Comes a Time is the ninth studio album by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young, released by Reprise Records in October 1978.

The album is largely performed in a quiet folk and country style. It features backing harmonies sung by Nicolette Larson and additional accompaniment by musicians that had accompanied Young on his commercial pinnacle, Harvest. Like Harvest, the lyrics to many of its songs are inspired by relationships. In his memoir Waging Heavy Peace, Young describes Comes a Time as one of his best albums.

Background

After the success of his 1972 album Harvest, Young famously shied away from his new public image as a sentimental singer-songwriter, and released several albums that embrace contrasting styles. Comes a Time finds the artist re-embracing a more romantic folk style and image once again. The album also features layers of overdubs and a large cast of supporting musicians, a contrast to his typical preference for live in the studio recording.

Young would describe the change in a contemporary interview: "After five or six albums going in one direction, my feelings demanded that I really craft an album. It came out outward, clean and appealing. It's the first record I've released where I'm actually facing the audience on the jacket and smiling."

Writing

The songs on Comes a Time were written over the course of the previous five years in a variety of contexts. Young had first played the songs with various other bands, including Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crazy Horse and the Ducks. The songs' lyrics were inspired by several different personal events and romantic relationships.

The lyrics to "Goin' Back" reflect feeling nostalgia for a previous time or place. Young explains in Shakey: "There's something there that's me, that record. It tells a story– "Goin' Back" is sorta like the debris of the sixties. There's nowhere to stay, nowhere to go and nothin' to do. You could go anywhere."

"Look Out for My Love" features imagery of being on an airplane eager to arrive home to one's partner, while pondering if the relationship is a burden on his partner. Singer-songwriter Randy Newman applauds the song's idiosyncratic lyrics: "It isn't like a love song. It's like, 'My love, it’s really heavy. Watch out! It's in your neighborhood.' Like a stalker."

"Already One" was written about his relationships with Carrie Snodgress and their son Zeke. In a 2020 post to the Archives website, Young states that on Comes a Time, "One of the best tracks (imho) is "Already One". That song still resonates strongly with me today. I wrote it about Carrie, Zeke's mom. She was a very special person and I still see her and love her in Zeke today."

"Motorcycle Mama" dates from the sessions for Homegrown in January 1975. The month prior, Young went on his first date with his wife Pegi, who he would marry in 1978. Pegi was fond of riding motorcycles, a characteristic Young sings about in his later portrait of her, "Unknown Legend".

"Four Strong Winds", which closes the album, is a cover of the 1963 Canadian folk song by Ian and Sylvia. Young had previously performed the song with The Band in their film The Last Waltz. The song carries special importance to Young, who fell in love with the song as a teenager. He explains during the 2005 concert for his film Heart of Gold: He continues to explain in the biography Shakey that he loved "The song, melody, the whole thing. It had a message too, y’know—leaving things behind. That feeling of something's not gonna work. There's a feeling in the song that I related to."

Recording

The first sessions for the album were held at Triiad Studios in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in September, 1977. Young recorded solo acoustic performances of several of the album's songs, often with layers of overdubs performed by himself. Overdubs were also added to the Hitchhiker recording of "Pocahontas", which later appeared on Rust Never Sleeps. "Lost in Space" on Hawks and Doves also dates from these sessions. Young compiled a solo album from the sessions, entitled Oceanside/Countryside. Young describes his process at these sessions in the biography Shakey:

When Young played the album for Reprise executive Mo Ostin, Ostin asked him if he would consider adding rhythm tracks to what he already had. Young had previously recorded with Larson on his previous album, American Stars 'n Bars. According to Young archivist and photographer Joel Bernstein,

Five of the album's songs, "Goin' Back", "Comes a Time", "Already One", "Piece of Mind" and "Four Strong Winds" feature performances by more than thirty musicians, creating a Phil Spector-esque wall of sound. Young particularly raves about the session that produced the song "Comes a Time" in his memoir, Waging Heavy Peace:

Reviewing for The Village Voice in October 1978, Robert Christgau hailed Comes a Time as a "tour de force" for its folkie concept and music, with melodies that rival those of Young's After the Gold Rush (1970) and a sound that is "almost always quiet, usually acoustic and drumless, and sweetened by Nicolette Larson". While noting that listeners may "wonder why this thirty-two-year-old hasn't learned more about Long-Term Relationships", Christgau was ultimately won over by "the spare, good-natured assurance of the singing and playing" for how it "deepens the more egregious homilies and transforms good sense into wisdom".

