The 80s was a confusing time for music; stud-encrusted punks still rampaged about, New Wave was ruling the radio, fashion was at its most outrageous and rock and roll was wondering what it was going to do next. However one genre was all but forgotten by the mainstream consciousness of the fluoro-drenched 80s: country and western.
The 80s was also a confusing time for Neil Young, having been a cornerstone of popular music for over two decades. Neil was undoubtedly wondering how he would fit into this brave new world. Added to this were family issues, the all-consuming woes of mid-life and immense pressure from a record label determined to pigeonhole Young as a folk-rock hero, and completely unwilling to indulge any soul-searching creativity. Young was actually sued by Geffen records for making music “unrepresentative of himself” with the release of his 1982 album Trans; an attempt at fitting in with the style of the time by using vocoders, synthesizers and electronic beats.
Harlan Howard once stated, “country music is three chords and the truth.” It seems this is the philosophy Young adopted when he set out on his 1984 and 1985 tour with new band The International Harvesters, an eclectic group of top-notch musicians recruited for their talents in one thing and one thing only; traditional country and western music.
A Treasure is a sepia-toned snapshot of this wayward and wandering period of Neil Young’s career. Taken from eight shows, the album exudes a truthful, down-home aura. The first song, “Amber Jean” (Young’s daughter) is a smiling reflection on the love of his family. This is closely and deliberately followed by the aptly named “Are You Ready For The Country?” with wailing pedal steel and flailing fiddle solos throughout. Although this is essentially a hard-core country album, one highlight is a return to Young’s Buffalo Springfield days with a countrified version of the brilliant and emotive song “Flying On The Ground Is Wrong.”
Though we only hear Young’s trademark piercing, distorted, reverb-laden lead guitar on the final song “Grey Riders” (a rollicking ghost story reminiscent of “Ghost Riders In The Sky”), A Treasure still conveys pure Neil Young, despite being a departure from his standard fare. That unmistakeable vocal tone waves the Neil Young standard throughout the album, obliterating the need for any kind of posturing country ‘act’, and the accompanying musicians are as authentic as it gets.
In listening to A Treasure, we hear Young at his most truthful; the calm in the eye of the hurricane of his life. The songs are from the heart, the musicians are incomparable in the arena of their forte, and Neil Young delivers insight and entertainment in equal measure, as it has been since time immemorial.
– Jake Vitasovich
