Album: American Stars & Bars
Recorded: Side 1 (April 1977) / side 2 (Nov 1974, Nov 1975 and May 1976)
Released: May 1977
Recorded: Side 1 (April 1977) / side 2 (Nov 1974, Nov 1975 and May 1976)
Released: May 1977
Songs / length: 9 / 37:54
Neil Young's exceptional run of albums from Buffalo Springfield's self-titled LP in 1966 to Zuma a decade later comes to a close with American Stars & Bars – here are the first signs that the wheels are coming off. Young was still somehow holding things together during the mid-70s despite heavy drug and alcohol use, but on this album you can hear how all those excesses finally took their toll. The album cover is a pretty apt reflection of Young's state of mind in 1977.
It's an album of two halves, the first absolutely awful, the second pretty great. The 5 country rock songs on side 1 are all pretty forgettable, and opener Old Country Waltz sounds like a sub-par attempt at becoming Gram Parsons. Backing vocals from Linda Ronstadt and Nicolette Larson, plus Ben Keith's plaintive steel guitar and Carole Mayedo's violin playing help elevate some of the tracks, such as Hold Back The Tears, but Hey Babe has to be one of Young's worst songs ever. Lazy songwriting and an absence of melody also characterise Saddle Up The Palomino and Bite The Bullet, though the latter at least has a bit of swagger.
Side 2 is a completely different affair, but that's mainly because it's a strong selection of prime cuts from previous sessions, starting off with Star Of Bethlehem, which was recorded in Nashville in 1974, with backing vocals from Emmylou Harris. It's one of my personal favourites on the record, and also appears on Young's 1977 compilation album Decade, where it rightly sits alongside Harvest tracks like Old Man and Heart Of Gold. Its lovely melody and harmonies belie the deep sense of hopelessness in Young's lyrics.
Like Star Of Bethlehem, Homegrown is a short song originally intended to appear on the abandoned Homegrown LP in early 1975, but instead will now be reissued as part of the Archives Vol. II project. I suspect Homegrown would have been a much stronger country rock album than American Stars & Bars. Two of the songs that redeem this record to a large extent are Will To Love, with its elemental sounds and bizarre imagery of Young as a fish swimming upstream sustained by the will to love, and the anthemic Like A Hurricane. Recording at his ranch with Crazy Horse in late 1975, Like A Hurricane's vortex of guitars express the overwhelming feeling of suddenly experiencing that love.
Highlights: Star Of Bethlehem, Will To Love, Like A Hurricane
Album rating: C+
Neil Young's exceptional run of albums from Buffalo Springfield's self-titled LP in 1966 to Zuma a decade later comes to a close with American Stars & Bars – here are the first signs that the wheels are coming off. Young was still somehow holding things together during the mid-70s despite heavy drug and alcohol use, but on this album you can hear how all those excesses finally took their toll. The album cover is a pretty apt reflection of Young's state of mind in 1977.
It's an album of two halves, the first absolutely awful, the second pretty great. The 5 country rock songs on side 1 are all pretty forgettable, and opener Old Country Waltz sounds like a sub-par attempt at becoming Gram Parsons. Backing vocals from Linda Ronstadt and Nicolette Larson, plus Ben Keith's plaintive steel guitar and Carole Mayedo's violin playing help elevate some of the tracks, such as Hold Back The Tears, but Hey Babe has to be one of Young's worst songs ever. Lazy songwriting and an absence of melody also characterise Saddle Up The Palomino and Bite The Bullet, though the latter at least has a bit of swagger.
Side 2 is a completely different affair, but that's mainly because it's a strong selection of prime cuts from previous sessions, starting off with Star Of Bethlehem, which was recorded in Nashville in 1974, with backing vocals from Emmylou Harris. It's one of my personal favourites on the record, and also appears on Young's 1977 compilation album Decade, where it rightly sits alongside Harvest tracks like Old Man and Heart Of Gold. Its lovely melody and harmonies belie the deep sense of hopelessness in Young's lyrics.
Like Star Of Bethlehem, Homegrown is a short song originally intended to appear on the abandoned Homegrown LP in early 1975, but instead will now be reissued as part of the Archives Vol. II project. I suspect Homegrown would have been a much stronger country rock album than American Stars & Bars. Two of the songs that redeem this record to a large extent are Will To Love, with its elemental sounds and bizarre imagery of Young as a fish swimming upstream sustained by the will to love, and the anthemic Like A Hurricane. Recording at his ranch with Crazy Horse in late 1975, Like A Hurricane's vortex of guitars express the overwhelming feeling of suddenly experiencing that love.
Highlights: Star Of Bethlehem, Will To Love, Like A Hurricane
Album rating: C+
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