Artist:     Neil Young + Stray Gators

Album:     Tuscaloosa

Label:     Reprise Records

Release Date:     06.07.2019

92

BUY DIGITAL

BUY PHYSICAL

I love the fire and the fury, the growling glory that is and clearly was Neil Young. Back in 1973, he turned up in Alabama with his then band, the Stray Gators, (Tim Drummond, Kenny Buttrey, Jack Nitzsche and Ben Keith) to deliver a rare live set that fortunately was recorded, a capture that throws Young into sharp relief at a time in his musical life when he was often noted for his wayward behavior and downright self-destructive influences and indulgences.

Now, forty-something years later, that Alabama college recording has surfaced, late but no less welcome, to add to the archival cannon of the Canadian master-musician’s work. The band is loose at times, as might be expected in the 1970s with Young at the helm and greater glories still waiting around the corner, and yet it also holds a tight vibe that may well be the truly unexpected wonder of the entire enterprise now released for the first time.

Young himself is on pretty much top form, ricocheting around with his ever-eerie sounding voice and spirited sonic strength mirrored by his pushy, adventurous fretwork and a rebellious rhythmic beauty reflected in the depth of his lyricism and understanding of exactly what makes music tick and keeps a crowd onboard.

With a dozen tracks to play with, Young rattles through some of his then still fresh “greatest hits” here, with After the Gold Rush,’ ‘Harvest’ and the southern themed ‘Old Man’ all getting a rough and wild workout alongside the apposite airing of ‘Alabama.’ The overall feeling here is of unbridled, near-uncontrollable joy, and Young is on form, blistering and genius by turns, giving us a release that is surely a must for all lovers of this guy and his astonishing talent.

­—Iain Patience