Hometown: Toronto, Canada
First Solo Recordings: 1969

Personnel:

Neil Young -guitar, harmonica, vocals
Ralph Molina -drums, vocals
Bobby Notkoff -violin
Billy Talbot -bass
Danny Whitten -guitar, vocals

Bands In The Family:
Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

It's not the fact that this album went platinum; it's that Young and Crazy Horse put the components of folk, rock and country together so well that they established themselves as one of the most influental acts to come out of the late '60s. The opening strains of "Cinnamon Girl" alone can be heard unabashedly throughout the '90s and today from the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Sonic Youth and Pavement, thus making this album one of the sharper arrows in Young's quiver.

Deep and unpretentious lyrics pepper each song as Young emotes folky desperation, desire, and frankness. The simple and distorted chords display the rock 'n' roll aspects of the album while the harmonies ring of Nashville country. "Round & Round (It Won't Be Long)" plays like a dirge that could find itself at home in a dusty bar in Albuquerque or on the toungues of cowboys moving along the Pecos River. "The Losing End (When You're On)" is a Texas two-step that is straight out of Hank Williams' playbook. "Down by the River" is strong enough on its own to justify the recording of an entire album. Its composition is tight and the lyrics fluid making its length seem like an exquisite moment of convergent harmony.

As a whole, the album plays like a well -rchestrated jam session. While that may have been a popular gimmick at the time with the psychedelic set, with these guys, it was an excercise in breeding some familiarity in the safety of Young's home studio in Topanga, California. It's taken some time to get the balance right, but the resultant chemistry between Crazy Horse and Young is like oxygen and hydrogen mixing in a one-two ratio.