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1976
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"...Four Strong Winds..."
You have to look at this 2017 5-Disc Reissue in
two ways - (a) it contains great material that is now remastered properly and
about time too - but there's also (b) - it's packaging is only OK at best and
it's ludicrously high price is an out-and-out insult to lifetime fans and
newbees alike. But let’s focus on the positive for the moment...
The 'Neil Young Archives Original Release
Series' (NYA ORS) finally gives us his much-revered late-Seventies material –
five albums worth (one a double live set) - and along with the 3LP/2CD
"Decade" retrospective (see separate review) allows fans to savour
all of our favourite Canadian whinge-bag's output is truly superb audio (mostly
for the first time too). Quite apart from the lack of sleep and Americana rust,
there's a lot to wade through, so here goes with the minutiae...
US/UK/Europe released 18 August 2017 -
"Original Release Series Discs 8.5-12" by NEIL YOUNG (and CRAZY
HORSE) on Reprise/Neil Young Archives 554706-2 (Barcode 093624915416) is a 5CD
Card Slipcase Box Set of New Remasters containing the following:
NYA ORS 8.5/Reprise 558557-2 is "Long May
You Run" by THE STILLS-YOUNG BAND (39:14 minutes):
1. Long May You Run [Side 1]
2. Make Love To You
3. Midnight On The Bay
4. Black Coral
5. Ocean Girl
6. Let It Shine [Side 2]
7. 12/8 Blues (All The Same)
8. Fontainebleau
9. Guardian Angel
Tracks 1 to 9 are the album "Long May You
Run" - released October 1976 in the USA on Reprise MS 2276 and October
1976 in the UK on Reprise K 54081. Produced by YOUNG, STILLS and DON GEEHAM -
Tracks 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8 written by Neil Young - Tracks 2, 4, 7 and 9 by Stephen
Stills. It peaked at No. 12 on the UK LP charts - No. 26 in the USA.
NYA ORS 9/Reprise 558558-2 is "American
Stars 'N Bars" by NEIL YOUNG (38:03 minutes):
1. The Old Country Waltz [Side 1]
2. Saddle Up The Palomino
3. Hey Babe
4. Hold Back The Tears
5. Bite The Bullet
6. Star Of Bethlehem [Side 2]
7. Will To Love
8. Like A Hurricane
9. Homegrown
Tracks 1 to 9 are the album "American
Stars 'N Bars" - released June 1977 in the USA on Reprise MSK 2261 and
June 1977 in the UK on Reprise K 54088. The recordings stretch from four
different time frames - November 1974 for "Star Of Bethlehem" -
"Like A Hurricane" and "Homegrown" from November 1975 -
"Will To Love" from May 1976 and the whole five tracks on Side 1 from
April 1977. Also although the album outer album artwork credits only Neil Young
- the inner sleeve credits all of Side 1 to Neil Young, Crazy Horse And The
Bullets with the last two tracks on Side 2 as Neil Young and Crazy Horse
(Tracks 1 and 2 on Side 2 as Neil Young only). Produced by NEIL YOUNG, DAVID
BRIGGS and TIM MULLIGAN - it peaked at No. 17 in the UK on the LP charts and
No. 21 in the USA.
NYA ORS 10/Reprise 558560-2 is "Comes A
Time" by NEIL YOUNG (37:08 minutes):
1. Goin' Back [Side 1]
2. Comes A Time
3. Look Out For My Love
4. Lotta Love
5. Peace Of Mind
6. Human Highway [Side 2]
7. Already One
8. Field Of Opportunity
9. Motorcycle Mama
10. Four Strong Winds
Tracks 1 to 10 are the album "Comes A
Time" - released October 1978 in the USA on Reprise MSK 2266 and October
1978 in the UK on Reprise K 54099 - it peaked at No. 42 in the UK LP charts and
No. 7 in the USA.
NYA ORS 11/Reprise 558561-2 is "Rust Never
Sleeps" by NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE (38:23 minutes):
1. My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue) [Side 1]
2. Thrasher
3. Ride My Llama
4. Pocahontas
5. Sail Away
6. Powederfinger [Side 2]
7. Welfare Mothers
8. Sedan Delivery
9. Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)
Tracks 1 to 9 are the album "Rust Never
Sleeps" - released June 1979 in the USA on Reprise HS 2295 and June 1979
in the UK on Reprise K 54105 - it peaked at No. 8 on the US LP charts and No.
