Given the quirkiness of Neil Young's recording career, with its frequent cancellations of releases and last-minute rearrangements of material, it is a relief to report that this two-disc compilation is so conventional and so satisfying.

A 35-track selection of the best of Young's work between 1966 and 1976, it includes songs performed by Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and the Stills-Young Band, as well as solo work.

In addition to five unreleased songs, Decade offers such key tracks as the Springfield's "Mr. Soul," "Broken Arrow," and "I Am a Child"; "Sugar Mountain," a song that had appeared only as a single before; "Cinnamon Girl," "Down by the River," and "Cowgirl in the Sand" from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere; "Southern Man" and the title track from After the Gold Rush; and "Old Man" and the chart-topping "Heart of Gold" from Harvest.

This is the material that built Young's reputation between 1966 and 1972, although he is more idiosyncratic with the later material, including the blockbusters "Like a Hurricane" and "Cortez the Killer" but mixing in more unreleased recordings as the set draws to a close. He seems intent on making the album a listenable one that will appeal to a broad base of fans, and he succeeds despite the exclusion of much of the harrowing work of 1973-1975.

Nevertheless, the album is an ideal sampler for new listeners, and since there is no one-disc Young compilation covering any significant portion of his career, this lengthy chronicle is the place to start.

Label
Warner
Genre
Pop & Rock LP
Down To The Wire (Buffalo Springfield)
Burned (Buffalo Springfield)
Mr. Soul (Buffalo Springfield)
Broken Arrow (Buffalo Springfield)
Expecting To Fly (Buffalo Springfield)
Sugar Mountain
I Am A Child (Buffalo Springfield)
The Loner
The Old Laughing Lady
Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)
Down By The River (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)
Cowgirl In The Sand (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)
I Believe In You (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)
After The Gold Rush (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)
Southern Man (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)
Helpless (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
Ohio (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
Soldier
Old Man
A Man Needs A Maid
Harvest
Heart Of Gold
Star Of Bethlehem
The Needle And The Damage Done
Tonight's The Night, Pt. 1
Tired Eyes
Walk On
For The Turnstiles
Winterlong
Deep Forbidden Lake
Like A Hurricane (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)
Love Is A Rose
Cortez The Killer (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)
Campaigner
Long May You Run (The Stills-Young Band)

WARNER