Album Review: Neil Young & The International Harvesters - A Treasure

The latest instalment in Neil Young's thus-far-excellent Archives Performance Series is a collection of tracks culled from the singer's 1984/'85 US tour in the company of his International Harvester buddies, and while some of these songs would perhaps have been better left on the shelf to gather dust, there are glimpses here of the genius that, on record at least, seemed to have deserted the great man for most of the eighties.
 
This was a difficult period for Young, both personally and professionally, and in many ways A Treasure wears the signs of this turmoil on its sleeve. His songwriting standards had begun to slide in the early part of the decade - partly on account of his commitment to his wife and disabled son - while a change of label (from Reprise to Geffen) ended up doing more harm than good as his new employers attempted to sue him on the grounds of delivering 'musically uncharacteristic' material - exhibit A being 1982's divisive Trans LP. After his original recording of Old Ways (the most straight-up country record Young had ever made) was rejected by Geffen, he decided to take his band out on the road to play the most stereotypically American venues he could find, like state fairs and rodeo arenas. Over a quarter of a century later, critics and fans alike are now finally afforded the chance to (re)evaluate this period of creative and commercial flux in the singer's canon.
 
The most immediate selling-point here is, of course, the five previously-unreleased cuts on offer. While this will likely be reason enough for most Young devotees to investigate further, it's a shame they constitute some of the weakest songs across the entire disc. ‘Let Your Fingers Do The Walking’ and ‘Soul of A Woman’ are both throwaway honky-tonk efforts, while ‘Nothing Is Perfect’ is a decent enough ballad that's sadly let down by some uncharacteristically schmaltzy lyrics. Opener ‘Amber Jean’, meanwhile, is an inoffensively pleasant paean to his newborn daughter - easy to listen to, but hardly essential. It's only closing track ‘Grey Riders’ that really grabs the listener's attention: Young finally breaks out his squealing electric guitar to incredible effect, and as it duels with Rufus Thibodeaux's fantastic fiddle-playing you'll find yourself wondering just how this gem has never been shown the light of day before now.
 
In truth, the remainder of the record veers from mundanity to sheer beauty and back to frankly embarrassing fodder. Highlights are easy to pick out: Harvest track ‘Are You Ready for the Country’ receives a stomping, definitive airing, while Buffalo Springfield number ‘Flying on The Ground Is Wrong’ is deftly reworked as a lonesome country ballad. On the downside, the less said about ‘Soul of A Woman’ and ‘Motor City’ the better, although the latter may be of interest if you're looking to hear a plodding misfire about why Japanese-made cars are so shit. No? Thought not.
 
While it's hard, then, to recommend this collection to anyone who's yet to really get into Neil Young - god knows there are about thirty better entry-points than this - as a standalone Shakey artifact it does contain just about enough quality to pique the interest of anyone who enjoyed Comes A Time or any of the now-plentiful Harvest-related material. It's hardly A Treasure, in other words - more like finding twenty quid down the back of the couch. It is nevertheless a new Neil Young release, and that's always going to be worth a listen for the diehards among us.