Smell the Horse

The new Neil Young release is old: live from 1970. With the late Danny Whitten on vocals and guitar in the earliest incarnation of Crazy Horse, Neil's longtime and occasional backup band, the music crackles with dueling guitars and shared vocals. Whitten seems to push Neil in the vocal area, challenging him non-offensively to jump hurdles with confidence. This CD really captures a tight performance. These renditions sound similar to the studio versions, a good thing, unlike later versions throughout the years where form and content receive updates.



The six songs:
1. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
A galloping rock sing-a-long. Fantastic opener. "I gotta get out of this day to day runnin' around".

2. Winterlong
The studio version is hard to beat but this live version gives a fresh perspective in the vocals. Sounds like Whitten on lead vocal and Neil pushing his limits on the harmony track. "You seem to be where I belong".

3. Down By The River
12' 22" of heaven. Of a pair with Cowgirl, written in the same bout of fever. Like its sister, this one features a major-minor 2-chord background for some Crazy Horse jamming. Every two-bit guitarist like me has played along with this one for hours. The crunchy chords in the lead guitar are full of fiber and substance.

4. Wonderin'
Nice.

5. Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown
High energy. Great vocals.

6. Cowgirl In The Sand
15 minutes of more 2-chord jams. The guitar tone is identical to the studio version but we get the "liberty" of open-ended jamming. Doesn't matter where you rate Neil Young in the pantheon of electric rock guitarists, try again, you're too low.