When you hear about a new Neil Young with Crazy Horse album, you’re fairly sure about what you are going to get. Together they have produced fifteen albums including classics such as “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”, “Zuma” and “Ragged Glory.” Among the legendary anthems they’ve worked on together are “Down by the River”, “Cowgirl in the Sand”, “Cortez the Killer” and “Fuckin’ Up.” These guys are all about power guitars and garage music. After all, this grouping was a grunge band long before that term came into vogue.
That’s what I was expecting when I listened to their latest work, “World Record.”
SURPRISE! It was like an April Fools joke only in November.
The album begins with the tunes “Love Earth” and “Overhead.” Instead of raging guitar duels you hear songs led by an old-time piano sound. In fact, most of the album has a ragtime feel which includes plenty of harmonica and pipe organ. These are the type of songs that if you were attending a Young solo acoustic show, they would fit right in. You can easily imagine Neil sitting at his piano and banging them out.
But, just when you’re sitting comfortably enjoying the easy listening music…BOOM!!! Another surprise.
He closes the set with “Chevrolet”; a fifteen-minute guitar-centric rocker that would be a perfect fit for a previous album like “Psychedelic Pill” and it’s twenty-minute tunes. But, one thing you can say about Neil Young is that he likes to mix it and keep you on your toes...even on the same album. It’s makes it more interesting for him and his audience…and he sure does that here.
“World Record” is a fun, jaunty, easy listening album that has a surprising twist at the end. When we look back at the entirety of Neil Young’s career, this record won’t be at the top of any list of his best, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of a listen or two. After all, there’s nothing wrong with an occasional surprise.
Just after they married, Neil Young and Darryl Hannah stayed overnight in Chico, Ca where I lived at the time. It’s a good place for celebrities to lay low and be able to engage within local culture. By all accounts he was gracious and the cool guy he always seemed to be...I love when people grow old with the creative courage it takes to be experimental, and resolutely themselves.
This is a great review! And I hope he and Darryl are as happy as the day they married.