2025 Charity Shop Purchases #18 - Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Broken Arrow
As a general rule of thumb I will pick up anything I see by Neil Young (and Crazy Horse ) in a Charity Shop
This rule has been put to the test with Broken Arrow his 24th studio album and 8th with Crazy Horse from 1996 on Reprise.
It is complete tosh. The Guardian rated it as the 38th best out his 45 studio albums. Exclaim! rate it as number 40 out of 43 with only Landing on Water, Old Ways and Everybody's Rockin' rated worse. The mid 80s was certainly not a purple patch for him. I pity the poor sod who originally forked out £10.49 for this CD.
It is his first album after the death of his regular producer David Briggs and it shows. The first three tracks are effectively long jams. In his book Shakey Young describes the album as vulnerable and unfinished adding I wanted to get one under my belt without David. It would be four years before his next album Silver & Gold
The two tracks below are chosen at random (one long and one mercifully short) as they are all much of a muchness. It is only the completist in me that is stopping this being returned immediately although even this may ultimately be stretched.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Slip Away
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Changing Highways
Actually marginally better after a second listen - maybe I was being too hasty!
Elevated from “complete tosh” to “mostly tosh”, CC?
ReplyDeleteAnother example of why I would never make it as a critic. I really like Everybody’s Rockin’. - Brian
ReplyDeleteAnd 'Misfits' on Old Ways is one of my favourite Neil songs.
DeleteHis output is so wayward. I was given Barn recently, from 2021, his 41st album and 14th with Crazy Horse. Much of it sounded like they were making it up on the spot
ReplyDeleteEh, these two songs aren't so bad, especially compared to some of his work from the past 20 years. I like long Crazy Horse jams, and while Slip Away is no Cowgirl in the Sand, it's perfectly fine. --Marc
ReplyDeleteWent for the short one first - pretty ordinary but not completely awful. I was then emboldened to try the long one. Once again not terrible but a bit of a drudge. Won't be playing it again.
ReplyDelete