November 11, 2011 Playlist

"American Stars & Bars" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse (1977)
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Neil Young & Crazy Horse  "American Stars & Bars"  1977 (Canada/USA)
Neil Young turns 66 years old on Saturday, and as he is the most frequently played living artist on the Kosmik Radiation Show (#2 overall behind the late Frank Zappa),  it has become something of a tradition to feature Neil every November.  This week's classic album is one of the many flawed masterpieces Young released in the 1970's;  much of this material was originally going to appear on a double album to be entitled Chrome Dreams, though he changed his mind and that record was never released (though to add to the perversity, in 2007 he released an album called Chrome Dreams II.)  Stars & Bars is mostly notable for two epic cuts which take up most of the second side:   the well-known Crazy Horse jam "Like A Hurricane", and the mysterious "Will To Love" which is a solo acoustic recording steeped in lo-fi ambience (the basic track is a cassette recording of Neil playing in a cabin to the crackle of a noisy wood burning stove).  Other highlights include the single "Hey Babe" (which should have topped the pop charts, but for some reason missed the top 40 completely) and the Horse's horticultural stomper "Homegrown".
By the late 1970's disco had dislodged Neil's moody country rock from pop radio, but he still scored a couple hits when his "backup" singers recorded their own versions of his songs: "Love Is A Rose" by Linda Ronstadt and "Lotta Love" by Nicolette Larson.  Here is Neil with Crazy Horse (featuring Poncho Sampedro on a "flying" Vox Stringman organ that resembles the bird cartoon on the cover of the Zuma album) playing the most famous tune from this album: "Like A Hurricane" (from Neil's high concept 1979 concert film Rust Never Sleeps).  The would-be title track to another legendary unreleased Young album of the 1970's also turned up on Stars & Bars "Homegrown", performed here by his mid-1980's "country" band The International Harvesters (a live album of Neil with the Harvesters was just released this year).
(N) = New Release
Artist Song Album Year (label) Country
Eric Burdon & The Animals
Sky Pilot (parts 1 & 2) The Twain Shall Meet
1968UK
Dragontears
Masters Of War (Bob Dylan) Tambourine Freak Machine
2008Denmark
Funkadelic
March To The Witch's Castle Cosmic Slop
1973USA
Neil Young & Graham Nash
War Song A-side 7" single (Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 box set)
1972Canada/UK
 
  
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Hey Babe American Stars & Bars
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
1977Canada/USA
Neil Young
Will To Love American Stars & Bars
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
1977Canada
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Like A Hurricane American Stars & Bars
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
1977Canada/USA
Neil Young
Goin' Back Comes A Time
1978Canada
 
  
Joni Mitchell
That Song About The Midway Clouds1969Canada
Deer Tick
Clownin' Around
Divine Providence (N)2011 (Partisan)USA
Thee Oh Sees
AA Warm Breeze
Castlemania (N)2011 (In The Red)USA
5-Track & Glass Goblins
Space Angel Lost Soul Island
2006USA
Stephen Malkmus & The JicksBrain Gallop
Mirror Traffic (N)2011 (Matador)USA
 
  
Moon Of Ostara
The Star Child pt. 2
The Star Child pts 1-4 (N - preview of forthcoming release)2011 (to be released on 4Zero)UK
Annapurna IllusionLong WanderingLife Is An Illusion (N)2011 (Rocket)France
Guzzo Pinc & The Longsleeves
Lyn Jones
The Clap (N)2011 (Free Agent)USA
Psychedelic Horseshit
Dead On Arrival
Laced (N)2011 (FatCat)USA
Dave World
Black Gold (Oil) Street Mix
Black Gold (Oil) Street Mix (N - CD single)
2011 (self release)USA
 
  
The Grateful Dead
The Eleven Jam (studio outtake) Aoxomoxoa (bonus track on The Golden Road box set)
rec. 1968, rel. 2001
USA
Eleventh Dream Day
Bomb The Mars Hotel Beet
1989USA
 
  
Gentle Giant
Pantagruel's Nativity Acquiring The Taste
1971UK
Caravan
Where But For Caravan Would I? Caravan
1968
UK
Van der Graaf Generator
Man-Erg Pawn Hearts
1971UK
 
  
Van der Graaf GeneratorSnake Oil
A Grounding In Numbers (N)2011 (Esoteric)UK
                 
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