It may be hard to believe, but 2004's Greatest Hits is not only the first retrospective Neil Young has released since 1977's Decade, it's the first ever single-disc collection of his best-known songs. That's a span of 27 years separating the two collections, which is an awful long time to resist a Greatest Hits disc -- many of his peers succumbed, offering countless comps during those years -- and such a resistance to a compilation may not be much a surprise from the legendarily prickly Young, but what is a surprise is that 11 of the 16 songs on Greatest Hits were also on Decade. Of the five songs that were not on Decade, only two date from after the '70s -- 1989's "Rockin' in the Free World" and 1992's "Harvest Moon" -- while one of the remaining three (1970's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart") comes from the time chronicled on Decade; the other two, 1978's "Comes a Time" and 1979's "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)," arrived in the two years of the '70s not covered on the 1977 compilation. All this means is that Greatest Hits offers the basic canon, with no frills and none of Neil's trademark idiosyncrasy. Some may miss that cantankerous spirit, pointing out that this contains nothing from his towering twin masterpieces of dark introspection -- Tonight's the Night and On the Beach -- or that there's nothing from Buffalo Springfield (which was covered on Decade) and that noteworthy songs like "Powderfinger," "Cortez the Killer," "Lotta Love," and "Long May You Run" are missing. Ultimately, that doesn't matter much, because Greatest Hits has all the songs that every Neil Young fan, from the devoted to the casual listener, agrees are his biggest and best: "Down by the River," "Cinnamon Girl," "Helpless," "After the Gold Rush," "Southern Man," "Ohio," "The Needle and the Damage Done," "Old Man," "Heart of Gold," "Like a Hurricane." And that's why it works as an all-business introduction for the uninitiated and as a concise summary for those not willing to travel down all the long, winding roads Young has traveled over the years. In other words, it's as good a compilation as it could have been. [Greatest Hits was released in several editions. In addition to the basic single CD, there was a limited edition containing a DVD video with the promo clips for "Rockin' in the Free World" and "Harvest Moon." There was another limited edition with a bonus 7" record. Finally, it was also released as a high-resolution DVD Audio disc.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Rufus Thibodeaux (Fiddle), Rufus Thibodeaux (Group Member), J.J. Cale (Guitar (Electric)), J.J. Cale (Group Member), Nils Lofgren (Piano), Graham Nash (Guitar (Acoustic)), Graham Nash (Vocals), Linda Ronstadt (Vocals), Linda Ronstadt (Harmony Vocals), Stephen Stills (Piano), Stephen Stills (Guitar (Electric)), Stephen Stills (Vocals), Neil Young (Guitar (Acoustic)), Neil Young (Piano), Neil Young (Guitar (Electric)), Neil Young (Producer), Neil Young (String Arrangements), Steve Gibson (Guitar (Acoustic)), Nicolette Larson (Vocals), Vic Jordan (Guitar (Acoustic)), Vic Jordan (Group Member), Ben Keith (Pedal Steel), Ben Keith (Guitar (Steel)), Ben Keith (Keyboards), Ben Keith (Producer), Ben Keith (Group Member), John Barbata (Drums), Bucky Barrett (Guitar (Acoustic)), Bucky Barrett (Group Member), Joel Bernstein (Cover Photo), George Binkley III (Strings), George Binkley III (Group Member), Grant Boatwright (Guitar (Acoustic)), Grant Boatwright (Group Member), Niko Bolas (Producer), Niko Bolas (Engineer), Gary Burden (Art Direction), Gary Burden (Design), Kenneth A. Buttrey (Drums), Marvin Chantry (Strings), Marvin Chantry (Group Member), Roy Christensen (Strings), Roy Christensen (Group Member), Virginia Christensen (Strings), Virginia Christensen (Group Member), Johnny Christopher (Guitar (Acoustic)), Johnny Christopher (Group Member), Chuck Cochran (String Arrangements), Chad Cromwell (Drums), Tim Drummond (Bass), Tim Drummond (?), Rita Fey (Autoharp), Rita Fey (Group Member), Carl Gorodetzky (Strings), Carl Gorodetzky (Group Member), Bill Halverson (Engineer), John Hausman (Assistant Engineer), David Hewitt (Engineer), Danny Hilley (Assistant), Karl Himmel (Drums), Karl Himmel (Group Member), Teddy Irwin (Guitar), Sheldon Kurland (Strings), Sheldon Kurland (Group Member), Lawrence Lasson (Strings), Lawrence Lasson (Group Member), Henry Lewy (Producer), Henry Lewy (Engineer), Rebecca Lynch (Strings), Rebecca Lynch (Group Member), Elliot Mazer (Producer), Elliot Mazer (Engineer), Martha McCrory (Strings), Martha McCrory (Group Member), David McKinley (Engineer), Ralph Molina (Drums), Ralph Molina (Vocals), Farrell Morris (Percussion), Farrell Morris (Group Member), Tim Mulligan (Producer), Tim Mulligan (Engineer), Tim Mulligan (Mastering), John Nowland (Engineer), John Nowland (Digital Transfers), Spooner Oldham (Organ), Spooner Oldham (Piano), Spooner Oldham (Group Member), Joe Osborne (Bass), Joe Osborne (Group Member), Greg Reeves (Bass), Elliot Roberts (Director), Rick Rosas (Bass), Frank "Poncho" Sampedro (Guitar (Electric)), Frank "Poncho" Sampedro (Vocals), Frank "Poncho" Sampedro (?), Dale Sellers (Guitar (Acoustic)), Dale Sellers (Group Member), Jerry Shook (Guitar (Acoustic)), Jerry Shook (Group Member), Billy Talbot (Bass), Billy Talbot (Vocals), Dallas Taylor (Drums), Gary VanOsdale (Strings), Gary VanOsdale (Group Member), Carole Walker (Strings), Carole Walker (Group Member), Danny Whitten (Guitar (Electric)), Danny Whitten (Vocals), Stephanie Woolf (Strings), Stephanie Woolf (Group Member), Calvin Samuels (Bass), Henry Saskowski (Engineer), Maryanna Harvin (Strings), Maryanna Harvin (Group Member), George Kosmola (Strings), George Kosmola (Group Member), Andy McMahon (Piano), Kendall Pacios (Producer), Jenice Heo (Art Direction), Volume Dealers (Producer), David Briggs (Producer), David Briggs (Engineer), Larry Harvin (Strings), Larry Harvin (Group Member), Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Producer), Bill Peterson (Flugelhorn), Crosby, David & Graham Nash (Guitar (Electric)), Crosby, David & Graham Nash (Vocals), Gone With The Wind Orchestra (Performer), Harry Sitam (Engineer), James Taylor (Banjo), James Taylor (Vocals)
