Greatest Hits

Neil Young

Reprise, 2004

http://www.neilyoung.com

REVIEW BY: Benjamin Ray

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/06/2014

I remember when this came out ten years ago deciding to purchase it ahead of Pearl Jam's Lost Dogs: Rarities And B-Sides double disc collection. This was not a betrayal of my favorite band simply because Young was and is such a strong influence on the Seattle quintet. Eddie Vedder probably would have applauded my decision, had he visited Mt. Pleasant, Mich. that fall for whatever reason.

Neil Young's sprawling discography and iconoclastic nature makes it difficult to know where to start digging for buried treasure. Decade did a great job of summarizing the key points of the late ‘60s and most of the ‘70s, but since then, there hasn't been anything (at least that I know of) attempting to encapsulate the best of the Canadian rocker's career.

So, some brave soul at Reprise decided to do this on a single disc, hoping to cram the best of 35 years of music into 80 minutes. Not surprisingly, 11 of the 16 songs are from Young's heyday of 1969-1971, with three more taken from the ‘70s, one from the ‘80s and one from the early ‘90s. If you listen to classic rock radio, you can probably guess what most of them are, and if that's all the Young you need or if you've not heard the man and are curious about getting started, this disc almost does the trick.

The thing starts with the two epic length cuts from my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250 Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, "Down By The River" and the better "Cowgirl In The Sand," as well as the punchy "Cinnamon Girl” and the CSN&Y cuts "Ohio" and "Helpless." The three songs from After The Gold Rush are unnecessary and actually make this collection weaker, especially in spite of what was left off; the smarmy "Southern Man" and the dull title cut really don't need to be anthologized, nor does the countryfied "Only Love Can Break Your Heart."

Three cuts from Harvest are better: the stirring "Old Man," the stark acoustic cautionary tale of "The Needle And The Damage Done" and the simple, heartfelt "Heart Of Gold," but then we head into the boring old-timey country of "Comes A Time," which kills the momentum for a few minutes. Things get better with the electric "Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)"  (better to burn out than fade away) and the long Crazy Horse jam "Like A Hurricane." The disc then closes with the excellent, propulsive "Rockin' In The Free World," which did as much to kickstart grunge as Ten, and the gentle picking of "Harvest Moon."

Now, Young's albums are always hit-or-miss, but it's a shame that the more family-friendly pablum is included in lieu of anything from Tonight's The Night, Zuma, Ragged Glory or Trans (har!). Listening to this collection gives the impression that Neil was a laid-back folk-country observer who would rock out with his band every couple years before going solo again. The truth is that the man tried everything, eschewing commercial concerns for musical honesty, even if it wasn't always successful. That spirit doesn't quite shine through on Greatest Hits, so those who enjoy what's here are strongly encouraged to dig deeper; check out our many Young reviews on this page to discover where to start.

That said, single-disc collections attempting to anthologize long performing artists are never going to be perfect, which is why Reprise went the safe route by including the most popular and best known songs. And one listen to truly excellent tracks like "Cowgirl In The Sand," "Hey Hey My My," "Rockin' In The Free World," "Like A Hurricane," "Old Man," "Ohio" and "Cinnamon Girl" should convert anybody into a fan or, for those in the know, reaffirm why they are Young fans in the first place. It may not be the most accurate representation of Young's career, but it is a successful one and a necessary pickup for anybody outside the faithful.

Oh, and I eventually bought that Pearl Jam collection. Turns out I made the right decision going with Neil first.

Rating: A-

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