Covering the years between 1966-1976, DECADE is a solid overview that shows off the many sides of the always iconoclastic Neil Young. Starting with Young's work in Buffalo Springfield, some of the nuggets include the psychedelic calliope that is "Down To The Wire" and the fuzz guitar/Motown-inspired "Mr. Soul." Throughout these ten years of recordings, Young constantly dug deep, touching on controversial topics be it his CSN&Y masterpiece about the student massacre at Kent State ("Ohio"), compositions dealing with the ups and downs of the drug culture ("Needle And The Damage Done," "Tonight's The Night") or history's dark chapters of racial injustice ("Cortez The Killer," "Southern Man").
Neil Young's choice of accompanists also allowed him to explore many different avenues. Crazy Horse provided the sonic wallop that bore such fruit as "Like A Hurricane," whereas The Stray Gators provided the springboard for more countrycentric numbers like "Heart Of Gold" and "Harvest." Other welcome inclusions are "Star Of Bethlehem" and "Deep Forbidden Lake," from HOMEGROWN, the unreleased sequel to HARVEST. The solid material on this compilation and accompanying liner notes by Neil Young make this an essential part of any record collection.
3 LPs on 2 CDs, recorded between 1966 and 1976.
Personnel includes: Neil Young (vocals, guitar); Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash, Crazy Horse.
Compilation producers: Neil Young, Tim Mulligan, David Briggs.Q (10/00, p.155) - Included in Q's "Best Best Of... Albums Of All Time"
Q (8/93, p.107) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...reaching back to his Buffalo Springfield days, it has many of his finest [and] nothing that wastes space..."
Decade CD DISC 1:
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. Loner, The
9. Old Laughing Lady, The
10. Cinnamon Girl
11. Down by the River
12. Cowgirl in the Sand
13. I Believe in You
14. After the Goldrush
15. Southern Man
16. Helpless
Decade Songs DISC 2:
1. Ohio
2. Soldier
3. Old Man
4. Man Needs a Maid, A
5. Harvest
6. Heart of Gold
7. Star of Bethlehem
8. Needle and the Damage Done, The
9. Tonight's the Night (Part 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
