keepers - 4
keeper avg .500
I couldn't add much that hasn't already been said about this infamous album, the only official album Young has never released on CD (except the soundtracks Journey Through the Past and Where the Buffalo Roam). All the songs were recorded during Young's 1973 tour to promote Harvest, though it's the only place where these 8 songs have been officially released. The opening title track**** follows the country-rock formula of "Are You Ready For The Country"; it was used to open the electric sets on a few of the dates (although Young opened with "The Loner" on most dates of the tour). Unlike a typical live show, the acoustic ballads are interspersed throughout the album. "Journey Through The Past" is an inferior successor to "After The Gold Rush"; "Love In Mind", which was actually from Young's 1971 solo tour, covers the whole soft to intense dynamic range in under 2-minutes; but of the three, "The Bridge"****, an original and surprising melody, is the only one that doesn't drag the album down. The amusing "Yonder Stands The Sinner" touches on Young's R&B side, While "L.A."**** is the kind of straight-ahead rocker that would be at home on the next album, On The Beach. As much as the whole album is a sore spot for Young, it's on this tour he chose to lay down "Don't Be Denied"***** his life history and statement of purpose all in one. An epic like last "Last Dance" could only be placed at the end. First, it's a rocker better suited to Crazy Horse, the opposite of his Stray Gators. After driving verses, the chorus riff is actually crushed out by Tim Drummond on bass, with Young's ascending riff uneasily booming out hard right, setting up a 3-minute guitar battle for Middle Earth between Young, Ben Keith, Drummond, and David Crosby. It's the kind of prog thrashing Led Zeppelin would perfect on "Nobody's Fault But Mine" and "Achilles Last Stand" with some pedal steel thrown in there just to prove that Neil Young is actually insane. The wonder here is that unlike on the totally countrified title track, it sounds great here! While "Last Dance" is a noisy, poorly-conceived shambles it's also the most potent example of Young's dedication to audio verite, a decision he's apparently regretted ever since.
Comments