Broken Arrow

After the success of Sleeps with Angels and the Pearl Jam collaboration Mirror Ball, Neil Young had raised his artistic ante to a nearly unsustainable level. So for this collaboration with longtime backing band Crazy Horse, he dialed down expectations with a looser format that reflected his careful but casual way of making most albums. The opening trio of tunes are extended workouts that leave plenty of room for Young to stretch out and jam while still providing a traditional song framework. A live version of Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me to Do" is rough and tumble, poorly recorded but played with fire, and tacked onto the album as if a last-minute decision. (Ah, Young the inscrutable!) The four bite-sized songs in the middle of the record feel a bit orphaned, unfairly, since they provide some nice diversity and inspired playing. The guitars on "Scattered" are mournful and divine. "Music Arcade" is an acoustic number with Young in the role of wandering minstrel.