Neil Young has always been one of rock’s most gifted and idiosyncratic artists, the latter descriptor being a synonym for self indulgent. When Neil Young and Crazy Horse are running wild in their unleashed ragged glory, emulating sauropods stomping sheep entrails into hieroglyphic fossils, they sound like the very essence of rock ‘n’ roll to me. Very little music can match the power and purity of classics like “Powderfinger” and “Hey Hey, My My” and “Like a Hurricane” and “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “Sleeps With Angels.” Neil has gotten the boys together for two head scratching releases this year (perhaps Cortez told Neil to race the Mayan calendar) and there is one undeniable conclusion – the man needs an editor.
Crazy Horse are sweating to the oldies on Americana, updating traditional staples like “Oh Susannah” and “Clementine.” Released in June to widely diverse critical opinions, I find the record to be a mish mash and a bit of a chore. The plaintive “Wayfarin’ Stranger” is perfect and the club footed white boy doo wop on “Get A Job” is both humorous and effective. “Gallows Pole” gets out of the gate quickly but suffers from redundancy. “God Save the Queen” is nothing more than a novelty and numbers like “High Flyin’ Bird” and “Tom Dula,” the latter clocking in at 8 plus minutes, flail on way past their natural expiration date. Neil isn’t looking to making a thematic point on Americana, he wants to maul it into submission.
On 30 October, the double album Psychedelic Pill was released. This album makes Americana seem like a model of restraint. The opening track, “Driftin’ Back,” is almost as long as the entire first Ramones album, clocking in at over twenty seven and a half minutes. Neil throws out some strange free association lyrics (he’s going to get a “hip hop haircut”) and while it’s neither a bad song nor performance, it asks too much of the listener with too little reward. The title track incorporates elements of “Cinnamon Girl,” “The Loner,” and “Sign of Love,” while tacking on outdated vocal effects. “She’s Always Dancing” starts promisingly enough, but fewer solos would have more impact; the lyrics seem to have been scribbled out while the tune was being recorded. There’s no vital new music on Psychedelic Pill and while there are elements of nostalgia and biography that keep the record from being completely impressionistic lyrically, that doesn’t automatically translate into good music.
It pains me to type this, because Neil is one of my heroes and from the recent live evidence, Crazy Horse is still a superlative performing band. However in terms of the officially released material in 2012, when the horse is dead, that’s a pretty good time to dismount.
Americana – Grade: B
Psychedelic Pill: C