Comes a Time

Neil Young is a long time favorite of mine. His albums are easy go-to picks when I need to put something on and don't want to spend a long time choosing. Comes a Time is easily my favorite of his. I love his rough and messed up electric albums, but I love the easy acoustic feel of this one. Adding Nicolette Larson on vocals really sets this album aside from his other work. She adds a great touch. One sign of what a great album this is, is when I have my library set on shuffle and one of these tracks comes up (especially Look Out For My Love), I have to turn off the shuffle and set it to play the whole album from start to finish. The other sign of how awesome this album is, is that you can't help but sing along to most of it. It's a great album for driving at night, because you keep yourself awake singing every track (no matter how bad your voice is). This album is evidence of how amazing the early 70s were. We all focus on the stupid parts of the 70s, but this album goes to show just how much great art was being produced in those days. Shame on you, 90s! :) Good stuff.

This has always been a favorite album in my life and this 2016 remaster from the Netherlands has made it even better. Everything sounds clearer. The remaster brings out things like the gorgeous strings in Comes a Time. Sounds even more timeless and just beautiful. I don’t think there are many copies of this Netherland remaster so if you find one, grab it!

Though record companies probably hate it, Neil Young's unpredictability remains one of his greatest strengths. Over a vast career his sound has varied from the grungiest sandpaper against concrete distorted and passionate rocking dirges to shockingly beautiful slow ballads. Fans seem to accept the persistent swings in energy, sound and approach. And though Young occasionally drops a dud, his far more prevalent strong material makes up for any slips. "Comes A Time" is definitely no dud. It features Young sounding mostly introspective and longing as acoustic guitars, fiddles, banjo and other electric sounds create a relaxing leaning on a chair on the porch feeling. Sometimes the music evokes images of tree-filled landscapes in full bloom. The album overall feels like a walk through a quiet green meadow. The opening track, "Goin' Back," sets this mood with delicate guitar, strings and some electric buzzing instrument that, though somewhat bizarre, also works incredibly well for emphasis. The chorus, "I feel like goin' back, back where there's no where to stay" sounds both cryptic and familiar. The mellow music and abstract lyrics combine in a surrealistically gorgeous way that stays somewhat ineffable even after numerous listens. Though the words do suggest a melancholy desire to return to life in a pre-industrial state. Most of the album preserves this irresistible mood. "Comes A Time" suggests the miraculous inevitability of day to day existence: "This old world keeps turning round / It's a wonder tall tree ain't layin' down" and "that's how we kept what we gave away." A surprising appearance of distorted electric guitar at one point mimicking windshield wipers, doesn't alter the mood at all during "Look Out For My Love." If anything, it intensifies it. Even "Lotta Love," which some strangely consider one of Young's weaker songs, keeps the mood going with its sparse arrangement of guitar, bass, piano and drums. Many likely heard also this song in its far more orchestrated and upbeat Nicolette Larson permutation that climbed the charts in 1978 and 1979. Lap steel and strings beautifully undergird "Peace of Mind." This atmospheric song almost creates a sensation of floating on one's back in a placid pool. "Human Highway" explodes with folk and country of a Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie type. "How can people get so unkind" reverberates endlessly even after the first listen. "Already One" brings the album back to the mood of "Goin' Back" and "Peace of Mind" before "Field Of Opportunity" rosins the fiddle bows for a redux of "Comes A Time" and "Human Highway." Then the strange and somewhat incongruous "Motorcycle Mama" gurgles into the serene landscape. Here Young once again becomes unpredictable within an otherwise consistent collection of songs. This one definitely stands out with its defiant stuck in the dirt imagery and churning electric guitar. And Nicolette Larson, who covered "Lotta Love," takes a few verses. The fiddles and electric guitar work surprisingly well together here. Then the album returns to mountains, trees and greenery and some melancholy with "Four Strong Winds," a rare Young cover song by Canadian singer Ian Tyson. "Comes A Time" often gets compared to Young's highly acclaimed "Harvest" album, but the comparison really doesn't stand. This album more resembles the later "Old Ways," though it's much stronger overall and not quite as doused in mainstream country sounds. Those looking for rocking grungy Neil, side two of "Rust Never Sleeps," will not find it here at all, with the slight exception of "Motorcycle Mama," but that's even relatively toned down. But those seeking the more mellow and ruminating Neil, side one of "Rust Never Sleeps," need look no further. Put it on and head for the hills.

Very Good!

CD IN GREAT SHAPE AS ADVERTISED AND FAST DELIVERY.

Comes a Time (1978) is in my top 5 Neil Young albums of all time. This album exemplifies Neil's folk roots, and even sounds a bit country at times. There isn't a bad track on this release, and the real standouts are GOIN' BACK, LOTTA LOVE, PEACE OF MIND, HUMAN HIGHWAY, and FIELD OF OPPORTUNITY. This album has top-notch production, and is so relaxing to listen to. Neil didn't try to do anything over the top, and the result is a perfect album that's definitive of folk, and most importantly, Neil Young. Neil manages to appeal to a broad array of fans, with releases that cover every part of the musical spectrum. For those who love Neil's folksy music, this album fits the bill. I've found that a lot of Neil Young fans love ALL of his material, because they seem to appreciate his diversified approach and versatility. This album is pure, refined, artistic, and expertly produced. Buy this often overlooked release, and you'll be amazed at how good it is all of these years later.

With COMES A TIME, Neil Young delivers his mellowest album since HARVEST, but this album is much, much better than its 1972 counterpart. Whereas the earlier album was mostly sentimental jingles (with the exception of the anti-racism "Alabama" and the cautionary "The Needle And The Damage Done", which in its studio version, and even more so in the live recording on LIVE RUST, made me realize I should look at pictures of pretty actresses before making certain decisions regarding food and drink), COMES A TIME seems to be an album of reflection on past mistakes, and speaks of a need for personal change. For example, "Goin' Back" (an original, not the Goffin-King song) and the title song describe, for me, why I let my hope of looking good for the young women from TV's BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, as well as several other pretty actresses, lead to me skipping food-related functions at my old school. Even "Lotta Love" (later unctuously covered by Nicolette Larson) has more of a feeling of urgency than most of HARVEST. The fact that Young, like most rockers of his generation, believes that the young Australian tourist jailed in Indonesia on drug-smuggling charges was wrongfully convicted makes this CD/cassette an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.

Don't get me wrong. I get a kick from hearing Neil rock, and appreciate "Cowgirl in the Sand" and "Like a Hurricane" as much as anyone. But for some reason, I always find myself coming back to this country/acoustic-flavored gem, and probably listen to it more than to any other of Young's numerous fine offerings. Maybe it's because I'm about the same age as he was when he recorded this, or maybe I'm just getting to appreciate the quieter side of life now that I have a young child. Either way, I find songs like "Going Back," "Comes A Time," and "Human Highway" just perfect. They bring me back to the late 70's, when I was a kid, even though I never heard these songs until I was an adult, and remind me of how simple and peaceful life seemed back then. Other standouts are "Look Out For My Love," "Already One" - which can bring tears to my eyes even though I've never been through a divorce - and Neil's terrific cover of "Four Strong Winds." This is Neil's best acoustic album, ahead of Harvest Moon and Harvest.