Songs by Neil Young were covered by many artists but less did their job as good as St. Etienne back in 1991 on their superb album Foxbase Alpha. This is how a cover version should be done. Take the essence of this country influenced ballade and turn it into something very different. This song was the entrance to the music of St. Etienne for me.
AS Saint-Étienne is also the name of probably the best French football team in the 70's. The club reached in 1976 in Glasgower Hampden Park the finale of the European cup of the land masters against Bavaria Munich – and lost it with 0:1. In this match met AS Saint Etienne ever once under the slat and in the inside post of the Munich box. Because the gate frame was still angular at that time, the ball in both cases did not cross the line, and though thus Sepp Maier was hit, however, Bavaria still won to zero. Still today everybody knows in Saint-Étienne what is meant if somebody speaks of "les poteaux carrés" („the angular posts“). The next day in spite of the defeat the team was received on the Paris Champs Elysées as the up to now only French association team of an immense crowd of people. I remember watching this game together with my dad and I was much impressed by Saint Étiennes winger Dominique Rocheteau the main actor in this game.
