Various Artists - The Hitmakers Sing Neil Young (2016)

Neil Young had been recording music since 1963, when he had his first local hit single with 'The Sultan' by his band The Squires, through the late 60's with Buffalo Springfield', and then when he started his solo career in 1969. However, it could arguably be said that it wasn't until 1970's 'After The Goldrush' that he came up with a set of songs which could be said to stand the test of time as classics. The songs on that album have become some of his best-known works, and because of that have attracted numerous other artists attempts to give us their own take on them. Most of these artists recognised the quality of the songs straight away, and so the majority of the better covers come from 1970 and 1971, although it was worth the wait to hear Died Pretty's take on 'When You Dance'. Prelude even garnered a hit single with their a cappella version of the title track, and Francois Hardy's Gallic rendering of 'When The Morning Comes' just makes you wish that Young had written some verses to go with it, while Danish garage rockers The Teenmakers decided to add their take on 'Southern Man' to the flip a 1970 single. There's not much more that I can say about these songs, so I'll let the music do the talking, and as 'Oh Lonesome Me' from the album was itself a cover, I've added a couple of extra songs from his CSN&Y phase from the same period to make up the time.    

 

  
Track listing

01 Tell Me Why (Matthews Southern Comfort 1970)  
02 After The Goldrush (Prelude 1973)  
03 Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Jackie DeShannon 1972)  
04 Southern Man (The Teenmakers 1970)  
05 Till The Morning Comes (Francois Hardy 1972)  
06 Don't Let It Bring You Down (Hookfoot 1971)
07 Birds (Linda Ronstadt 1972) 
08 When You Dance I Can Really Love (Died Pretty 1988)
09 I Believe In You (Rita Coolidge 1971) 
10 Cripple Creek Ferry (Anonymous Choir 2016)
11 Helpless (Buffy Sainte-Marie 1971)
12 Everybody I Love You (Morningstar 1979)
13 Ohio (The Isley Brothers 1971)

Iain Matthews - Later On (1973)

Iain Matthews (born Ian Matthews MacDonald, but changing his name to avoid confusion with Ian McDonald of King Crimson) is an English musician and singer-songwriter, and was an original member of Fairport Convention. He left in 1969 to form his own band, Matthews Southern Comfort, which had a UK number one in 1970 with a cover version of Joni Mitchell's 'Woodstock'. He was influenced by both rock and roll and folk music, and has performed as both a solo artist, and as a member of various bands, including Fairport Convention during their early period, when they were heavily influenced by American folk rock. He initially embarked on a solo career, and his first album was called 'Matthew's Southern Comfort', and was rooted in American country music and rockabilly. It included Matthew's original songs alongside choice covers from Neil Young and Ian & Sylvia, and he then kept the band together, naming them after the debut album (dropping the apostrophe), and recorded two more albums with them in 1970. In 1971, Matthews recorded two solo albums ('If You Saw Thro' My Eyes' & 'Tigers Will Survive'), and the following year he formed Plainsong with Andy Roberts, previously of The Liverpool Scene, and released the classic 'In Search Of Amelia Earheart' album. There were a few songs recorded during the sessions for their first album which wouldn't fit on the record, and they've recently surfaced on compilations, so I've taken them and added some 1970 radio sessions from the band, a demo for Matthews' 'Journeys From Gospel Oak' album, and a few Plainsong radio sessions, including their take on the title track of his 1972 solo album, for this retrospective of Iain Matthews' early career.

Track listing

01 Touch Her If You Can (Matthews Southern Comfort out-take 1969)
02 Yankee Lady (Matthews Southern Comfort out-take 1969)
03 Belle (Matthews Southern Comfort out-take 1969)
04 Later On (Matthews Southern Comfort out-take 1969)
05 I Believe In You (Matthews Southern Comfort out-take 1969)
06 Not Much At All (Matthews Southern Comfort radio session 1970)
07 Baby Ruth (Matthews Southern Comfort radio session 1970)
08 Hearts (Matthews Southern Comfort radio session 1970)
09 Christine's Tune (Iain Matthews demo 1972)
10 Seeds And Stems (Plainsong radio session 1973)
11 Spanish Guitar (Plainsong radio session 1973)
12 Tigers Will Survive (Plainsong radio session 1973)