The
Neil Young archive can sometimes seem bottomless and much of the material unearthed in the ongoing series -- grainy bootleg recordings, studio outtakes, and alternate versions -- is going to be exciting only for the most diehard
Neil freak.
Early Daze, on the other hand, has a broader appeal, collecting ten rare tracks put to tape by
Young and his best-fitting backing band
Crazy Horse during various sessions in 1969. It's an alternate reality album from a group in top form, delivering different performances of some of the better-known hits, but adding in deep cuts as well. Melancholic,
Buffalo Springfield-descendant folk-rocker "Look at All the Things" and the barnyard rave-up "Dance Dance Dance" both appeared on
Crazy Horse's self-titled 1971 album, and songs like "Winterlong" and "Everybody's Alone" have long histories as obscure fan favorites. There's also a thoughtfully rambling version of "Wonderin'," the
After the Goldrush-era outtake that showed up in a far different style on
Young's 1983 rockabilly detour
Everybody's Rockin'. The vast majority of
Early Daze hadn't been released prior to this collection, and this far into his legacy, there are very few
Neil Young songs that haven't been released in any form, but even the different takes on old classics here have merit. "Down by the River" and "Cinnamon Girl" are similar, if slightly looser, than the versions that made the final cut, but the
Early Daze versions of "Birds" and "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown" (the best-known version was recorded in 1970 but didn't reach the public until 1975, when it appeared on
Tonight's the Night) both sound like works in progress, more tentative and with a lighter tread than they'd later be.
Early Daze is one of the entries in the
Neil Young archival series that sounds most like a deliberately designed album. The songs are up there with some of
Neil's very best,
Crazy Horse are hungry and ready to deliver, and the mix of familiar tunes and similarly intoned outliers flows fantastically. It's an absolute must for fans, but also a great starting point for anyone who's a little more than just a casual listener, but not quite ready to venture too deep into the vaults. ~ Fred Thomas
![Very Best of Buddy Holly [MCA International]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0008811204624_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Very Best of Buddy Holly [MCA International]")
![Animal Tracks [UK]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0018771997726_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Animal Tracks [UK]")
