Neil Young OLD WAYS

Personnel includes: Neil Young (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, harmonica); Willie Nelson (vocals, acoustic guitar); Waylon Jennings (vocals, electric guitar); Anthony Crawford (vocals, mandolin); Denise Draper (vocals); David Kirby, Grant Boatwright, Johnny Christopher, Ray Edenton (acoustic guitar); Ben Keith (steel guitar, dobro); Ralph Mooney (steel guitar); Marty Stuart (mandolin); Bela Fleck, Bobby Thompson (banjo); Rufus Thibodeaux, Gordon Terry (fiddle); Carl Gorodetzky (violin); Gove Scrivenor (Autoharp); Terry McMillan (harmonica, Jew's harp); Hargus "Pig" Robbins, Spooner Oldham (piano); Joe Allen (acoustic bass, bass); Joe Osborne, Tim Drummond (bass); Karl Himmel (drums); Farrell Morris (percussion).
Producers: Neil Young, Ben Keith, David Briggs, Elliot Mazer.
Engineers: Gene Eichelberger, Tim Mulligan.
Recorded at The Castle, Franklin, Tennessee; House Of David, Nashville, Tennessee; Pedernales Recording Studio, Spicewood, Texas; and live at Austin City Limits, Austin, Texas.
Personnel: Neil Young (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmonica); Willie Nelson (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar); Waylon Jennings (vocals, guitar, electric guitar); Ben Keith (vocals, guitar, steel guitar, dobro); Anthony Crawford (vocals, mandolin, background vocals); Larry Byrom (vocals, piano, background vocals); Rick Palombi, Gail Davies, Janis Oliver-Gill, Leona Williams, Mary Ann Kennedy, Betsy Hammer (vocals, background vocals); Dana Cooper, Kristine Arnold, Denise Draper, Pamela Rose (vocals); Grant Boatwright, Johnny Christopher, Ray Edenton (guitar, acoustic guitar); Ralph Mooney (guitar, steel guitar); Dave Kirby (guitar); B?la Fleck, Bobby Thompson (banjo); Terry McMillan (harp, harmonica, Jew's harp); Gove Scrivenor (autoharp); Marty Stuart (mandolin); Gordon Terry (violin, fiddle); Carl Gorodetzky (violin); Rufus Thibodeaux (fiddle); Mark Hembree, Larry Harvin, Dennis Molchan, David Vanderkooi, John Borg, Betty McDonald, Stephanie Woolf, Carole Walker, Charles Everett, George Binkley III, Roy Christensen, Virginia Christensen, Mark Tanner, Pamela Sixfin, Lee Larrison, Gary VanOsdale (strings); Spooner Oldham, Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano); Tim Drummond, Karl Himmel (drums); Farrell Morris (percussion); Doana Cooper, Kristine Oliver-Arnold (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Chuck Cochran.
Recording information: Austin City Limits, Austin, TX (01/1983-04/1985); Castle, Franklin, TN (01/1983-04/1985); House Of David, Nashville, TN (01/1983-04/1985); Pedernales Recording Studio (01/1983-04/1985).
Director: Elliot Roberts.
Photographer: Dennis Keeley.
Arrangers: Mike Leech; Neil Young; Ben Keith.
There has always been a strong country element to Neil Young's music and OLD WAYS is perhaps the ultimate manifestation of Young's love of that style. Songs like "Get Back To The Country" (a stomping track on which fiddles and a Jew's harp are the lead instruments) and "California Sunset" are indeed pure country. Other songs--including "The Wayward Kind," "Misfits" and "Old Ways"--boast poignant melodies and straightforward performances that would not be out of place on classic Young albums like HARVEST and COMES A TIME. Labeled a "country album" when it was released in 1985, OLD WAYS is a lot less country than Garth Brooks or Dwight Yoakam, though with guests spots from Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, it's not your typical Neil Young album either. OLD WAYS is an enthusiastic, well-played exploration of country music by a rock artist who is never afraid to try something new.

• Format: CD
• Genre: Pop