This came towards the end of quite a long fallow period for Neil Young, both in terms of quantity of work (his first solo studio album for five years) and quality (the previous one, Broken Arrow, was pretty weak). I don't think I'll ever be a fan of this one, either — though my friend David Kay has tried to persuade me.
It has some OK moments, like The Great Divide and Red Sun, but Without Rings is the only song I that would stand a chance in, say, my compilation of Top 50 Neil Young songs. It's the only one where Neil plays unaccompanied. I think there was a rumour that in the early days Neil was going to record the whole album with just him playing cheap and 'junkstore' instruments. But then that got ditched, and he recruited Messrs Spooner, Oldham and Keith, so as to re-convene almost the same ensemble that made Harvest and Harvest Moon. I always suspected that I might have liked it more if he'd stuck to the original concept.
Also Buffalo Springfield Again grates because, uniquely, I suspect Neil Young of being insincere about it. From the reports that were circulating, other members of the band were keen to reform (after all, they stood to gain most), but Neil's participation was the sticking point. So when he sings, "I'd like to see those guys again, and give it a shot", well, I don't know. I'm dealing in rumour and hearsay and questionable recollections (this is a blog, after all, and such thing are the currency of blogs). But the song sounds lame to these ears.
I have the Silver and Gold DVD somewhere, too — from back in the days when the DVD was a separate premium purchase. I remember watching it once, when I was ill. DVDs, pah.
Meanwhile I've just booked my flight to San Francisco and it looks as though, for the first time, I'm going to make it to the Bridge School Benefit, Neil's annual fundraising jamboree for the school his wife co-founded for children with cerebral palsy.
 MusicBrainz entry for this album
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