Neil Young
A Treasure

Never one to easily conform to the fashion of the moment or the pressures of industry insiders, The Loner finds himself in the midst of the 1980s in full agitation—personally, family-wise, artistically, and contractually. Having definitively shed the turbulent guise of the past decade, he has happily settled down with a brand-new family (though not without some issues, as he has two children with cerebral palsy). Musically, Neil seems to be enjoying himself immensely since the new decade began, playing with changing styles for each record (with the usual pace of one a year, or almost), ranging from hard rock to electronic, rockabilly, and country, challenging and often bewildering fans and others alike.

Indeed, during this time, after more than a decade of collaboration with Reprise Records, he decided to bring some fresh air to that field as well, signing a new contract with the recent label founded by one of the former Warner group leaders, David Geffen, who had managed to bring artists of the caliber of John Lennon, Simon & Garfunkel, Donna Summer, and Peter Gabriel under his wing. However, good old David had, ten years prior, suffered a setback while heading Asylum Records with a certain Bob Dylan, and perhaps a bit more care with singer-songwriters wouldn't have hurt. The Loner, more Loner and bizarre than ever, began releasing records that had very little commercial (or marketable) aspect, and appeared resistant to any promotional exercise that the new decade's trends seemed to impose even on the old rock foxes (read Mtv and related videoclips). Soon enough, the artist finds himself taken to court with the paradoxical accusation of no longer producing "representative" music and is forced to delay for two years the release of an album recorded in 1983 titled Old Ways. It is not merely a rejection of commercial logic on Neil's part: like a certain Bruce Springsteen, during this period he seems to be walking a path backward, seeking the roots of traditional American music, coupled with taking stances in favor of farmers, of deep and traditional America, which unwittingly found itself on the last page of a glossy magazine, colorful and terribly yuppie, with Wall Street on the cover, the myth of the successful man, against the backdrop of the full Reagan era. Neil and Bruce's journeys would ultimately not be identical, but it is hard not to reflect on the fact that albums like Nebraska and Old Ways date back to the same period.

Be that as it may, between 1984 and 1985, Neil finds himself, a bit discouraged but also a bit obstinate as usual, taking on tour what should have been his latest work, Old Ways. An album more orthodox country than ever, lacking singles like "Old Man" or "Heart of Gold." Yet, in honor of that album, Neil forms a new band named International Harvesters to accompany him live, drawn from the musicians who had helped him in the studio (bassists Tim Drummond and Joe Allen, violinist Rufus Thibodeaux, guitarist and mandolinist Anthony Crawford, drummer Karl Himmel, pianists Hargus "Pig" Robbins and Spooner Oldham, and trusty friend Ben Keith on slide). And it is precisely from those dates that, in 2011, this A Treasure emerges under the name of Neil Young & The International Harvesters. An album certainly pleasing for those who love the more country-oriented Neil, less so for others, featuring some little gems that make it decidedly attractive for those who have a certain fondness for the Canadian's music: "Amber Jean," "Nothing Is Perfect," "Flying On The Ground Is Wrong," and "Grey Riders." The twelve tracks composing it actually present very little from Old Ways (just "Bound For Glory" and "Get Back to The Country"), preferring to pick traces more or less distant from the younghian past: thus, emerges a prescient "Are You Ready For The Country?" from Harvest, not too dissimilar from the original, an authentic gem from the Buffalo era like "Flying on The Ground Is Wrong," transformed from its original sixties psychedelic pop guise, and remarkably, two pieces from his quintessential metal-punk album Re-ac-tor, "Motor City" and "Southern Pacific," rendered unrecognizable. All this is accompanied by a cover and five hitherto unreleased quality tracks, the joyous "Amber Jean" dedicated to his newly born little daughter, the warm blues of "Soul of A Woman," the stomp "Let Your Fingers Do The Walking," the aptly titled beautiful family-ballad "Nothing Is Perfect" and the concluding "Grey Riders." "Grey Riders" is perhaps the track that, more than any other, is worth the admission price. It is a powerful rock piece that could have found a place on any Crazy Horse record. A six-minute electric storm whose chorus, with the striking phrasing of Neil's Old Black, gets stuck in your head and never leaves. Had it been released in its time, it could have become a classic of every Neil live show, easily considered the Like A Hurricane of the Eighties, but for some inexplicable reason remained in the archives until recently.

Furthermore, it seems that the title was inadvertently coined by the old Ben Keith himself, who, upon bringing to light the recording tapes after 25 years during the search for material for the Archives Performance Series –of which A Treasure constitutes volume 9– exclaimed to Neil, "This is a treasure!" Unfortunately, Ben did not see the release of A Treasure, leaving us a year before, and the title could not help but sound like an affectionate tribute by Neil to the friend and the slide guitar that had faithfully accompanied him for decades.