A Tale of Two Greatest Hits Albums

To the left you see the relatively recently released GREATEST HITS (2004). I gave this CD, along with AFTER THE GOLDRUSH (1970), to my brother for Christmas ('05), after he expressed an interest in becoming acquainted with Neil Young's music.

It occured to me that I also began my true "acquaintance" with Neil Young's music through the purchase of his GREATEST HITS (1985), pictured above on the right, albeit a different collection of songs.

Now, sure, as a child of the '70s (i.e., born in 1970), I heard Neil Young as I was growing up. Mostly the "album rock" FM radio tunes, such as "Southern Man", "Heart of Gold", "Cinnamon Girl", "Like a Hurricane", etc. I remember that my dad had SO FAR, the C,S,N&Y greatest hits LP, and I used to play "Ohio" at full volume on the basement stereo. Heck, when I was that age (pre-teens/early teens), David Crosby's pretentious wailing and moaning at the end didn't even bother me ("4 dead in O-hi-o...Whyyyy?!...How many more?!...Why!? Whyyyyyy..."), shameful as that is to admit now.

But, when I started buying record albums at about age 11, it was mostly Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, etc. It wasn't until sophomore or junior year in high school that I grabbed my first Neil Young album, the aforementioned "Greatest Hits" (and, I'm almost positive it was from the "Imports" section of the record store). In any event, it certainly did the trick. After a few months of constantly listening to that GREATEST HITS album, I began buying Neil Young records like a madman.

This is the song list on the GREATEST HITS (1985) that I "grew up" with:

Side 1: Cinnamon Girl (2:52) Old Man (3:12) Comes A Time (2:54) Walk On (2:31) The Loner (3:37) Like A Hurricane (5:07) Side 2: Heart Of Gold (2:55) Southern Man (5:14) Down By The River (3:58) Southern Pacific (3:56) Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black) (4:50)

Here's what I got my brother, by giving him the 2004 version:

Down By The River, Cowgirl In The Sand, Cinnamon Girl, Helpless, After The Gold Rush, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Southern Man, Ohio, The Needle And The Damage Done, Old Man, Heart Of Gold, Like A Hurricane, Comes A Time, Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black), Rockin' In The Free World, Harvest Moon

Now, I can see some advantages and disadvantages to both. "Rockin' In The Free World" and "Harvest Moon" are great songs that hadn't been released in 1985. Their inclusion on the 2004 collection really highlights a gaping hole between 1979 and 1989. That gap could have been partially filled by including "Southern Pacific", as the 1985 version does. The remainder of that gap would've been explained by Neil being on Geffen, before returning to Reprise. (Now, what to do about that gap between 1992 and 2004, I'm not sure, other than not include these two more recent songs in the first place.) Also, I would have kept "Walk On" and "The Loner", even if it meant excluding the two C,S,N&Y tunes "Helpless" and "Ohio". (After all, there are no Buffalo Springfield songs here. Surely, "Mr. Soul" is every bit the song "Helpless" is. I would've kept it to bands whose names started with the words "Neil Young".)

On the other hand, getting "Cowgirl In The Sand", "After The Gold Rush", "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", and "The Needle And The Damage Done" on the 2004 version is pretty cool. (The fact that "Tonight's The Night" is omitted from both is a mortal sin. But that's another story.) Also, I included the times on the 1985 version to highlight that many of the songs were in the "radio-friendly" versions (i.e., edited for length). The most egregious example is "Down By The River", which barely gives one the flavor at under 4 minutes. Imagine my (pleasant) surprise when I bought EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE, and heard it in its full glory!!! (I'm writing this with the assumption that the 2004 version includes songs at their full length. After all, it's a freakin' CD.)

In any event, either GREATEST HITS package serves as a good introduction to Neil's music. And, once you're in, you're probably hooked. I know I certainly was.