2 keepers
keeper avg .250
Young makes some amusing quips in the bloated opening track "Driftin' Back" though not enough to make the 27-minutes-plus worth sitting through more than once. "Walk Like A Giant"****, a 16-minute lament about his generation's failure to make the world better, benefits from an ironically jaunty whistling hook. Most of the attention on this album seems to be focused on the epic "Ramada Inn;" though it poignantly traces the arc of an entire relationship 16-plus minutes is overkill for just 3 short verses. Those 3 long tracks are about 15 minutes longer than most whole albums were before CD's. Of the songs that aren't epic jams two were probably written on the spot if not on the john; he already did "Born In Ontario" better at least twice ("Helpless" and "Don't Be Denied") and "Twisted Road" is another twangy walk down memory lane. "She's Always Dancing" recycles "Like A Hurricane" without any hook; also the beginning must have sucked when they recorded it because of the way it randomly fades in. Most satisfying is the "alternate mix" of the title song****; though it feels similar to "Cinnamon Girl" it gets in, rocks, and gets out (the other mix adds an obnoxious phaser effect so I'm glad Young gave us options). Neil Young always sounds great with Crazy Horse but there's a lot of strumming and noodling over almost 88-minutes.
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