NEIL YOUNG : DECADE

 

Disc One (73:23)

  1. Down to the Wire
  2. Burned
  3. Mr. Soul
  4. Broken Arrow
  5. Expecting to Fly
  6. Sugar Mountain
  7. I Am a Child
  8. The Loner
  9. The Old Laughing Lady
  10. Cinnamon Girl
  11. Down by the River
  12. Cowgirl in the Sand
  13. I Believe in You
  14. After the Gold Rush
  15. Southern Man
  16. Helpless

Disc Two (71:07)

  1. Ohio
  2. Soldier
  3. Old Man
  4. A Man Needs a Maid
  5. Harvest
  6. Heart of Gold
  7. Star of Bethlehem
  8. The Needle and the Damage Done
  9. Tonight's the Night, Pt. 1
  10. Tired Eyes
  11. Walk On
  12. For the Turnstiles
  13. Winterlong
  14. Deep Forbidden Lake
  15. Like a Hurricane
  16. Love Is a Rose
  17. Cortez the Killer
  18. Campaigner
  19. Long May You Run

Label : Reprise

Release Year : 1977

Review (AllMusic) : Given the quirkiness of Neil Young's recording career, with its frequent cancellations of releases and last-minute rearrangements of material, it is a relief to report that this two-disc compilation is so conventional and so satisfying. A 35-track selection of the best of Young's work between 1966 and 1976, it includes songs performed by Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and the Stills-Young Band, as well as solo work. In addition to five unreleased songs, Decade offers such key tracks as the Springfield's "Mr. Soul," "Broken Arrow," and "I Am a Child"; "Sugar Mountain," a song that had appeared only as a single before; "Cinnamon Girl," "Down by the River," and "Cowgirl in the Sand" from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere; "Southern Man" and the title track from After the Gold Rush; and "Old Man" and the chart-topping "Heart of Gold" from Harvest. This is the material that built Young's reputation between 1966 and 1972, although he is more idiosyncratic with the later material, including the blockbusters "Like a Hurricane" and "Cortez the Killer" but mixing in more unreleased recordings as the set draws to a close. He seems intent on making the album a listenable one that will appeal to a broad base of fans, and he succeeds despite the exclusion of much of the harrowing work of 1973-1975. Nevertheless, the album is an ideal sampler for new listeners, and since there is no one-disc Young compilation covering any significant portion of his career, this lengthy chronicle is the place to start.