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. ~ William Ruhlmann
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