The Best of Neil Young in the 21st Century
Long-time readers know I am a huge, life-long Neil Young fan, something known as a "rustie" in Neil's fandom realm. Neil is in the twilight years of a prolific career spanning 41 studio albums, 8 live albums, 4 soundtrack albums, among several others. He has released 59 singles. This doesn't count any of his collaborative work with Buffalo Springfield and CSNY.
I use the term "twilight years" loosely. Neil has not slowed down any. His energy level is frequently as high as it has ever been, especially since he reinvigorated himself performing with Promise of the Real beginning about three years ago.
Since 1969, like clockwork, he has produced a new album almost every year, not counting the release of 6 archival recordings (Live at Massey Hall 1971, one his best live performances, came out in 2007) and his massive online Archives project.
Neil's consistently "great" work was put out back in the 1970's with After the Gold Rush in 1970 (considered one the greatest albums of the 20th century), Harvest (considered the greatest Canadian album of all-time) in 1972, On the Beach in 1974, Tonight's the Night in 1975 (another greatest album of all-time), Long May You Run (with Stephen Stills) in 1976, Comes a Time in 1978, and Rust Never Sleeps (another greatest album choice) in 1979. He also scored big with Freedom (featuring the insanely popular "Keep on Rockin' in the Free World") in 1989, Ragged Glory in 1990, and Harvest Moon in 1992.
Neil has not let up any in the 21st century, though he has not attained the same level of critical and popular acclaim. But that suits him just fine. His musical muse is constantly experimenting, pushing into new areas and reinforcing successes he experienced in 20th century. He still explores political themes with a heavy emphasis on environmentalism. He still seeks new directions in his music, exploring new expressions of sound. The man is an unrelenting genius at pushing the limits of his music while remaining true to his folk and rock beginnings.
This rare tenacity for exploration and production has yielded some top-notch results in the 21st century. What follows are my personal choices for his best efforts since 2001 - so far - generally presented in chronological order.
In 2003, Neil teamed up with Crazy Horse (the world's 3rd greatest garage band) on Greendale, a concept album with mixed results. Actually, guitarist Frank Sampedro was not used for the record; Neil carried the load alone, giving it a bit of stripped-down sound. "Be the Rain" is the most noteworthy part of that effort.
Neil rarely repeats his multifaceted style on consecutive albums. In 2005 he produced Prairie Wind, something that hearkened back to his previous three folksy albums: Harvest, Comes a Time, and Harvest Moon. "No Wonder" is a kicking acoustical number and the best tune on the album.
Probably my favorite 21st century Neil tune is the dense, semi-rappy and energetic "The Restless Consumer" from his 2006 album Living With War, conceived as a protest against the Iraq War. This song not only protests war but America's neurotic consumer culture as well. The lyrics: "Don't need no dizziness, don't need no nausea, don't need no side-effects like diarrhea or sexual death" have got to be among the most potent of any in rock music over the past two decades. Don't need no more lies. True enough in today's "fake news" Trumpian dystopia.
Neil is famous for long songs that allow for a lot of improvisation and extended guitar riffs. One of the best examples of this in his entire oeuvre is 2007's "No Hidden Path" off of the once mythical, very eclectic Chrome Dreams II album. Ironically (and comically), there never was a Chrome Dreams I which makes the album title rather unique in recorded music. This 14 and a half minute tune is about an intimate relationship between a man and a woman.
2010's Le Noise is one of his most successful experimental ventures. It features Neil solo and working in close collaboration with famous producer Daniel Lanoise, whose last name was played upon to serve as the fitting title to this effort. Neil gave Lanoise unprecedented freedom to produce this record's unusual sound with a multitude of studio mixes and loops. The album is as much a Lanoise creation as it is Neil's. "Walk With Me" is a very strong representation of this work. You can watch Neil play one of his famous "white falcon" electric guitar. The album was recorded in Lanoise's home outside Los Angeles which features a empty elevator shaft. They decided to blast Neil's amps into the shaft on the top floor and record the sound coming out on the bottom floor, which helps give Le Noise its big, cavernous sound.
Neil's relationship with Crazy Horse goes back to 1969's Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. The on-again, off-again teaming with the band through the years is typical of Neil's restless and constantly shifting creative impulses. 2012's successful Psychedelic Pill is, overall, one his best albums so far this century. For me, "She's Always Dancing" is Neil at his rocking best, featuring that crunchy "Old Black" electric guitar sound.
