young making a decent fist of his jazzy guitar parts.

The 1989 E.P. Eldorado was a curtain-raiser to the album Freedom which appeared in the latter part of the same year. Three of Eldorado’s songs reappeared in modified versions on the full-length LP but—importantly for Young completists—two did not. Eldorado is a short, high-energy set mostly played by a trio. After some of the uneven releases during the decade this Japan/Australia exclusive showed that Young could still write and perform powerful, jagged rock music. Lead track "Cocaine Eyes" is a rip-snorter: spirited and driving. Sometimes it sounds like Young is attacking his axe with an axe… the guitar interludes on "Don’t Cry" are simply gargantuan. On the second side, Young’s cover of "On Broadway" is more a despairing stumble down the famous New York thoroughfare than a hopeful adventure, but that’s the ragged glory of Neil Young… passionate, rough around the edges, a true original.

© Bruce Jenkins—July 2024