Dopo la collaborazione con Daniel Lanois per “Le Noise“, e dopo un bootleg (“A Treasure”; Reprise, 2011) che anticipa il secondo volume dei suoi “Archives”, Neil Young richiama in causa i suoi mitici Crazy Horse, che non si vedevano dai tempi di “Greendale“, per una raccolta di traditional americani dal titolo altamente didascalico e ben poco fantasioso, “Americana”.
Con “Americana” Young vorrebbe dare una rilettura pregna di pathos e psicologismo epico ai canti popolari di frontiera e agli stornelli più tipici della tradizione rurale (“Oh Susannah”, “Clementine”), ma dimentica – volontariamente o meno – una cosa fondamentale: questa operazione l’ha già approntata tramite tutto l’opus del periodo d’oro, dai suoi brani classici, al suono inconfondibile, all’immagine poetica, ai testi, ai titoli degli album, alle copertine.
Dal punto di vista prettamente musicale, la furia delle loro jam è diventata vera logorrea, che ha il diretto precedente proprio in “Greendale”, una forma di demenza senile che nei tardi Crazy Horse sembra ormai irreversibile.
Tra i tanti assi nella manica che aveva disposizione per rispettare la media del disco all’anno, il vegliardo canadese ha scelto quello più nobile, la sua storica backing band – con cui nel 2009 ha anche registrato un disco fantasma e già leggendario, “Toast”, tramite il quale ridà linfa a un’altra dimensione della sua arte, quella del materiale mai pubblicato – per una semplice, distensiva rimpatriata post-anni ruggenti. Primo disco di sole cover a quasi settant’anni d’età: pensione dignitosa.
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06/06/2012
This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Michele Saran, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.
The Canadian Loner's historic live album, between acoustic numbers and electric rampages
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Double live album from an increasingly eco-conscious loner and his young band
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Second attempt, this time patriotic, from the Loner and his young co-stars
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A pleasant return for the Canadian Loner alongside the old Crazy Horse
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