Stereo Review magazine's Noel Coppage found the album to be Young's "simplest, most acoustic, and best produced" record since 1972's Harvest, but more "down to earth and direct" in comparison and highlighted by a healthier perspective to his usual angst and varied songs performed in a consistent style. While lamenting a lack of energy to some degree, Coppage said that repeat listens of the album will provide "rewarding experiences with texture and mood, some real tunes, and the real personality Young puts into his work".

Susan Toepfer of the New York Daily News noted, "The quiet ironies of love, as perceived by Young in one of his strongest, most poetic LP's...a near perfect effort.

Somewhat less impressed was Greil Marcus of Rolling Stone. Describing Comes a Time as "a restrained and modest set of love songs that traces a long affair from first light to final regrets", he expressed disappointment at the relative "facelessness" of the songwriting when compared with rougher music on earlier albums like Zuma (1975) and American Stars 'n Bars (1977).

At the end of 1978, Comes a Time was voted the year's eighth best album in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics nationwide, published in The Village Voice. Christgau, the poll's supervisor, ranked it fifth on his own year-end list accompanying the poll.

According to Rolling Stones Milo Miles, while the album may have sounded out of place amidst the punk rock craze of 1978, it is in retrospect Young's "most timeless and easy-to-love works, a brief but immaculate" work. Miles interprets the opening track "Goin' Back" as Young returning to folk music in refuge from the real world, much as in the same way the album altogether offers listeners "a steady haven in dark times" with lyrics about "taking shelter from troubles and going out to face them again".

Side one

  1. "Goin' Back" (4:43)
  2. Neil Young – guitar, 12-string guitar, vibes, stringman, vocal; Nicolette Larson – harmony vocal; Larrie Londin – Drums; Joe Osborn – bass; Farrell Morris – percussion; Chuck Cochran – arranger; Gone with the Wind Orchestra – strings
  3. Recorded at Triiad Recording Studios, Ft. Lauderdale, 9/1977 and Woodland Studio, Nashville, 11/4/1977.
  4. "Comes a Time" (3:05)
  5. Neil Young – guitar, harmonica, vocal; Nicolette Larson – harmony vocal; Ben Keith – steel guitar; Karl T. Himmel – Drums; Tim Drummond – bass; Spooner Oldham – piano; Rufus Thibodeaux – fiddle; J.J. Cale – acoustic guitar; Farrell Morris – percussion; Rita Fey – autoharp; Chuck Cochran – arranger; Gone with the Wind Orchestra – acoustic guitars, strings
  6. Recorded at Woodland Studio, Nashville, 11/2/1977.
  7. "Look Out for My Love" (4:06)
  8. Neil Young – guitar, vocal; Frank "Poncho" Sampedro – guitar; Billy Talbot – bass, vocal; Ralph Molina – drums, vocal
  9. Recorded at Broken Arrow Ranch, 1/20/1976 with overdubs at CBS Studios London 4/1/1976.
  10. "Lotta Love" (2:40)
  11. Neil Young – guitar, vocal; Frank "Poncho" Sampedro – piano, vocal; Billy Talbot – bass, vocal; Ralph Molina – drums, vocal
  12. Recorded at Wally Heider Recording Studios, Hollywood, 1/10/1976.
  13. "Peace of Mind" (4:06)
  14. Neil Young – guitar, piano, vibes, vocal; Nicolette Larson – harmony vocal; Ben Keith – steel guitar; Larrie Londin – Drums; Joe Osborn – bass; Farrell Morris – percussion; Rita Fey – autoharp; Chuck Cochran – arranger; Gone with the Wind Orchestra – strings
  15. Recorded at Triiad Recording Studios, Ft. Lauderdale, 9/12/1977 with overdubs at Woodland Studio, Nashville, 11/1977.

