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So, continuing in my chronological run-thru of the catalog, I've gone through American Stars n' Bars, Comes a Time, Rust Never Sleeps and Hawks and Doves. Before this, I'd heard Comes a Time and Rust, about half of Stars n' Bars and maybe a song or two from Hawks and Doves.
Liked Stars n' Bars quite a bit. Yeah, that end run of Bethlehem/Hurricane/Will to Love/Homegrown is probably the highlight, but I enjoyed the first half. There was a slightness to it that I tend to associate with a lot of Neil's later work, but it was still good music; I remember enjoying "Hey Babe" quite a bit.
Comes a Time, I would be curious as to how it was received; with any other artist, I think it would sound a bit like a self-concisious look back at the sound that made them famous, but it seems more likely that Neil just came around to being comfortable with this sound again. Love the title track and Peace of Mind.
Rust is interesting because along with Harvest Moon, I'd heard and loved this record long before hearing any other Neil records in full, so it sticks out a bit as an outlier. I've just lived with these songs longer. That said, it's still one of his best, and on this listen, especially listening so closely after Comes a Time, what was striking to me is how out there the acoustic tracks are. There is a conventionality and warmth to the Comes a Time tracks, and while they're using the same sparse instrumentation it's hard to believe the guy that wrote those songs a year before is writing (or at least releasing) Thrasher, Ride My Llama and Pocahontas now.
And the big surprise for me was that I like Hawks and Doves! I always had heard of this as being the start of the truly difficult period, but the really hushed way this record starts was really appealing (I have to go back and check if this cut of Little Wing was the same as Homegrown. It sounded even more restrained and tense, which I enjoyed). And while maybe Neil's jingoism was hard to take in the 80s, it's just so cartoonish that it's enjoyable in the context of what he was doing - and I liked the sound he caught in those late few songs. I was expecting a train wreck, so I'm pleasantly surprised.
Updated rankings;
On The Beach Rust Never Sleeps Zuma Tonight's the Night Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Harvest Homegrown Comes a Time After the Gold Rush American Stars n' Bars Time Fades Away Hawks and Doves S/T
Hawks and Doves isn’t a train wreck, but I was meh on it. I don’t think that was the beginning of a difficult period...I think it started a few albums after that. Trans is a weirdly successful album but maybe enabled his desire to push out further...but I don’t see those albums as problematic either. Really, it was when he first tried getting back to what his sound was that is came across lifeless (Landing on Water and Life). Freedom, and moreso Ragged Glory is his renaissance. I didn’t like his country album in the 80s but I know others do and I can’t blame them really. Just wasn’t for me, but that doesn’t make it a bad album.
Hawks and Doves isn’t a train wreck, but I was meh on it. I don’t think that was the beginning of a difficult period...I think it started a few albums after that. Trans is a weirdly successful album but maybe enabled his desire to push out further...but I don’t see those albums as problematic either. Really, it was when he first tried getting back to what his sound was that is came across lifeless (Landing on Water and Life). Freedom, and moreso Ragged Glory is his renaissance. I didn’t like his country album in the 80s but I know others do and I can’t blame them really. Just wasn’t for me, but that doesn’t make it a bad album.
Old Ways is okay, I don't hate it, but I think the 1984 live album A Treasure is pretty excellent. Check out "Grey Riders," and the country version of "Flying on the Ground is Wrong."
Mideast Vacation is a masterpiece. Musically it's like "Goodbye Horses" in slow motion. Neil's guitar tone doesn't suck. It's got queasy awesome synth bass. The last minute has an awesome white noise solo. The cold eighties reverb makes it even creepier sounding than it would be.
Mideast Vacation is a masterpiece. Musically it's like "Goodbye Horses" in slow motion. Neil's guitar tone doesn't suck. It's got queasy awesome synth bass. The last minute has an awesome white noise solo. The cold eighties reverb makes it even creepier sounding than it would be.
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