Meet the Ducks! You’ve had the lost albums – now here’s Neil’s great lost band…

Neil Young laid low in 1977, especially when it came to playing live. But he bobbed to the surface briefly that summer with the Ducks. Gigging almost entirely within the city limits of Santa Cruz, California, the band was made up of former Moby Grape bassist Bob Mosley, singer-songwriter Jeff Blackburn (co-writer with Young on “My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)”), and drummer Johnny Craviotto, who had previously played with Ry Cooder and Buffy Sainte-Marie. The Ducks weren’t just Young and a backing band, however; not unlike Buffalo Springfield, band members traded off on lead vocals and Mosley and Blackburn both contributed originals to the repertoire. They even lived communally for a time. Predictably, it’s Neil’s showcases that stand out the most on Ducks bootlegs – a ricocheting instrumental called “Windward Passage” that saw Young jumping from guitar to his Stringman analogue synth, a stormy, electrified “little Wing” worthy of inclusion on Zuma and spirited renditions of the Springfield’s “Mr Soul” and Harvest’s “Get Back To The Country”. Young was psyched enough about the group that he had custom-made bellbottoms with the word “DUCKS” boldly emblazoned on them. The band’s shows rarely cost more than $2.50 at the door, and as the summer wore on, word got out that you could see Neil Young in a cosy beach bar at a bargain price. Spooked by the growing crowds (and perhaps the increasing number of duck callers in the crowd), he parted ways with the group before they could make it into the studio. But judging from live tapes that circulate among collectors, an official Ducks Performance Series release would be more than welcome.