Neil Young - American Stars N Bars

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Music reviews of American Stars N Bars

Music Review: LBJ bared his scars...American stars 'n bars
Rating: 3 Stars

There is no question that the sound quality is significantly improved over anything the Reprise label has done with Young's work from the Sixties and Seventies; this might just be the main selling point, since the four new/old releases are some of Young's spottier work. Not that ASAB is all bad!

Perhaps sporting the silliest cover in the annals of rock music albums (showing an over-inebriated Young lying face-down under a table with a stockinged woman holding a Canadian whiskey bottle passed out over Young, above a bar table railing), one doesn't have a clue what one is in for musically.

The first five cuts are country with the amps plugged with the fury of Crazy Horse, and Ben Keith's steel pedal playing filling in the blanks . "The Old Country Waltz" is an (all-too-typical) lament of a break-up occuring at the honky tonk. Surely a song that signals what Neil's later country foray, "Old Ways," had in store come the Eighties. Features nice backing vocals by Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.

"Saddle Up the Palomino" shows unusual machismo for Young, as he heads out for adulterous tryst. The musical accompaniment is similarly raunchy, as he tells those less daring "If you can't cut it, don't pick up the knife."

"Hey Babe" is an inconsequential song about wooing a girl, with banal, throw-away lines like "Say you're mine, all mine" and "I need it oh-so bad." Pleasant enought tune, though.

"Hold Back the Tears" is about the protagonist showing the support of a good friend to a buddy whose love life is on the skids. Ronstadt and Harris' back-up vocals on the chorus dominate thoroughly. Keith's wheezy pedal steel is achingly sympathetic.

"Bite the Bullet" is another macho offering, with Young playing blistering lead, as he usually does when jamming with Crazy Horse. Neil does his very best to offend his liberal listeners with his protagonist's overbearing zest for sexual conquest, making his target "scream when I bite the bullet."

"Star of Bethlehem" is a great tune all the way through, with Young's acoustic strumming and imaginative lyrics. One would think by now that the first set of songs was a fluke. The theme of love unrealized is bittersweet, not fluffy in the least.

"Will to Love" has to be Young's most-bizarre recording since "The Last Trip to Tulsa." Using the imagery of a salmon, he describes the pursuit of a soul mate as the travails of a migrant fish returning to the waters from whence it spawned, all the while avoiding pitfalls like fishermen, stagnant water, and "hungry bears." The lone acoustic guitar accompaniment is joined with each stanza by a succession of keyboards, vibes, and squelchy vibrato electic guitar, giving the feeling of an underwater environment. Recorded and dubbed solely by Young, this is an incredible listen. However, the cracking sounds that pervade the track (sounding like birchwood ablaze in an outdoor campfire) become an annoying distraction to an otherwise mesmerizing tale.

Perhaps the most powerful song Neil's ever laid to tape, "Like a Hurricane" keeps with the theme of tempestuous love, bringing the fire and brimstone of Crazy Horse back. Featuring Young's trademark fuzzy electric distortion, this track is forever cemented as a true prog rock classic.

"Homegrown" ends things off in powerhouse style. This track was to be the anchor for an album of the same title, long-since scrapped a few years before the release of "Stars 'N Bars" so that Young could put out "Tonight's the Night" instead. The drug implication is all too clear, but has just enough shading to render the song's theme ambiguous.

Certainly not one of Young's strongest outings, it's certainly not the worst either. It's just that a lot of fine material is stuck in between more dubious offerings. Those of us who are looking to complete our collections on CD, however, are more than happy to accept these long-awaited albums, and with the superior sonic qualities and original album artwork, to boot! Still, it will be some time, I suspect, before the CD's long available get similar remastering treatments.

Description of American Stars N Bars

Classic Rock CDs

• Music > Styles
• Folk
• Pop
• Rock