Neil Young: American Stars 'n Bars vs. Hawks & Doves

always thought of h&d as the start of Neil's low quality output period which ends with Freedom, but maybe I should revisit it

― niels, Tuesday, December 20, 2016 10:59 AM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is otm. Its only saving grace may be "Captain Kennedy," which itself isn't exactly top ten Neil

ASAB, this album is so incredible. "The Old Country Waltz" crashing in w that heartbreaking violin and lyrics I wish I had written about something I have been through.

Side 2 is still my favorite, though I like the whole record more every time I hear it. They did some magical EQ on "Will to Live" imo, it sounds like it probably was a really rough tape w vocal distortion etc. And he used it cos who cares the performance is amazing and they are throwing in the phasing effects softening some of those hard Ss anyways. The vibraphone is so sweet.

"Star of Bethlehem" a wonderful little motorik country rock tune sort of about disillusionment and finding light in the darkness. The first time I heard him sing "Maybe the star of Bethlehem wasn't a star at all" I thought he was talking about UFOs. "Silver spaceships in the sun", etc.

"Hey Babe" is a nice little tune, sort of reminds of of "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"-style harmonies but w motorik country style. I love how he just sings "Hey Babe" twice, then just later keeps singing it over and over. The lyrics themselves are pretty simple ("I hope that all things pass/Let's try to make this last") so it is very plain language only with this twist. Maybe imitating a drunken stutter, the song is almost making fun of itself. Neil has a funny sense of humor and that's a big reason I keep coming back to his records.

oops - that's "I know that all things pass"

Yeah, this one is great. Lots of good info about the recording of "Will To Love" in Shakey, btw. IIRC it was just Neil and Briggs, up all night getting baked. Definitely one of my favorite Neil tunes

^^Yeah, using a home recorded demo (put down on a boombox iirc) as a basic track!

yup, that's why you hear a fire crackling

"Time Fades Away" is now the pretty much lost Neil Young LP.

That one has some good tunes too.

Side 1 is straight fire

Time Fades Away is now readily available for the first time in years!

anyone else get a T-Rex vibe from "Bite the Bullet"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqFSGTsXl5A

oops.... that's a live version, totally different feel. i think it's the backing vocals that do it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTqwEEgkfJo

I just heard Hawks and Doves for the first time this weekend. I'm not sure if it's better than American Stars 'n' Bars, but I will suggest the following logical puzzle:

- "Little Wing" fits better here than on Homegrown
- "Captain Kennedy" fits better here than on Hitchhiker
- "The Old Homestead" is better than anything on Homegrown itself

On the other hand, "Star of Bethlehem" fits better on Homegrown than on Stars 'n' Bars.

- "The Old Homestead" is better than anything on Homegrown itself

― Halfway there but for you, Monday, June 28, 2021 3:44 PM

and most of neil's post-zuma catalogue. i was super bummed when it didn't even chart in the neil poll here some years back.

just chiming in as another big fan of that song, always loved the long languid vibe, reminds me of some late-80s Jandek

(or vice versa, I guess)

I've loved The Old Homestead for a long time, glad to see it getting love. I like Captain Kennedy and Little Wing a lot too. Lost in Space is good too. And I have a soft spot for Comin' Apart at Every Nail. Rest of the album is fine, doesn't bother me to the extent it seems to bother some.

“old homestead” is probably the one deep cut I wish more NY fans knew about. That riff never once wears out it’s welcome for the 7+ minutes.

ASnB really is an embarrassment of riches, and certainly one of the NY albums I'll routinely return to these days. Neil's grasp is mostly nebulous & fumbling, whether he's riding along slackly with a torpid bar band (on the country rock numbers) or haunted & introverted (as on the the wispy Will to Love). and then BOOM! Like a Hurricane cuts through with the the kind of linearity & denseness that is strangely particular of Crazy Horse in a certain frame of mind. It's a fascinating arc, always arresting & surprising due to the rareness of its sequence.

Hawks & Doves is one that I've never warmed to, partly due to how "upfront" the whole thing sounds, with loud acoustic guitar & voice denying you the space to absorb it somehow. I do keep trying though. On another note, does Little Wing remind anyone else of JJ Cale?

I've never heard the original version of "Magnolia" by J.J. Cale but I wonder if Neil Young had heard it or the Poco version before he wrote "Little Wing".

― Waterloo Subset (Tom D.), Saturday, 6 February 2021 16:20 (four months ago) bookmarkflaglink

"You're best I ever had" vs. "Winter is the best time of them all". Busted Neil.

― Waterloo Subset (Tom D.), Saturday, 6 February 2021 16:25 (four months ago) bookmarkflaglink

Listen to the Poco version, it's Borrowed Tune No. 2 from Neil.

I'd never heard (of) the Poco version, so thanks for alerting me to it! It's very broad & arranged - as opposed to JJ's more familiar, lived-in delivery - but I think I rather like it for the point of difference it presents.

but yeah, funny how Neil slips so fluidly into that pattern/intonation on Little Wing.