Wednesday, August 8, 2007

NEIL YOUNG – NEIL YOUNG (REPRISE)


NEIL YOUNG – NEIL YOUNG (REPRISE)

Having put his experiences of being in a band behind him the first Neil Young solo album is a subtly adventurous array of songs fielded towards the ill at ease, a state you can’t help but feel Young was in at the time.

This is far from an immediate album, indeed it opens with a curious instrumental that isn’t necessarily a very appealing introduction. Following comes “The Loner” which comes equipped with one of the heaviest hooks anywhere in the Young cannon. Here is a song where the listener and the artist appear in sync, on the same wavelength and in similar shoes. In many ways this is what Young has always been about: empathising with the common man.

With this record Young often still sounds like the bands he has just exited from, of a band still affected by the summer of love and hippy ethos which ultimately sees it displaying a distinct lack of urgency and cynicism, instead clinging to idealism and affection. Not necessarily a bad trait, just one not conducive to a person producing their best work.

Probably the best known track to come from this album is “The Old Laughing Lady”, a song that has endured over the years and regularly returned to Young’s set. This is a strange version of the song, one that possesses keyboard strokes that perversely remind of “Riders On The Storm” by The Doors. Then come in the crazy “Gimme Shelter-esqe” backing vocals pimping the joint out. All in all it is a very different take on the song to one the world has come accustomed to over the years. And not necessarily the best one.

Ultimately I think the record (much like his career in general) gets let down by the country sounding material, that basic and simple noise that belittles and lowers the IQ of any song. Such earnest music seldom sounds so stupid. There is a kind of free fantasy attached to the vision and demographics of this music but its not necessarily one that feels developed or modern.

With a harsh set of fade outs attached to many of the tracks there is a real sense of Young wishing this album out of the way so that he can get on with his career.

Thesaurus moment: primordial.

Neil Young
Reprise

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