Side two

  1. "Human Highway" (3:09)
  2. Neil Young – guitar, banjo, vocal; Nicolette Larson – harmony vocal; Ben Keith – steel guitar; Karl T. Himmel – Drums; Tim Drummond – bass
  3. Recorded at Triiad Recording Studios, Ft. Lauderdale, 9/14/1977 with overdubs at Woodland Studio, Nashville, 11/1977.
  4. "Already One" (4:53)
  5. Neil Young – guitar, vocal; Nicolette Larson – harmony vocal; Ben Keith – steel guitar; Karl T. Himmel – Drums; Tim Drummond – bass; Spooner Oldham – piano; Rufus Thibodeaux – fiddle; Farrell Morris – percussion, vibes; J.J. Cale – acoustic guitar; Chuck Cochran – arranger; Gone with the Wind Orchestra – acoustic guitars, strings
  6. Recorded at Woodland Studio, Nashville, 11/2/1977.
  7. "Field of Opportunity" (3:08)
  8. Neil Young – guitar, vocal; Nicolette Larson – harmony vocal; Ben Keith – steel guitar; Karl T. Himmel – Drums; Rufus Thibodeaux – fiddle; Joe Osborne – bass
  9. Recorded at Crazy Mama's, Nashville, 5/3/1977 with overdubs at Woodland Studio, Nashville, 11/1977.
  10. "Motorcycle Mama" (3:08)
  11. Neil Young – electric guitar, vocal; Nicolette Larson – harmony vocal; Ben Keith – steel guitar; Karl T. Himmel – Drums; Tim Drummond – bass; Spooner Oldham – piano
  12. Recorded at Sound Shop, Nashville, 11/21/1977.
  13. "Four Strong Winds" (4:07)
  14. Neil Young – guitar, banjo, vocal; Nicolette Larson – harmony vocal; Ben Keith – steel guitar; Karl T. Himmel – Drums; Tim Drummond – bass; Spooner Oldham – piano; Rufus Thibodeaux – fiddle; Rita Fey – autoharp; Farrell Morris – percussion, vibes; J.J. Cale – acoustic guitar; Chuck Cochran – arranger; Gone with the Wind Orchestra – acoustic guitars, strings
  15. Recorded at Woodland Studio, Nashville, 11/2/1977.

Personnel

Musicians

  • Neil Young – guitar, harmonica, vocals, production
  • Frank Sampedro – guitar, piano, vocals (on tracks 3 and 4)
  • Billy Talbot – bass, vocals (on tracks 3 and 4)
  • Ralph Molina – drums, vocals (on tracks 3 and 4)
  • Nicolette Larson – harmony vocals (except on tracks 3 and 4)
  • Ben Keith – steel guitar
  • Karl Himmel – drums
  • Tim Drummond – bass
  • Spooner Oldham – piano
  • Rufus Thibodeaux – fiddle
  • Joe Osborn – bass
  • Larrie Londin – drums
  • J. J. Cale – electric guitar
  • Farrell Morris – percussion
  • Rita Fey – autoharp

The "Gone with the Wind Orchestra":

  • Bucky Barrett, Grant Boatwright, Johnny Christopher, Jerry Shook, Vic Jordan, Steve Gibson, Dale Sellers, Ray Edenton – acoustic guitars
  • Shelly Kurland, Stephanie Woolf, Marvin Chantry, Roy Christensen, Gary Vanosdale, Carl Gorodetzky, George Binkley, Steven Smith, Larry Harvin, Larry Lasson, Carol Walker, Rebecca Lynch, Virginia Christensen, Maryanna Harvin, George Kosmola, Martha McCrory, Chuck Cochran – strings

| style="text-align:center;" |6

|-

! scope="row"|US Billboard Top LPs & Tape

| align="center" |7

|-

! scope="row"|UK Album Charts

| align="center" |42

|-

! scope="row"|Canadian RPM 100 Albums

| align="center" |4

|-

! scope="row"|Finnish Album Charts

| align="center" |10

|-

! scope="row"|French Album Charts

| align="center" |2

|-

! scope="row"|Japanese Album Charts

| align="center" |65

|-

! scope="row"|Norwegian VG-lista Albums

| align="center" |9

|-

! scope="row"|New Zealand Album Charts

| align="center" |6

|-

! scope="row"|Dutch MegaCharts Albums

| align="center" |13

|-

! scope="row"|US Record World Album Chart

| align="center" |13

|}

Singles

{|class="wikitable"

! Year

! Single

! Chart

! Position

|-

| rowspan="5" | 1979

| rowspan="5" | "Four Strong Winds"

| Billboard Pop Singles

| 61

|-

|US Cashbox Singles

|69

|-

|US Record World Singles

|67

|-

|Canadian RPM Top Singles

|61

|-

|UK Singles Chart

|57

|-

|}

Year End Chart

{| class="wikitable" border="1"

|-

! Year

! Chart

! Position

|-

| rowspan="2" |1978

|Canadian Year End Chart

| align="center" |60

|-

|Cashbox Year End Chart

| align="center" |71

|-

| rowspan="2" | 1979

| Billboard Year End Chart

| align="center" | 56

|-

| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)

| align="center" | 44

|}

Certifications

References

  • Comes a Time at MySpace (streamed copy)