Zuma - NEIL YOUNG***

Don't Cry No Tears/Danger Bird/Pardon My Heart/Lookin' For A Love/Barstool Blues/Stupid Girl/Drive Back/ Cortez The Killer/Through My Sails

For Zuma Neil Young reunites with his backing band Crazy Horse. However, the end result is disappointing as the songs on this album are a long way off his best work. (US:25 UK:44)

“Zuma is yet another strong album and I love the style. It really exemplifies how American rock music should have sounded in the mid-seventies. Here we have a great blend of rock guitar and sentimental songwriting.”

“Zuma opens with Don’t Cry No Tears which is an almost effortless up-tempo rock number and one of Young’s catchiest songs. It is followed by the superb Danger Bird, one of my favourite down-tempo guitar tracks. One of the things that makes Young stand out from your average rocker is the combination of complex lyrics and complex musicianship. I love the imagery he conjures up and both aspects contribute equally.”

“Zuma feels like Neil Young trying to return to more folk oriented music, after going into more soft rock/blues on his previous few albums. This is a pretty relaxing, but in no way as great as his previous albums.”

“Throughout his career there have been two sides to Neil Young: an acoustic side with lovely harmonies and elements from folk and country, and an electric side with heavy rockers and long guitar solos. This album with Crazy Horse features both.”

“After the darkness and bitterness of its predecessors this marks a clear lifting of mood. Comparatively lightweight, and with a more country tone, it gets positively jaunty in parts. Of course Cortez is positively monolithic and to some extent overshadows the other songs here. A must for those who love Young's shambling guitar solos, as I do.”

“Lyrically, he has moved away from the bleak outlook on his previous albums. The main thematic element here is lost love, but not mourning about it, the general sentiment seems to be a readiness to move on to the next relationship.”

“Crazy Horse are back on board, there's a pair of lumbering epics, but Zuma is only a fair to middling Neil Young album.”