["American Stars 'N' Bars"] might not entirely reflect Young's present state of mind, but the emotional polaroids, so distinctively developed here, offer a fascinating series of portraits that capture various aspects of the author's complex personality and his contradictory attitudes to women, love and its defeats and cruel disappointments.

These are the predominant concerns of the songs included here, nearly all of which are marked by a melancholic despair and resignation, made tolerable by the weary humour and stubborn resilience that Young invariably introduces.