By SoDak
I commend Neil Young for remaining an active musician for so many years. His forty-first studio record, Barn, was released in December 2021. I have every one of his records, including the best of collections, live recordings, and bootlegs. With every new release, I think maybe this will be a good record. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. In fact, to be quite honest, it has been a very long time since Neil has released a great record. He has a handful of incredible records, for me this includes: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After the Gold Rush, On the Beach, Harvest Moon, Silver & Gold, Decades (a collection), and Unplugged (live). He has quite a few good records, which include some extraordinary songs. “Old Man,” from Harvest, remains a favorite. There are many other great songs, and it is on this basis that his reputation is built. The problem is that there is a huge amount of garbage in his discography. I have long known this, as I have followed his work throughout my life. I do appreciate that he is never really content and wants to explore different styles and sounds. Not everything is going to land and resonate with me.
In a recent interview, Neil Young discussed the importance of his archive project, sorting through old bootlegs and unreleased recordings. I love his passion for this work and some gems have certainly surfaced as a result. He also noted that he is always looking forward, wanting to make new music. This is also something that I really like about him. But so much of the new music seems incomplete.
On Barn, Neil Young and Crazy Horse recorded in an old barn in the Rockies, which seems like a great idea. It certainly ignites romantic notions. But listening to the record extinguishes any sparks of excitement. The songs, whether they are folky or rocking, are plodding. As with many of the previous records, this one feels like a jam session. As Neil said in an interview, he showed up at the barn with the lyrics and the music for “Human Race.” He showed the song to the folks in Crazy Horse, telling them to give it their best, as they were going to record it in one take. I get that he wants to capture the raw, unbridled feeling. But this is not always very interesting, and it is not working here. Many songs need to be rehearsed, letting musicians explore the song itself and figure out what they can contribute to it. Some songs need to bake for a while to be transformed into something extraordinary. Unfortunately, it seems that Neil Young does not want to spend time refining and crafting excellent songs at this point. Instead, we get another collection of songs where the band knocks out the basics and Neil Young mutters the words. While listening to the record, my wife commented that, “his singing is horrible and he is out of tune—how can folks put out records like this?” She is not wrong. Neil is approaching my territory, as no one ever wants to hear me sing. The lyrics, whether they are personal or political, are perfectly fine. The big issue is that songs themselves are not presented in a way for me to internalize them. They do not generate interest or a desire to invest in listening to them. As a result, they will not be woven into my life, like so many of his classic songs. Instead, they will be forgotten. Until the next release, I remain naively hopeful that Neil Young will devote more time to crafting excellent songs, as such a record is long overdue.
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