Hawks & Doves

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For other uses, see Hawk and dove (disambiguation).

Professional reviews
Hawks & Doves

Studio album by Neil Young
Released	November, 1980
Recorded	1974-1977; 1980
Genre	Country rock, Folk-rock, Rock
Length	29:47
Label	Reprise
Producer(s)	Neil Young, Tim Mulligan, Elliot Mazer
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (A-) [1]
Neil Young chronology
Live Rust (1979)	Hawks & Doves (1980)	Re-ac-tor (1981)

Hawks & Doves is a 1980 album by Neil Young. Its two sides were recorded in different circumstance, side one being culled from sessions dating from approximately 1974 through 1977, and side two from sessions specifically for the album in early 1980. The record peaked at #30 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart in December of 1980 in the United States. It is also one of Young's shortest albums, its running time just under half an hour.

Side one, the "doves" side, includes "Little Wing" and "The Old Homestead", which were originally intended to be released as part of 1975's Homegrown. "Old Homestead" presents a winding, oblique parable of Young's career, including reference to those who question Young's insistence on using the band Crazy Horse when more polished musicians are easily available. Since David Crosby has been on record many times with that very question, the song could be in answer to him directly, incidentally bearing resemblance to Crosby's song "Cowboy Movie" from his If I Could Only Remember My Name album of 1971, in that both present a lengthy allegorical story concealing allusion to the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young saga. In another resemblance, the song "Captain Kennedy" bears similarities to a tune entitled My Name Is John Johanna as recorded by Kelly Harrell and the Virginia String Band in 1927, appearing as part of the "ballads" section of Harry Smith's famed Anthology of American Folk Music from 1952. This was probably unintentional on Young's part, as the Anthology was part of the background hum on the folk circuit of Young's early days, influencing hundreds of folk and blues oriented performers in the 1950s and 1960s, both directly and indirectly.

Side two, 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. Also, this side's unabashed patriotism and seeming promotion of right-wing values puzzled many critics and fans alike as it went against the public perception of the sixties folk-rocker who had written one of the most celebrated protest songs of the seventies, "Ohio." See the Robert Christgau link to the right for one take on this apparent conundrum.

As with many of Young's releases, critical reaction at the time was mixed.