Customer Reviews

Zuma

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Without any possible question, this is one of Neil Young's greatest albums, and given the extraordinary length of his career and the amazing number of albums that he has made, that is saying something. This is also one of his most influential albums, producing a pattern for a host of guitar oriented garage and alternative bands in the 1980s and 1990s. It is impossible to listen to a band like Thin White Rope or Eleventh Dream Day or Nirvana and escape the conclusion that the members of the bands all grew up listening to the cuts on this disc.

Although this is widely known as one of the seminal guitar albums in the history of rock, there are two paradoxes in that claim. First, a couple of the songs are entirely acoustic and feature none of the grungy guitar found throughout the rest of the disc. "Pardon My Heart" is not merely acoustic, but soft and gentle as well. "Through My Sails" is a Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young song. For me, it is the weakest cut on the album, and a potent reminder to me of why I prefer Neil Young on his own. The second paradox is that in many ways Neil Young really isn't a very good guitarist. Technically, there are probably a host of high school guitarists that surpass him. His solos are some of the most elementary in the history of rock. Nonetheless, Young seems to get more musical mileage out of relatively meager chops of any guitarist in history. He might not be a virtuoso, but in this album he virtually reinvents grunge guitar, and paved the way for a host of imitators.

Guitar aside, what drives this amazing album is the great, great songs that line up one after another. "Don't Cry No Tears" gives way for the even more stunning "Danger Bird." A couple of songs later we get one of my favorite Young songs, "Barstool Blues." "Stupid Girl" is not a work of misogyny like the Stones' "Under My Thumb," but yet another excellent guitar driven song. "Drive Back" is another great song that then gives away to the song that seems to define the entire album, the epic, majestic "Cortez the Killer," in which Neil gets to sing about his recurring subject of the European exploitation of the New World.

Neil Young has other albums nearly as good as this, and possibly a couple of others that are even better, like AFTER THE GOLD RUSH and TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT, but there isn't a single one of his discs that I have listened to as often or with as much pleasure. This truly is a disc that ought to be in the library of every serious rock fan.

Zuma was the first studio album that was credited to Neil Young & Crazy Horse since his second release, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. While various members of the band appeared on albums in between the releases, Zuma contains the power rocking sound that only the complete band could produce. "Barstool Blues" is an underrated gem that has bluesy guitar riff that pops throughout the song. "Drive Back" and "Don't Cry No Tears" have a grungy sound. "Stupid Girl" is great song with a great vocal. "Pardon My Heart" is an acoustic based number as is the closer "Through My Sails" which features Crosby, Stills & Nash and was a leftover from the aborted sessions in 1974 that was supposed to yield the band's followup to Deja Vu. The standout track on the album is "Cortez The Killer" with its droning guitar solo and vivid lyrics, the song is tremendous.

Young and Crazy Horse have done so many fine albums that this one sometimes gets overlooked. Most fans know "Cortez the Killer," but check out "Barstool Blues" (wonderfully redone on the live "Year of the Horse"), "Don't Cry No Tears" and "Pardon My Heart." The sound alternates between soft and hard. A strong effort that is among the better Young albums.

Released in 1975, not that long after the classic Harvest, this album shares the same downbeat mood though this time, the backing band were Crazy Horse and not the Stray 'Gators. Thus, the musical style is more rock than country.

This is a great album with no weak tracks at all. Dangerbird is my favourite here. What a terrific song. It is one of Neil Young's best ever efforts. More than that, it is one of the best rock ballads ever with some superb guitar and bass licks.

Barstool Blues is another great song, Neil's singing at its best and the classic Crazy Horse guitar sound is here at its finest.

Cortez the Killer is perhaps the best known track on this album and it too is a knockout song. Where Dangerbird was surreal and Barstool Blues dealt with modern day angst, this song refers back to the brutality of the Conquistadors.

Along with Harverst, this CD stands out as the top of Neil Young's early years and it is essential part of any collection of his work. If you particularly like this album then you will surely be interested in some of his later work with Crazy Horse such as Ragged Glory.

This is one of the best albums Neil Young has done with his stalwart backing band, Crazy Horse. Although it contains two fine and particularly beautiful acoustic tracks, Pardon My Heart and Through My Sails (the latter a CSNY outtake), the standout tracks are the guitar-heavy extended jams. It's not a full-out assault like Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and the later Ragged Glory: most of the songs are fairly mid-tempo - though loud and rocking - such as the classic opener Don't Cry No Tears, Barstool Blues, and Stupid Girl. A couple of the tracks are more laid-back, and feature the most folky, country-ish side of Neil - songs such as Lookin' For A Love. These provide a nice change of pace. The undoubted standout songs on the album, however, are the extended jams on Danger Bird, and, especially, Cortez The Killer, which contains some of Neil's finest guitar soloing ever. This is the most he had cut loose on record since Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Lyrically, he had moved away from the bleak outlook he had taken to task on his previous albums, and the main thematic element here is lost love - but it's not mourning about it, even: indeed, the general sentiment here seems to be a readyness to move on to the next relationship. Granted, as with most of Young's records that feature Crazy Horse, the lyrics here are not among his best: the music is the main focus; and, thankfully, this album contains some of his very best jams. The absolutely astounding intro and long solo to Cortez The Killer - one of those moments that you simply must hear to believe. It just has to be experienced. Although none of the other tracks on this album can match that masterpiece, there is a general high level of craft here, making for another essential Neil Young album.