Neil released a unique solo double-album in 2014 called Storytone. One record/CD featured Neil performing all the songs stripped-down, acoustically, while the second record/CD had the same songs presented with an orchestral or big band arrangement. While not particularly strong, Storytone is another example of Neil experimenting with his music. "Who's Gonna Stand Up" is definitely a highlight for me. It is a biting environmentalist tune that sounds weirdly pleasing with a traditional orchestra backing Neil up. He has always loved incorporating orchestrations into his music, going back to 1972's "A Man Needs a Maid."
In 2015 Neil teamed up for the first time with Lukas Nelson's band Promise of the Real (a group named after a Neil Young lyric). This proved to be a terrific collaboration that invigorated Neil. Lukas seemed like a reincarnation of Danny Whitten and Neil fed off the creative energy of the young band members. He is still working with them today (off and on, of course). The pure music on the The Monsanto Years works much better than the protest lyrics do in this case. But tunes like "Big Box" are remarkable for their satisfying and accessible rocking nature. This is probably my favorite tune on this list after "The Restless Consumer" with Lukas prominently playing a second lead to Old Black.
In 2016 Neil went solo again for Peace Trail, a rather mediocre effort. The protest song "Indian Givers" was certainly timely but it failed to resonate with me. His acoustic chops remained solid, however. "Show Me" is a splendid example of how the intimate and emotional "acoustic Neil" lives on strongly to this day.
2017's The Visitor is Neil's second studio collaboration with Promise of the Real. It features a swipe at the Donald Trump presidency with "Already Great." The song shows how Neil remains timely and relevant with political issues (always the case since 1970's "Ohio"), responding to Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again" with lyrics that point out America was great before Trump ever started his spiel. But "Change of Heart" is the tune that really caught my ear. A fantastic, smooth acoustical effort that features wonderful musicianship by Neil and his new favorite backing band.
Bonus Track: Though not written in the 21st century, this performance of "Love and Only Love" is the highlight for me off the 2016 semi-live album, Earth. Neil is again performing with Promise of the Real, this time on tour after The Monsanto Years was released. I use the term "semi-live" because much of the album is overdubbed with studio backup singers and, most prominently, nature sounds that occasionally pop up inside the songs and are used extensively between tracks to fuse the album into a continuous stream of sound and music. The result is another interesting experimental effort. This 28-minute version of the song actually climaxes a little over halfway through. Neil loves to toy around with sound when performing live and the spontaneous second half of this track is a splendid example of that. It reminds me of what I listened to back in the day on Live Rust and Weld (though perhaps not quite as grungy). You won't find any fading, growing old energy from the 72-year old Neil during this lengthy performance. I can only hope I have this amount of oomph when I reach that age.
I use the term "twilight years" loosely. Neil has not slowed down any. His energy level is frequently as high as it has ever been, especially since he reinvigorated himself performing with Promise of the Real beginning about three years ago.
Since 1969, like clockwork, he has produced a new album almost every year, not counting the release of 6 archival recordings (Live at Massey Hall 1971, one his best live performances, came out in 2007) and his massive online Archives project.
Neil's consistently "great" work was put out back in the 1970's with After the Gold Rush in 1970 (considered one the greatest albums of the 20th century), Harvest (considered the greatest Canadian album of all-time) in 1972, On the Beach in 1974, Tonight's the Night in 1975 (another greatest album of all-time), Long May You Run (with Stephen Stills) in 1976, Comes a Time in 1978, and Rust Never Sleeps (another greatest album choice) in 1979. He also scored big with Freedom (featuring the insanely popular "Keep on Rockin' in the Free World") in 1989, Ragged Glory in 1990, and Harvest Moon in 1992.
Neil has not let up any in the 21st century, though he has not attained the same level of critical and popular acclaim. But that suits him just fine. His musical muse is constantly experimenting, pushing into new areas and reinforcing successes he experienced in 20th century. He still explores political themes with a heavy emphasis on environmentalism. He still seeks new directions in his music, exploring new expressions of sound. The man is an unrelenting genius at pushing the limits of his music while remaining true to his folk and rock beginnings.
This rare tenacity for exploration and production has yielded some top-notch results in the 21st century. What follows are my personal choices for his best efforts since 2001 - so far - generally presented in chronological order.
In 2003, Neil teamed up with Crazy Horse (the world's 3rd greatest garage band) on Greendale, a concept album with mixed results. Actually, guitarist Frank Sampedro was not used for the record; Neil carried the load alone, giving it a bit of stripped-down sound. "Be the Rain" is the most noteworthy part of that effort.
Neil rarely repeats his multifaceted style on consecutive albums. In 2005 he produced Prairie Wind, something that hearkened back to his previous three folksy albums: Harvest, Comes a Time, and Harvest Moon. "No Wonder" is a kicking acoustical number and the best tune on the album.
