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34 illinoisentertainer . com january 2022
NEIL YOUNG AND CRAZY HORSE
Barn
( Warner Bros .)
Neil Young collected his trusty , veteran Crazy Horse gang for a freewheeling album that sounds like a joyful weekend getaway among friends in the garage – or in Young ’ s case , the restored 19th-century barn . The ambiance is amiable , loose , and natural . The recording draws together an intuitive band with simple arrangements that sound like the accomplished players are capturing the songs as they learn . “ Song of the Seasons ” begins with restrained but warm folk , colored by Young ’ s autumnal acoustic guitar and plaintive harmonica and Nils Lofgren ’ s sea-shy style accordion . The tune celebrates togetherness through changing circumstances , whether it be a wide-open country scene from Young ’ s barn in Colorado as migrating geese fly overhead or cityscape with masked commuters passing by . The upbeat “ Heading West ” recalls the optimism of youth and recalls “ good old days ” when Young ’ s mother gave him his first guitar as a boy . Drummer Ralph Molina drives the song with a cracking snare and thrashing hi-hat , while Young ’ s rhythm guitar sputters and buzzes opposite Lofgren ’ s joyful piano . “ Change Ain ’ t Never Gonna ” is a protest song disguised as a loping Chicago blues number , with Young ’ s sparkling piano and wheezy harmonica riff . “ Canerican ” takes a heavy tempo with buzzing guitars . Young states his piece as a Canadian-born American citizen while calling for brotherhood among all colors contributing to the melting pot . The song finds Crazy Horse joining in soulful vocal harmony and fades with a trademarked , snarling garage rock solo from Young . “ Shape of You ” is a confessional of love and devotion . The song ’ s chugging blues is the type favored lately by Bob Dylan , propelled by the steady pulse of Billy Talbot ’ s bass . Nils Lofgren riffs and noodles on guitar like Keith Richards on the Rolling Stones ’ * Blue and Lonesome album . “ They Might Be Lost ” is a melancholy acoustic ballad and the Barn track that perhaps most closely resembles the pensive young man and band who delivered After the Gold Rush more than 50 years ago . The song echoes the tradition of “ Wichita Lineman ,” with a simple
working man thinking deep thoughts on the job . “ Human Race ” is a hard-charging ecological anthem with amps pushing toward meltdown , while young sings about the sins of “ today ’ s people ” and what those acts portend for the “ children of the fires and floods .” Young ’ s tremulous tenor vocal on the countrypop song “ Tumblin ’ Thru the Years ” expresses gratitude for a steady partner to carry the load through life together . The amplifiers sizzle during the rise and fall of the expansive and understated “ Welcome Back ,” a song mirroring the cinematic scope of “ Cortez , the Killer .” Young ’ s brash guitar is balanced by Lofgren ’ s drifting clouds of brushed chords and high lonesome textures . Young ’ s lyric points the way toward mysteries to ponder both above and within , reaching beyond mundane routines . The light and twinkling “ Don ’ t Forget Love ” is a straightforward expression of its title with a repeating singalong hook and Young ’ s gentle piano playing as the song ’ s foundation . It would be easy to imagine Wayne Coyne singing these words as an ode to community and mutual support , with the Flaming Lips converting the song into a majestic symphony of psychedelic pop . Daryl Hannah ’ s accompanying film allows you into the barn to experience the music as it comes to life , performed on battered instruments by weathered old friends . The film captures the performances , the idyllic scenery , and charming in-between moments like a birthday celebration for Molina and Young leading the band in vocal warmups while lamenting the lack of cold beer . One scene shows Lofgren describing Crazy Horse ’ s usual process , thinking , “ Wow , I ’ m just starting to get the hang of it ,” followed by “ Yeah , we ’ re done . Next !”
The fact that Barn is far from a polished product is among its greatest strengths . Neil Youqng & Crazy Horse remind us that rock and roll can be a window into the times . It ’ s immediate , fresh , and of the moment . Barn spills over with love , brotherhood , anger , joy , and nostalgia for times past . The album also expresses hope that the future can be a good one if we are willing to do the work to make it so and reminds us why that ’ s worth doing .
– Jeff Elbel
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