This is one hell of an album, one of my personal favourites. Neil and the Horse get back on track with beautiful, simple, guitar based rock songs. Barstool Blues is legendary. Rumour has it that the band went on a heavy drinking spree and awoke the next morning to find this song recorded - with Neil singing at an octave higher than normal. I don't know if this is true or not, but it's a cool rumour! There is not one bad song, the meandering lead of Dangerbird, the melodic Pardon my Heart, the upbeat Stupid Girl and the has-to-be-mentioned Cortez the Killer. This is a fantastic song and an absolute classic. The slow dreamy intro lasts over a third of the song and the story goes (again) that Neil got so involved with playing the riff that he forgot to sing. It too may not be true but I could understand it if it were. This album is a signifcant must have for any true Neiler collection. Buy it!

A fair amount of Neil Young's albums were largely overlooked, some of them (especially in the 80s) deservedly so. But "Zuma" is probably the most brilliant hidden gem in his catalogue. Although this is one of his Crazy Horse collaborations, the album is fairly representative of the styles of the first six years of his solo career. "Don't Cry..." could be an outtake from "Everybody Knows...", as could "Pardon My Heart" be from "Gold Rush", "Stupid Girl" from "On The Beach", and "Barstool Blues" from "Tonight's The Night". There's even a gorgeous song ("Through My Sails") with Crosby Stills & Nash that's easily among the best material that CSNY recorded.

All that would mean little were it not that "Zuma" is a consistently engaging and entertaining listen. All of the songs are great and Neil also provides glimpses into his future direction (so influential to grunge) with the feedback drenched "Danger Bird" and the searing "Drive Back".

The aforementioned songs alone would make this a five star album. Add to that "Cortez The Killer" which is not just one of my favorite Neil Young songs, but one of my favorite songs period. (And I have 1200 CDs so that's saying something). "Cortez" is a song of such aching beauty, it's impossible to imagine anyone else pulling this off. Listen to the near four minute solo that opens the song to understand why Neil is so revered among rock musicians. There are scores of guitarists more technically brilliant than him, but none (and I mean none) can squeeze the same emotional impact out of every note. By the time Neil sings the first words "He came dancing across the water", the listener is totally emotionally connected. This is simply one of the most brilliant moments in rock and roll history.

Neil Young is one of those artists so important that he is not well served by compilations. If you're serious about rock, you need to own at least five of his original albums. Make sure this is one of them.

Zuma is without doubt some of Neil Young's and Crazy Horse's best work. It is a great mix of very heavy with some quieter stuff. The highlight of the album is a long mix of Cortez the Killer which shows the guitar geneous of Neil Young. If you are a Neil Young fan this album is a must.

I hesitated getting this album for a long while and i am not totally sure why. Anyway, ignoring Zuma was one of my worst decisions regarding my Neil collection (now 25 albums). This album is one of Neils best. Every song on here is excellent and none of them are filler tracks. Don't Cry No Tears, Stupid Girl, Drive Back and Barstool Blues are short, punchy rock tracks and are amazing. Lookin' For A Love is a Lo-Fi affair like on Comes A Time only not quite ao quiet. Pardon My Heart and Through My Sails are gorgeous acoustic numbers with Pardon.. having the bonus of a hypnotic refrain. Then the two best numbers on the record, the sprawling, mesmeric and rocking beasts that are Cortez The Killer and Dangerbird. Enough has been said on these two tracks so all i will say is LISTEN!! And just get the album. Don't make the same mistake I did and get it as soon as possible!

Honestly for once I really dont know what to say about this album, its that good. Its just straight forward rock and roll, and some of the best Neil Young And Crazy Horse or any musicians have ever created. While I cant find the right words to explain to you how good this album is I also feel that you could really never say enough about it, given you can find the words of course. Starting with the musicianship. Neil Youngs guitar playing is amazing as always, 'Cortez The Killer' showcases that. His lyrics and passion were never stronger or more present, 'Barstole Blues' is a prime example. This is the second time Crazy Horse was created as being on the album even though I think they have played on almost all his albums. Here they shine brighter then ever.

As for the music, well it speeks for itself. Zuma opens with 'Dont Cry No Tears' which is labled a nice little grunge song which it kind of is but I would just say its a killer rock song done Neil Young style. 'Danger Bird' is a nice slower song with great vocals from Young, and boy is this a good song, man you really gotta hear to fully grasp how wonderful it is. Much like 'Danger Bird' 'Pardon My Heart' is another slower acoustical song done as only Neil could do. While the last two songs were slower 'Lookin For Love' is an upbeat country flavored rock song that is exactly what people came to know Neil for and songs like this one are what made the man famous.

'Barstole Blues' may very well be the very best song that Neil Young ever wrote and recorded. The guitar is great, and his lyrics are really great as well. But for me its all about the delivery, and Neil is known for playing and singing with intense passion, but not like this, the way he sings this song is nothing short of amazing. You can hear him pooring his heart out all over this song. Its amazing.

'Stupid Girl' is almost grunge but not quite, kind of like the albums opener. 'Stupid Girl' would have fir in perfectly on, On The Beach because it jsut seems like it came from the same vein, I wonder if all those songs were written at the same time. 'Drive Back' is a cool rocker with a nice chorus and great lead guitar playing by Young, some of his best. If you wanna talk about classics, then 'Cortez The Killer' is exactley that, one of Neil Youngs all time best songs. The guitar solo is concidered among many to be one of the all times best, and I as a guitar player must agree. Though I think Cortez should have ended the album, 'Through The Sails' is a nice acoustic song, almost like CSN&Y but better. Its a really peaeceful way to end the album.

Zuma is an often over looked album in the Neil Young cannon and I can't understand why. Its an amazing album, and in my book it is far better then Harvest. Zuma is a album that no one and I mean no one should go with out hearing at least one time in you life, so if you are some who reads my reviews then I am telling you this is one album you must hear! Make it your next pruches.