Probably my favorite 21st century Neil tune is the dense, semi-rappy and energetic "The Restless Consumer" from his 2006 album Living With War, conceived as a protest against the Iraq War. This song not only protests war but America's neurotic consumer culture as well. The lyrics: "Don't need no dizziness, don't need no nausea, don't need no side-effects like diarrhea or sexual death" have got to be among the most potent of any in rock music over the past two decades. Don't need no more lies. True enough in today's "fake news" Trumpian dystopia.
Neil is famous for long songs that allow for a lot of improvisation and extended guitar riffs. One of the best examples of this in his entire oeuvre is 2007's "No Hidden Path" off of the once mythical, very eclectic Chrome Dreams II album. Ironically (and comically), there never was a Chrome Dreams I which makes the album title rather unique in recorded music. This 14 and a half minute tune is about an intimate relationship between a man and a woman.
2010's Le Noise is one of his most successful experimental ventures. It features Neil solo and working in close collaboration with famous producer Daniel Lanoise, whose last name was played upon to serve as the fitting title to this effort. Neil gave Lanoise unprecedented freedom to produce this record's unusual sound with a multitude of studio mixes and loops. The album is as much a Lanoise creation as it is Neil's. "Walk With Me" is a very strong representation of this work. You can watch Neil play one of his famous "white falcon" electric guitar. The album was recorded in Lanoise's home outside Los Angeles which features a empty elevator shaft. They decided to blast Neil's amps into the shaft on the top floor and record the sound coming out on the bottom floor, which helps give Le Noise its big, cavernous sound.
Neil's relationship with Crazy Horse goes back to 1969's Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. The on-again, off-again teaming with the band through the years is typical of Neil's restless and constantly shifting creative impulses. 2012's successful Psychedelic Pill is, overall, one his best albums so far this century. For me, "She's Always Dancing" is Neil at his rocking best, featuring that crunchy "Old Black" electric guitar sound.
Neil released a unique solo double-album in 2014 called Storytone. One record/CD featured Neil performing all the songs stripped-down, acoustically, while the second record/CD had the same songs presented with an orchestral or big band arrangement. While not particularly strong, Storytone is another example of Neil experimenting with his music. "Who's Gonna Stand Up" is definitely a highlight for me. It is a biting environmentalist tune that sounds weirdly pleasing with a traditional orchestra backing Neil up. He has always loved incorporating orchestrations into his music, going back to 1972's "A Man Needs a Maid."
In 2015 Neil teamed up for the first time with Lukas Nelson's band Promise of the Real (a group named after a Neil Young lyric). This proved to be a terrific collaboration that invigorated Neil. Lukas seemed like a reincarnation of Danny Whitten and Neil fed off the creative energy of the young band members. He is still working with them today (off and on, of course). The pure music on the The Monsanto Years works much better than the protest lyrics do in this case. But tunes like "Big Box" are remarkable for their satisfying and accessible rocking nature. This is probably my favorite tune on this list after "The Restless Consumer" with Lukas prominently playing a second lead to Old Black.
In 2016 Neil went solo again for Peace Trail, a rather mediocre effort. The protest song "Indian Givers" was certainly timely but it failed to resonate with me. His acoustic chops remained solid, however. "Show Me" is a splendid example of how the intimate and emotional "acoustic Neil" lives on strongly to this day.
2017's The Visitor is Neil's second studio collaboration with Promise of the Real. It features a swipe at the Donald Trump presidency with "Already Great." The song shows how Neil remains timely and relevant with political issues (always the case since 1970's "Ohio"), responding to Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again" with lyrics that point out America was great before Trump ever started his spiel. But "Change of Heart" is the tune that really caught my ear. A fantastic, smooth acoustical effort that features wonderful musicianship by Neil and his new favorite backing band.
Bonus Track: Though not written in the 21st century, this performance of "Love and Only Love" is the highlight for me off the 2016 semi-live album, Earth. Neil is again performing with Promise of the Real, this time on tour after The Monsanto Years was released. I use the term "semi-live" because much of the album is overdubbed with studio backup singers and, most prominently, nature sounds that occasionally pop up inside the songs and are used extensively between tracks to fuse the album into a continuous stream of sound and music. The result is another interesting experimental effort. This 28-minute version of the song actually climaxes a little over halfway through. Neil loves to toy around with sound when performing live and the spontaneous second half of this track is a splendid example of that. It reminds me of what I listened to back in the day on Live Rust and Weld (though perhaps not quite as grungy). You won't find any fading, growing old energy from the 72-year old Neil during this lengthy performance. I can only hope I have this amount of oomph when I reach that age.
Comments