Music review: Neil Young – 鈥楶eace Trail鈥�
With 2016 coming to a gracious close, I decided to write this week鈥檚 music review about the latest album by an artist who left an impact on me during my early teenage years.
My fondness for Neil Young began with my first listen of 1972鈥檚 鈥淗arvest鈥� and continued to grow with 鈥淟ong May You Run鈥� from 1976 and 鈥淐omes a Time鈥� in 1978.
Even today, I am reminded of how I would rummage through my oldest brother鈥檚 album collection to discover the 鈥渋n鈥� music to listen to at the time.
鈥淎fter the Gold Rush鈥� was one of the albums I would try to impress my friends with by knowing tunes like 鈥淥nly Love Can Break Your Heart,鈥� 鈥淲hen You Dance I Can Really Love鈥� and 鈥淪outhern Man.鈥�
鈥淧eace Trail鈥� is Young鈥檚 second release this year and serves as a social and environmental commentary about the ever-changing world around us. Recorded in under a week, the new album finds the 71-year-old singer-songwriter comfortably easing into his 10-song set with a stripped-down sound recorded with drummer Jim Keltner and bassist Paul Bushnell.
鈥淚ndian Givers鈥� focuses on the Dakota Access Pipeline protests with Young singing, 鈥淭here鈥檚 a battle ragin鈥� on the sacred land/Our brothers and sisters had to take a stand.鈥�
鈥淛ohn Oaks鈥� tells the story of taking a firm stand for what you believe in, even though it sometimes has dire consequences.
鈥淭errorist Suicide Hang Gliders鈥� not only has a cool title, but presents an interesting perspective on the increasing fear of foreigners and heightened paranoia fostered from the unfamiliar.
鈥淐an鈥檛 Stop Workin'鈥� temporarily veers away from the protest theme to provide a little insight into Young鈥檚 musical drive by announcing, 鈥淚t鈥檚 bad for the body/But it鈥檚 good for the soul/Might even keep you breathing/When you lose control.鈥�
鈥淢y New Robot鈥� closes the album in a weird sort of way by describing the peculiar relationship between man and a complete technology takeover.
There is nothing here as weighty as 鈥淥hio鈥� from 1970, but Young still manages to get his message across clearly without raising his voice.
Clint Rhodes is the 缅北禁地 music reviewer. He can be reached at crhodes@heraldstandard.com.