Neil Young's "Before & After": Neil's gonna do whatever he wants to do
“He’s probably the most self-centered, self-obsessed, selfish person I know. He only thinks about Neil, period. That’s the only person he’ll consider. Ever! Neil does Neil.” ~David Crosby
The above quote from his longtime bandmate is one of the reasons I’m so intrigued with Neil Young, his music and his career path. You never know what you’re going to get next from him. It’s not always what his fans want. It was rarely what his record companies wanted. It was always what Neil wanted. That’s what kept him interesting and relevant for almost six decades.
Last summer, Young did a short tour of the West Coast. They were a set of acoustic shows that featured mostly deep cuts. It probably wasn’t what his fans wanted, especially after being his first tour in a few years. However, It was well received by his audiences and the critics.
Last week, Young released “Before & After.” Although it’s not billed this way, it’s thirteen songs recorded from the summer tour. In doing the mix for the album, they took out the audience response so it sounds almost like a studio album. Also, the songs are put together without a break, so you get forty-eight minutes of continuous music. It’s just Neil, alone with his guitar, piano, harmonica and pipe organ.
Plus, you get to revisit some of his older tunes like “Mr. Soul” and “Burned”, from his Buffalo Springfield days and “Bird” from his third solo album, “After the Gold Rush.” There are some newer tracks, too, like “Don’t Forget Love”, from his 2021 album “Barn.”
I admit that when it comes to Neil Young and his music, I like the guitar-centric, grunge/garage sound that you hear when he hooks up with Crazy Horse. But, there’s always room for some softer, mellow acoustic sounds. Leave it to Neil to do this again but in a different way that makes it fresh for himself and his audience.
Neil Young may be self-centered, self-obsessed and selfish, but that’s a big part of why I and millions of others have loved his music since the 1960s. I can’t wait to see what’s next.