Thanks for listening, Sweetcell, I appreciate the feedback. I like your insight on the "non hip-hop-iness" of the record. The beat maker is a hip-hop producer and I'm a Neil fan pushing him to expand his boundaries and with that the songs don't come off sounding like straight up Rza beats. For years he's been making 1 minute "loops" which, in all honesty are hotter than the remixes, but I encouraged him to branch out and experiment.
I'm with you with the "pretty piano" comment- the highlights of the album, in my opinion, come from string quartet & piano tributes mixed into originals. Hence, Southern Man and Heart of Gold being strong points on the album. Ohio also does this but it's a quick & simple ditty.
Mere kick/snare combo? You must be referring to Cortez the Killer which I admit doesn't stray too far from the original. In defense, it's almost as if we're acting the part of Crazy Horse: playing a simple backdrop while Neil goes to town. We tried upping the track a little bit by adding a trumpet player, but it's not as effective as Heart of Gold.
Another example of the lack of re-working is A Man Needs A Maid, which we cut in about 40 minutes, but I feel is the most hip-hop sounding track on the record. Sped up orchestra sample? Yes sir.
I enjoyed your comments, though. It's more useful to hear honest opinions rather than "good work dude." Nice cheap-shot, by the way.