Neil Young - Greatest Hits

It may be hard to believe, but 2004's Greatest Hits is not only the first retrospective Neil Young has released since 1977's Decade, it's the first ever single-disc collection of his best-known songs. That's a span of 27 years separating the two collections, which is an awful long time to resist a Greatest Hits disc -- many of his peers succumbed, offering countless comps during those years -- and such a resistance to a compilation may not be much a surprise from the legendarily prickly Young, but what is a surprise is that 11 of the 16 songs on Greatest Hits were also on Decade. Of the five songs that were not on Decade, only two date from after the '70s -- 1989's "Rockin' in the Free World" and 1992's "Harvest Moon" -- while one of the remaining three (1970's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart") comes from the time chronicled on Decade; the other two, 1978's "Comes a Time" and 1979's "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)," arrived in the two years of the '70s not covered on the 1977 compilation. All this means is that Greatest Hits offers the basic canon, with no frills and none of Neil's trademark idiosyncrasy. Some may miss that cantankerous spirit, pointing out that this contains nothing from his towering twin masterpieces of dark introspection -- Tonight's the Night and On the Beach -- or that there's nothing from Buffalo Springfield (which was covered on Decade) and that noteworthy songs like "Powderfinger," "Cortez the Killer," "Lotta Love," and "Long May You Run" are missing. Ultimately, that doesn't matter much, because Greatest Hits has all the songs that every Neil Young fan, from the devoted to the casual listener, agrees are his biggest and best: "Down by the River," "Cinnamon Girl," "Helpless," "After the Gold Rush," "Southern Man," "Ohio," "The Needle and the Damage Done," "Old Man," "Heart of Gold," "Like a Hurricane." And that's why it works as an all-business introduction for the uninitiated and as a concise summary for those not willing to travel down all the long, winding roads Young has traveled over the years. In other words, it's as good a compilation as it could have been. [Greatest Hits was released in several editions. In addition to the basic single CD, there was a limited edition containing a DVD video with the promo clips for "Rockin' in the Free World" and "Harvest Moon." There was another limited edition with a bonus 7" record. Finally, it was also released as a high-resolution DVD Audio disc.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Andy McMahon Piano Ben Keith Keyboards, Group Member, Guitar (Steel), Producer, Pedal Steel Bill Halverson Engineer Bill Peterson Flugelhorn Billy Talbot Vocals, Bass Bucky Barrett Group Member, Guitar (Acoustic) Calvin Samuels Bass Carl Gorodetzky Group Member, Strings Carole Walker Group Member, Strings Chad Cromwell Drums Chuck Cochran String Arrangements Crosby, David & Graham Nash Guitar (Electric), Vocals Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Producer Dale Sellers Group Member, Guitar (Acoustic) Dallas Taylor Drums Danny Hilley Assistant Danny Whitten Guitar (Electric), Vocals David Briggs Producer, Engineer David Hewitt Engineer David McKinley Engineer Elliot Mazer Producer, Engineer Elliot Roberts Director Farrell Morris Percussion, Group Member Frank "Poncho" Sampedro Vocals, Guitar (Electric), ? Gary Burden Design, Art Direction Gary VanOsdale Group Member, Strings George Binkley III Strings, Group Member George Kosmola Group Member, Strings Gone With The Wind Orchestra Performer Graham Nash Vocals, Guitar (Acoustic) Grant Boatwright Group Member, Guitar (Acoustic) Greg Reeves Bass Harry Sitam Engineer Henry Lewy Engineer, Producer Henry Saskowski Engineer J.J. Cale Group Member, Guitar (Electric) James Taylor Vocals, Banjo Jenice Heo Art Direction Jerry Shook Group Member, Guitar (Acoustic) Joe Osborne Bass, Group Member Joel Bernstein Cover Photo John Barbata Drums John Hausman Assistant Engineer John Nowland Engineer, Digital Transfers Johnny Christopher Guitar (Acoustic), Group Member Karl Himmel Group Member, Drums Kendall Pacios Producer Kenneth A. Buttrey Drums Larry Harvin Group Member, Strings Lawrence Lasson Group Member, Strings Linda Ronstadt Harmony Vocals, Vocals Martha McCrory Strings, Group Member Marvin Chantry Group Member, Strings Maryanna Harvin Group Member, Strings Neil Young String Arrangements, Piano, Producer, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) Nicolette Larson Vocals Niko Bolas Engineer, Producer Nils Lofgren Piano Ralph Molina Drums, Vocals Rebecca Lynch Group Member, Strings Rick Rosas Bass Rita Fey Group Member, Autoharp Roy Christensen Group Member, Strings Rufus Thibodeaux Group Member, Fiddle Sheldon Kurland Strings, Group Member Spooner Oldham Organ, Group Member, Piano Stephanie Woolf Strings, Group Member Stephen Stills Vocals, Guitar (Electric), Piano Steve Gibson Guitar (Acoustic) Teddy Irwin Guitar Tim Drummond ?, Bass Tim Mulligan Engineer, Producer, Mastering Vic Jordan Group Member, Guitar (Acoustic) Virginia Christensen Strings, Group Member Volume Dealers Producer