Long May You Run

I count myself fortunate to have been seated in the pavilion of the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan in June, 1976 when the Stills-Young Band kicked off their tour, even if the sound turned out to be rather muddled and the two stars weren't frequently on stage together. While most of the setlist was dedicated to past hits, the evening did produce three of the finer selections from this CD: Still's staple from this tour, 'Make Love To You'; a song Neil first began performing with Crazy Horse while on tour in Japan earlier in the same year, 'Let It Shine'; and the title song, 'Long May You Run', which Neil first began performing in 1974. Only two other songs from the album, Neil's 'Midnight On the Bay' and 'Ocean Girl' would be offered on the truncated (17 concert) tour.

This collection boasts one classic tune, the title track, which rivals any of Young's best compositions. Another exceptional contribution from Neil is 'Fontainebleau', which is cast from the same mold as 'Cortez the Killer' with its loping beat and trademark guitar squelch and distortion. 'Midnight On the Bay', 'Ocean Girl' and 'Let It Shine' are pleasant-sounding, but unchallenging tracks by Young's standards.

Still's offers four tracks to Neil's five, but more total minutes on the disc. His best offerings are the blatantly seductive ode to one-night stands, 'Make Love To You' (with a tempo reminisient of Still's first hit, 'For What It's Worth'), and the bouncy, spiritual closer, 'Guardian Angel'. 'Black Coral' features it's own spiritual bent, as well as an intriguing melody. '12/8 Blues' is perhaps the weakest song on the disc, but like 'Black Coral' has an interesting, unusual musical structure, and together with 'Fontainebleau' adds some needed grit to the mix.

This album was recorded in Miami and the song selection suggests Stills and Young were hinting at a nautical theme for the disc. Obvious selections such as 'Midnight On the Bay', 'Ocean Girl' and 'Black Coral' wash together with lyrics from 'Long May You Run' ("Rollin' down that empty ocean road, get into the surf on time") and 'Fontainebleau' (...where the surfer works, till the break of day, cause it takes a shark, to catch a wave...) to carry the impression, inadvertent or not.

So despite the heavy critiques and unfortunate circumstances this reunion disc generated, I'm pleased two of my favorite artists, the dual backbones of Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, saw fit to give this a shot. I consider it one of the most unique collaborations of their careers, and the music a tribute to their talents. Oh... one other plus: lyrics are included.

The title track is a minor Young classic and easily the best song here. "Midnight on the Bay" and "Ocean Girl" are catchy throwaways that you may find yourself humming from time to time. "Let It Shine" is a loping country rocker with amusing lyrics that may be the second best song here. "Fountainebleu" is kind of dull, but features some nice guitar licks from Mr. Young.

Ah, the Stills numbers. . . less good. He had been in a serious slump since the first Mannassas album and it continues here. "Make Love To You" is about as clever and original as the title suggests. "Black Coral" is more interesting than good and lacks a memorable hook. "12/8 Blues" is Stills' highlight on the record, a solid blues rocker. "Guardian Angel" is a passable lite rocker, but again nothing special.

Most disappointing of all is the lack of actual collaboration between Young and Stills on any of these songs. None are co-written, and there are no duelling guitars. The extent of it seems to be a shared backing band and some overdubbed backing vocals. And lemme tell ya, a thrilling harmony duo Stills and Young are not.

So what have you got? Not a lot to get excited about really.