13 in the UK.
NYA ORS 12/Reprise 558562-2 is "Live
Rust" by NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE (75:53 minutes, 2LP set onto 1CD):
1. Sugar Mountain [Side 1]
2. I Am A Child
3. Comes A Time
4. After The Gold Rush
5. My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)
6. When You Dance I Can Really Love [Side 2]
7. The Loner
8. The Needle And The Damage Done
9. Lotta Love
10. Sedan Delivery
11. Powderfinger [Side 3]
12. Cortez The Killer
13. Cinnamon Girl
14. Like A Hurricane [Side 4]
15. Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)
16. Tonight's The Night
Tracks 1 to 16 are the entire 2LP Live Set
"Live Rust" - released November 1979 in the USA on Reprise 2RX 2296
and November 1979 in the UK on Reprise K 64041 - it peaked at No. 15 on the US
LP charts and No. 55 in the UK.
The Outer Card Slipcase pictures the five album
sleeves on the rear and frankly little else. Inside there are 5 Mini LP Repro
Card Sleeves that duplicate the US original vinyl albums between October 1976
and November 1979. The Mini LP Sleeves are slightly larger than your average
5" Japanese equivalent so both the unprotected CD (no white bags) and
their inlays fall out easily because there's more room (perhaps too easily).
Each Reprise Records Riverboat design CD label also sports the new NYA ORS logo
that appears on the spine and rear of the outer box (Neil Young Archive -
Original Release Series). Original-LP-packaging-wise - fans will be glad to see
that all is present and accounted for - "Long May You Run" has its
brown inner bag now turned into a fold-out separate page with the printed
lyrics perfectly legible - "American Stars 'N Bars" has its white
inner bag turned into a fold-out separate page also - "Comes A Time"
had no inner bag originally so is simply given a plain white inner (this should
have been provided with all the other discs frankly) and both "Rust Never
Sleeps" and the live double "Live Rust" have their bits too -
inners, gatefold sleeve for the 2LP set etc. On Young's insistence - the
artwork remains exactly as it was - but because there's no other booklet or
insert – there’s no history – song comments – no unreleased and mastering isn't
even mentioned anywhere.
Audio-wise - undoubtedly this is the same team
who so expertly transferred and remastered the first box and more in the NYA series
- JOHN NOWLAND and TIM MULLIGAN. The original vinyl albums had good-to-great
mastering but for me often felt muted in places. These 2017 CD Remasters are
amazing - especially on the first three records - which make me feel like I'm
hearing them anew – instruments and space around them opened up and that's just
the best. Let's get to the music...
"Long May You Run" keeps it simple -
both heavyweights providing good songs and the band featuring cool dudes like
Joe Vitale of Joe Walsh's Barnstorm alongside Jerry Aiello and Joe Lala of
Stephen Stills' Manassas. The sheer catchy-chorus commerciality of Neil Young's
title track saw Reprise give it a 45 release in September 1976 (a month before
the album arrived). But despite the excellence of Stills' Eagles-chugging
boogie "12/8 Blues (All The Same)" on the B-side - it stalled outside
the Top 50 on both sides of the pond. Yet the album was reasonably well
received and on hearing stuff like the lights on the boats of the acoustically
melodious "Midnight On The Bay" (gorgeous audio) and the very CSNY
feel to "Black Coral" – it’s easy to hear why. Young gives it some
country grunge guitar and harmonica on "Let It Shine" while Stills
provides perfect harmonies – and again a revelatory audio. Screaming ZZ Top
guitar pings and huge duet chorus vocals on Young’s "Fontainebleau"
make it feel epic - but as much as I love him I’d say that the Stills finisher
"Guardian Angel" hasn’t worn well.
