Zuma

Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Neil Young (vocals, various instruments); Billy Talbot (vocals, bass); Ralph Molina (vocals, drums); Frank Sampedro (guitar).
Crosby, Stills & Nash: David Crosby (vocals); Steve Stills (vocals, bass); Graham Nash (vocals).
Additional personnel: Tim Drummond (bass); Russ Kunkel (congas).
Producers: Neil Young, David Briggs, Tim Mulligan.
Easily the moodiest album in a career not lacking in that quality, ZUMA is a swirling, hypnotic current that drags you into river of self-doubt, bitterness and fear. This is the sound of the '60 gone sour. All the peace-and-love vibes Young dabbled in with Buffalo Springfield and CSNY crash to the ground, and the strange, beautiful sound they make is ZUMA.
It's only through the good offices of Crazy Horse that Young is able to keep the somber, droning quality of these tunes going for an entire album without a moment of boredom. On the unforgivingly sarcastic "Stupid Girl" and the paranoid "Cortez the Killer," it's the languid air of acceptance with which Young delivers the lyrics that draws you in, but it's the twisting thorn bush of electric guitars that keeps you focused. Hidden amidst all this emotional turmoil is one of Young's most poignant, trenchant and concise pop gems, "Don't Cry No Tears."