Neil Young buried this record for two decades because it was too heavy to release. Toast, recorded in 2001 with Crazy Horse and finally issued in 2022, is the brooding first draft of songs he later reworked for Are You Passionate?. What got shelved was a darker, sadder album — and the band that made it sound that way was the one he nearly left behind.
The Moodier Roots
The story goes that Young cut these tracks with Crazy Horse, then re-recorded much of the material for the R&B-influenced Are You Passionate?. The alternate versions here show he had that understated sound in mind before he ever hired the M.G.s to play it. What Crazy Horse delivered instead was looser, heavier, and far more melancholy — grooves that hit harder than anyone expected.
Quit and Standing in the Light of Love
“Quit” sets the tone with a weary, resigned edge that the later version sanded down. “Standing in the Light of Love” follows with a gentler pulse, but the Horse’s ragged playing keeps it from drifting into polish.
Goin’ Home and Timberline
The centerpiece is “Goin’ Home,” a seven-and-a-half-minute crawl that stretches the song’s ache into something monumental. “Timberline” is the quiet one, a brief country-tinged pause.
Gateway of Love and How Ya Doin’?
“Gateway of Love” runs past ten minutes and earns every second, building from a slow burn into a full-band storm. “How Ya Doin’?” swings with a loose, almost drunken rhythm that suits the Horse far better than the M.G.s ever could.
Boom Boom Boom
Closer “Boom Boom Boom” is the strangest cut — thirteen minutes of hypnotic repetition that either mesmerizes or exhausts, depending on your patience.
A Fans-Only Affair
This is not an entry point. It is a curiosity for the initiated, a shadow version of a record most listeners already know. The songs are not better here — they are just sadder. Young himself called it “so sad that I couldn’t put it out,” and that sadness is the selling point.
The Verdict
Toast does not replace Are You Passionate?. It deepens it, showing the same songs in an earlier, rawer light. The playing is magnificent, the mood is consistent, and the whole thing hangs together as a single, mournful statement. It is not essential, but for anyone who has followed Young’s long detours, it is a rewarding one.
| Track | Length |
|---|---|
| Quit | 5:24 |
| Standing in the Light of Love | 4:19 |
| Goin’ Home | 7:53 |
| Timberline | 4:10 |
| Gateway of Love | 10:11 |
| How Ya Doin’ ? | 7:00 |
| Boom Boom Boom | 13:06 |
- Quit5:24
- Standing in the Light of Love4:19
- Goin' Home7:53
- Timberline4:10
- Gateway of Love10:11
- How Ya Doin' ?7:00
- Boom Boom Boom13:06
