"Hawks & Doves" / "Union Man" Released: September 1980
"Stayin' Power" / "Captain Kennedy" Released: January 1981
Hawks & Doves is the eleventh[3] studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young.[4][5] It was released on October 29, 1980, through Reprise Records.[6] It was produced by Young along with Tim Mulligan and Elliot Mazer. The first side of the album consists of previously unreleased folk-centric material recorded from 1974 through 1977, while the second side features heavily country-styled songs recorded specifically for the album in July 1980.
Both contemporary and retrospective reception to Hawks & Doves has been mixed. The album's short length, disjointed styles and, in some places, seemingly patriotic lyrical content was met with confusion from fans and critics alike, especially after the critical and commercial success awarded to its predecessors, Rust Never Sleeps and Live Rust (both released in 1979).
Hawks & Doves was moderately successful, reaching the top 30 in the US. However, it only reached number 50 in Canada and its two singles, the title track and "Stayin' Power", failed to chart in either country. The album remained unavailable on CD until it was reissued in 2003 as part of the Neil Young Archives Digital Masterpiece Series.
Background
In 1979, Young released the album Rust Never Sleeps to critical acclaim.[7][8] The previous year, Young's second son Ben was born, who was unable to speak and required the use of a wheelchair due to severe cerebral palsy.[9] In an effort to assist Ben, Neil and then-wife Pegi Young engaged in an intense program which Neil described as taking up "13, 14 hours a day, seven days a week".[9] Due to this personal stress, it has been long understood[9] that the scattershot nature of Hawks & Doves was a consequence of Neil's inability to give as much attention to a consistent recording schedule while also participating in the program. Shares Young's manager Elliot Roberts in the biography Shakey: "I wasn't allowed to tell people that Neil was involved in therapy with Ben 18 hours a day, and that's why he could not promote anything. I could never use that as an excuse, because it would become the story. One thing we didn't want was pity."[10]
Hawks & Doves's two sides were recorded in different circumstances, side one being culled from sessions dating from 1974 to 1977, and side two from sessions set in early 1980 specifically for the album. It is also one of Young's shortest albums, with a running time of just under half an hour.
Writing
Side one, the 'doves' side, includes "Little Wing" and "The Old Homestead", which were recorded during the sessions for 1975's Homegrown.
The allegorical lyrics of "The Old Homestead" reference Young's ambiguity about working with his band-mates CSNY.[11]
"Lost in Space", like the earlier "After the Gold Rush", was inspired by another screenplay by actor Dean Stockwell.[10] The song features studio effects to make it sound like Young is singing underwater. The song was recorded at Triiad studios in September 1977 for an early version of Comes a Time that Young dubbed Oceanside/Countryside.
"Captain Kennedy" recounts events from the life of Lou Kenedy, a Caribbean cargo trader who had his schooner Wawaloam destroyed by a German U-boat in August 1941.[12] Young, along with fellow avid sailor Jimmy Buffett crossed paths with Kenedy in Nassau, Bahamas in the early 1970s and learned of his history there.[13] "Captain Kennedy" was recorded the night of the Hitchhiker recording in August 1976.
Side two, dubbed the 'hawks' side, consists of the recordings intended for the album, being the straightest country and western songs Young had penned to date, even more so than those found on American Stars 'N Bars or Comes a Time. The songs' lyrics seem to reflect a new, harder-edged political perspective from an artist previously seen as a standard bearer for the hippie movement.[14] The album's release within a week of Ronald Reagan's election reinforced this perception.[15]
The song "Union Man" takes a swipe at the musician's union, and a perceived fecklessness of unions in general.[16]
In "Comin' Apart at Every Nail", Young sings about America's economic backsliding.[16]
The song "Hawks & Doves", which features choruses of 'USA!', was in part influenced by the Iran hostage crisis. "I just wish we didn't have to sit there and take it for so long. I was on the edge there." Young would tell Bill Flanagan in 1985.[17]
Side two was recorded in a single week in July 1980 at Gold Star Studios, Hollywood. The sessions featured longtime collaborators Ben Keith and Rufus Thibodeaux as well as the rhythm section of Dennis Belfield and Greg Thomas, and backing vocalist Hillary O'Brien.
Promotion
Young performed a single concert with the band from the recording sessions featured on side two. In October 1980, the group appeared at the Bread and Roses Festival of Acoustic Music held at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. The concert featured the songs on side two of the album plus new songs "Winter Winds" and "Motor City". "Motor City" would later be recorded for 1981's Re·ac·tor.
Record World wrote that the title track has "straycat guitar leads, cranky fiddle colors and smart chorus fills."[22]Tulsa World noted that "the performances are loose and spontaneous... Everything sounds as if it were made in one take."[23] The Courier-News concluded that "what unifies this record and makes it so powerful a statement in this particular year is its musical conservatism."[24]
The Spin Alternative Record Guide opined that "the well ran dry on the folkish Hawks & Doves," but praised "The Old Homestead".[2]
Recorded at Triiad Recording Studios, Ft. Lauderdale, 9/15/1977.
"Captain Kennedy" (2:50)
Neil Young - guitar, vocal
Recorded at Indigo Ranch Recording Studio, Malibu, 8/11/1976 for Hitchhiker.
Side two
"Stayin' Power" (2:17)
"Coastline" (2:24)
"Union Man" (2:08)
"Comin' Apart at Every Nail" (2:33)
"Hawks & Doves" (3:27)
Neil Young - guitars, harmonica, piano, vocals; Greg Thomas - drums; Dennis Belfield - bass; Ben Keith – steel and Dobro, harmony vocals; Rufus Thibodeaux – fiddle; Ann Hillary O'Brien – harmony vocals
Side two recorded at Gold Star Recording Studio, Hollywood, 7/2 ("Coastline"), 7/3 ("Stayin' Power"), 7/4 ("Hawks & Doves") and 7/5/80 ("Union Man", "Comin' Apart at Every Nail")
