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(More customer reviews)No one has kept the eternal flame of psychedelic rock alive with more sincerity, or longer than Neil Young. Perhaps the artist says it best himself on 'Big Time': "I'm still living the dream we had... for me it's not over". Even if you snicker a bit at the concept, it's obvious that Young still believes in love, peace and understanding, and it's certainly a noble ralling cry to cling to. Those who have abandoned the concept have frequently aspired to much less.
'Year of the Horse' is an underrated live set from Young, panned as lacking enthusiasm (those not familiar with Young may not realize that not every song he writes was intended as an 'ace-in-the-hole' for American Idol), or for retreading old territory by asking, "Do we really need another live version of 'When You Dance', 'Mr. Soul', 'Pocahontas', or 'Sedan Delivery'"? To even modestly addicted Neil fans, the immediate and immutable response is, "YES!". Consider that popular among the more rabid of us are web sites that attempt, with some precision, to detail every song ever performed at every concert by Young (check out the Sugar Mountain web site). Now, that's rabid. The appeal of alternate takes on any Young song becomes especially pertinent since Neil, like his chosen mentors Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix, so frequently reinvents his compositions. On this disc, 'Mr. Soul' is a case in point. Here we have a mid-60's souped up, fuel injected hot rod from Buffalo Springfield that has morphed into an acoustic blues romp, with Neil's 6 strings sounding loose enough to be falling off the guitar with each strum. Young's ode to Hendrix appears at the end of a high octane 'Prisoners Of Rock n' Roll', as he breaks into a psychedelic 'Star Spangled Banner'.
The set list for 'Horse' is remarkably diverse as Neil highlights such gems as 'When You Dance' from 'After the Goldrush', to 'Human Highway' from 'Comes A Time', to 'Sedan Delivery' from 'Rust Never Sleeps', to 'Big Time' and 'Slip Away' from 'Broken Arrow'. In nearly every way Young is "a little bit here and a little bit there", as he sings on 'Scattered'. He wears as many artistic hats as he does real hats these days. In giving Neil a double-disc, Time-Warner invited Young to surely make it seem like four, offering 12 songs from 8 different venues, with textures ranging from the haunting echos of 'When Your Lonely Heart Breaks' to the relentless jackhammer that is 'Sedan Delivery'.
Yet the best number on tap here is the seemingly innocuous 'Barstool Blues' from 1975's 'Zuma' album. This song sits innocently in the setlist until Neil uses it to ambush us like a Viet Cong guerilla, pulling the trigger with ferocity on 'Old Black'. Young has never been a finesse guitarist in the mold of Eric Clapton, or even Stephen Stills (making comparisons between the two rather meaningless). Instead, Neil sculpts sound from his instrument, and he's chiselin' up a storm on 'Barstool Blues'.
The only song I could have lived without is another selection from 'Zuma', 'Dangerbird'. I don't mind the song being heavy, but it's about as deep into depression as Neil goes (which is DEEP), and it's a few fathoms below my own tolerance. But everything else works, and works well, and should be pleasing to Neil fans ranging all the way from novice to completist. In fact, since Neil and the Horse are more consumable coming from the stage than the studio, a specially priced double-disc such as this is a nice way to get a representative sampling of Young's remarkable career.
I suppose if most Young fans had their pick of songs performed on the 1996 US tour, they might want to supplant the retreads with even more diverse selections, such as 'Long May You Run', 'Bite the Bullet', or 'Don't Cry No Tears', but I'm content with leaving Neil in charge and trusting his deejaying. Over the years, he's certainly earned that trust and respect.
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No Description AvailableNo Track Information AvailableMedia Type: CDArtist: YOUNG,NEIL & CRAZY HORSETitle: YEAR OF THE HORSEStreet Release Date: 06/17/1997
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