Another collaboration with Crazy Horse after the successes of Everybody Knows This is Nowhere feels like a no-brainer for Neil Young. A tumultuous time for Young had passed and Zuma becomes a return to exciting form not in his music, which never wavered, but in his approach to fame. It no longer scared him as it did on the drunken stupors of Tonight’s the Night nor the getaway perfection of On the Beach. Something flipped for Young and he makes good on this refreshing outlook across a quality album which, on its surface, is a crucial rock album. But this is Young. Five years on from their collaborative efforts, Crazy Horse is back in the studio with a sound suitable for themselves and the direction Young was set on taking. Lost loves and the brutal, unmoved feelings towards it can be heard on opener Don’t Cry No Tears, and it is nothing but hits from there for this Young and Crazy Horse collaboration.
Zuma is an album filled with abrasive reactions to a dying love. Danger Bird is a cold continuation of Don’t Cry No Tears but becomes a little more ambiguous thanks to some instrumental brilliance from the band behind him. Feedback paves the way to some personal salvation for Young though it does not, in this form, sound all that satisfying. There is the back-and-forth with one side of the story unfolding, and it sounds marvellous. Energetic, enraged and engulfed by the grief and rage of a post-love life. Pardon My Heart is where the love becomes clear, though. Heartbreaking lyrics. Sincere tearjerkers build so naturally on the acoustic bed of noise. Memories of Carrie Snodgress and the times shared, the plans not made good on, are simply astounding. Zuma moves from articulate dejection to sincere thankfulness for a love experienced, yet now ended.
Broken trusts and the acceptance of it happening again can be heard from Lookin’ for a Love to Barstool Blues. You will meet another lover, those experiences of tender niceties and emotional outbursts are not the same, but occur, perhaps, anywhere. Zuma certainly leans into the idea of it happening irrespective of the equal partner, and it finds a bluesy best in those moments. For all its outrage and hate, there are moments of real beauty found within the likes of Stupid Girl and Drive Back. Longing hopes of a return to those past loves is yearned for but never occurs. It never will. It is why Young and the band turn their attention to the blistering instrumental perfection of Cortez the Killer, perhaps the best work they will ever make together.
Pairing up in the studio after a five-year break from one another is no small feat. Zuma, for all its zany artwork and seemingly comical attitude on the front cover, is another brutal shot of utter brilliance from Young. A stunning album from start to finish with no breaks in either the gratitude or hate present. They co-exist. Somehow, they do. It was never to last in the real world but in the comfort of Zuma, it maintains this sense of paradise, mentioned and moulded well on album closer Through My Sails. When an artist puts this much on the line, it feels a bit greedy, a little guilt-tinged, to listen to their heartbreaks. But time has been kind to Zuma, the Crazy Horse instrumentals still shine bright and the open heart and outrageously honest Young stands tall.
