One of the things that has kept me coming back to Neil Young for the last 20+ years has been what I refer to as "musical curiosity." Although Neil has been making music for over 40 years, he seems to be somewhat restless when it comes to trying new things. He has made loud, noisy hard rock (Ragged Glory, Mirrorball); quiet, gentle acoustic-oriented country-tinged folk rock (Harvest Moon, Prairie Wind); rockabilly (Everybody's Rockin'); blues (This Note's For You); straight ahead country (Old Ways); and even early German-inspired techno (Trans). And so we have something a little different this time around, and to be honest, something I don't know that I have ever heard from any artist: solo electric.
Neil worked with producer extraordinaire Daniel Lanois (U2, Willie Nelson, Peter Gabriel) on this album and they worked to create a sound unlike any that has come before it. No backing band and reportedly no overdubs...just Neil and his guitar on a stool. A few songs feature an acoustic guitar and the sound will be familiar to fans who may have seen him perform similarly in concert, but 6 out of 8 songs feature an electric, heavy on reverb and feedback. The results are somewhat mixed. "Walk With Me" and "Hitchhiker" are almost instant Neil Young classics. "Angry World" and "Rumblin'" do not work quite as well, but would probably be very great with Crazy Horse backing up the sound. Although I don't agree with Neil's politics, "Love and War" is a beautiful acoustic piece that shows his own equivocation on the subjects at times, and I can at least appreciate his honesty.
Like I said, some things work well, others not so much. What I applaud Young and Lanois for is their guts to put out a project that really is not all that commercially viable or radio-friendly. I would love to see Neil put out an "alternative" version of this entire album in 6 to 8 months, though, where all songs are re-done with just acoustic guitar and no feedback or reverb. The two albums together would make for a very interesting study in contrasts and songcraft.
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