Both 1977's snub-nosed "American Stars 'N
Bars" and 1978's plain-looking "Comes A Time" have never had too
much of a good rep amongst reviewers and even some diehard fans – but I’m
thinking they’re due major reappraisal. The remastered five tracks on Side 1 of
"Stars..." sound huge - especially the disarmingly lovely "Hey
Babe" (the only US 45 off the album - paired with "Homegrown" in
July 1977 on Reprise 1390). And there’s also those impressive guests
accompanying Young - Linda Ronstadt and Nicolette Larson on Backing Vocals with
Carole Mayedo on Violin. Speaking of which - stalwart members of Young's
various backing bands The Stray Gators and Crazy Horse – both Billy Talbot
(Bass) and Ralph Molina (Drums) prop up "Homegrown" and the LP's
other big cut "Like A Hurricane" – here in its full 8:15 minute album
glory. It's a shame the British UK 7" single edit of "Like A
Hurricane" issued September 1977 (Reprise K 14482) isn't on here as a
bonus (alas). Country legend Emmylou Harris lends her distinctive wail to the
strumming "Star Of Bethlehem" – and again – another gorgeous
transfer. The Bars album rocks out with the short but oh so sweet grunge-rock
of "Homegrown" (what are you growing in there Neil?).
"Comes A Time" is a strumming Neil
Young album – almost every song an acoustic ballad dominated by Backing Vocals
from Nicolette Larson and what Young calls the "Gone With The Wind"
Orchestra. Amidst the strings you also get Spooner Oldham on Piano and J.J. Cale
guesting on Electric Guitar (not that the liner notes on the rear album sleeve
deign to actually tell where they are). Other niceties include the
leave-her-first "Peace Of Mind" and the pretty advice-number "Lotta
Love" which Nicolette Larson would make a hit on her November 1978
self-titled debut LP over on Warner Brothers (a Neil Young song has now
bizarrely become a ‘Yacht Rock’ staple).
"Rust Never Sleeps" was both a beast
and a new beginning in ways. The idea was apparently to record the all-new
material live (which they did) – but then Young tinkered with it in the studio.
Excepting the opener "My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)" - you can’t
really hear an audience present - but you can hear that distance in his vocal
that only the live setting gives – thereby adding an urgency to angry immigrant,
indigenous population and struggling family songs like "Thrasher", "Pocahontas" and "Welfare
Mothers". Roughly speaking Side 1 is the Acoustic set with Side 2 letting
rip with the electric guitars – grunge rocking as he begs on behalf of a
put-upon pilgrim to ‘shelter me from the powder finger’. Although it doesn’t
say so in the credits, sounds like Nicolette Larson is doing the backing vocals
on the lovely Side 1 acoustic finisher "Sail Away". There’s a Punk
rage in the hard-hitting "Welfare Mothers" and a fantastic frantic
power to "Sedan Delivery" that’s part MC5 meets The Sex Pistols. Whilst
on that subject – many of the early Seventies rockers at that time either
appeared like pomp dinosaurs or rich poodle softies wildly out of touch with
the real world in which the kids who adored them lived. Most just seemed
musically lost – unable to deal with or answer the sheer spit and venom of Punk
and New Wave. Neil Young with his grungy electric guitar roaring and fuming (just
like it had in 1969) seemed to embrace Punk with relish. He’d been angry before
for sure – but with "Rust Never Sleeps" he had at the time suddenly
seemed relevant again. I remember for many – Young hadn’t sounded this good in
years – and this huge remaster only hammers that home. The album finisher – the
distorted rocker "Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)" became an unlikely
45-hit and appears on his "Greatest Hits" – all stabbing and trashy. The
album "Rust Never Sleeps" was a milestone really in his extraordinary
canon of work – and it sounds incredibly fresh – even now.
Following quickly after in November 1979 came
the double-album follow up "Live Rust" – a fantastic live splurge
that by including such early rockers as "The Loner" and even "Cinnamon
Girl" reminded people that Neil had been there with his screaming guitar
long before Johnny Rotten and his cohorts had been in soiled nappies throwing
their headless toys out of a pram. Piano and Acoustic moments like "After
The Gold Rush", "Sugar Mountain" and "Comes A Time"
reminded ecstatic audiences of his power with melody and words. Amidst huge
roars his band lay into "Cortez The Killer" with eight-minutes of guitar
relish – that almost ZZ Top lonesome feel to his playing – it’s amazing stuff even
now almost 40 years after the event.
This box set has its problems for sure (the
ludicrous price, the lack of info, input and anything new musically) – but it
also serves as a powerful reminder of what has held him in such affection. And
it sounds monster. I picked up my copy on a well-known auction site for about
forty-quid – the most I want to pay for it.
Neil Young talks of perfect strangers and
outsiders in "The Loner" – a man treading his own path and screw-you
if you don’t like it – step aside or open wide my son. Fair dues...because
warts and all – he’s worth the fork out...
