This bestseller is a good example of music being prematurely judged out of the expectations of its time. Yeah, the Stray Gators just didn’t have as much meat on their bones as Crazy Horse. And what’s with that funny orchestra in the middle? Wasn’t “Heart Of Gold” too banal after all? And anyway, why couldn’t it just be CSN&Y again? There was also the amusing assessment that “Are You Ready For The Country?” was the strongest of the ten songs. It’s one of the weaker ones, alongside the really lame Southern Man reprise Alabama.
A good example of how music is prematurely judged out of the expectations of its time
The baroque folk “There’s A World” is more of a world unto itself. Like that of the junkie from “The Needle And The Damage Done”, a lonely solo even then. This is followed by the solo concert versions (BBC 1971) of other songs contained here. Whereby a dramatically forced “Old Man” only proves what a good choice Young made with the Stray Gators, which were literally picked up in Nashville by Quadrafonic studio boss Elliot Mazer. Minimalist Kenny Buttrey’s, well, buttery bass drum and Ben Keith’s sublime pedal steel (“Out On The Weekend”!) are worth the ticket alone.
Only the studio band around Jack Nitzsche and background angels like Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor drew this friendly country face, which contradicts the feeling behind it so appealingly. Not only in the title song is Neil Young the ultimate Happy Sad prototype. And his opus magnum has remained “A Man Needs A Maid”. When the orchestra picks up, it’s like sitting in the movie that Young is watching in the song to fall in love with this actress (who actually existed: Carrie Snodgress). Often castigated as misogynistic, the song only exposes a man who is afraid of getting hurt. The most interesting part of the birthday edition is probably a previously unpublished two-hour documentary of the sessions, which unfortunately could not be examined in advance.
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