Tramite la sbornia ecologista in compagnia dei giovani Promise Of The Real inaugurata da “Monsanto Years” (2015) e tradotta live dal doppio “Earth” (2016) e, soprattutto, un eccellente tour che ha toccato anche l’Italy, Neil Young ha confermato che una buona fetta della sua tarda parte di carriera ha preso la piega dell’attivismo. Così, il di poco successivo “Peace Trail”, stavolta creato soltanto con due sessionmen di sezione ritmica (uno scafato, Jim Keltner, e uno relativamente nuovo, Paul Bushnell), riattiva anche le sinapsi delle sorti del vivere associato con un approfondimento a tutto campo (discriminazioni, crisi, ritratti di antieroi etc).
Il problema rimane come sempre la mise-en-place. La title track sposta di una tacca lo standard degli anthem ansiosi (chitarra dapprima brumosa e poi affilata, shuffle Bo Diddley, lamento marziano), al contrario lo stomp di “Indian Givers” e il talking-blues di “John Oaks” espandono troppo gli orizzonti sulla base di spunti sbozzati alla bell’e meglio.
A parte il suadente, rabbuiato blues di “Show Me” e la cacofonia urlante di “Can’t Stop Workin’”, sembra spesso di sentire poco più di un duetto tra una voce recitante (ma qui troppo fioca) e delle percussioni malandrine, e allora il campione e la chicca del caso è il vaudeville poliritmico Beefheart di “Texas Rangers”.
Instant record suo tipico, scritto in meno di un mese e registrato in quattro giorni (ma una postproduzione ha fatto slittare la data d’uscita di una settimana), fa da successore a “Living With War” (2006) per l’urgenza dei temi e la contemporaneità politica: quello per Bush, questo per Trump; quello oltremodo furioso, questo oltremodo nostalgico. Per un po’ regge il gioco fino a diventare una delle sue più ruspanti opere di protesta, pur sottraendo forza alle tipiche armi (un’armonica ultradistorta usata come un trapano elettrico) con le classiche ingenuità (una rinnovata logorrea e un vocoder in stile “Trans”, anche se usato compostamente). Seconda metà floscia, spoglia e amatoriale, e un finalino – “My New Robot”, dedicato all’e-commerce – da dimenticare. Edizione di lusso con allegato cappellino organic.
Ride the wave of great music
Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.
14/12/2016
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.
Tracklist
- 1. Peace Trail
- 2. Can’t Stop Workin’
- 3. Indian Givers
- 4. Show Me
- 5. Texas Rangers
- 6. Terrorist Suicide Hang Gliders
- 7. John Oaks
- 8. My Pledge
- 9. Glass Accident
- 10. My New Robot
NEIL YOUNG online
Neil Young on OndaRock
Go to artist page
All Reviews on Ondarock
NEIL YOUNG
Living With War
NEIL YOUNG
Greendale
NEIL YOUNG
Rust Never Sleeps
The Canadian Loner's historic live album, between acoustic numbers and electric rampages
NEIL YOUNG
Harvest
Bucolic ballads and exhausting electric rampages: the apotheosis of Young-style country-rock
NEIL YOUNG
After The Gold Rush
The best possible blend of country and rock, between promised-land epic and the languid carcasses of utopias
NEIL YOUNG
Prairie Wind
Young ditches Crazy Horse and rides the prairies of Nashville
NEIL YOUNG
Chrome Dreams 2
The old Canadian loner can still move you
NEIL YOUNG
Fork In The Road
The Canadian loner's "ecological" album: ten tracks with a brazenly airy mood
NEIL YOUNG
Le Noise
The "loner" at his most "loner", accompanied by fellow Canadian Lanois
NEIL YOUNG
Americana
The reunion between the aging Canadian and his legendary band, for a collection of traditional songs
NEIL YOUNG
Psychedelic Pill
First double album for the Canadian Loner, alongside his Crazy Horse
NEIL YOUNG
A Letter Home
An eccentric collection of covers with an old-time sound from the great Canadian
NEIL YOUNG
Storytone
The great Canadian's arrival at orchestral rock, in a blaze of grandeur
NEIL YOUNG
Monsanto Years
The Loner teams up with a young band for a topical concept album
NEIL YOUNG
Earth
Double live album from an increasingly eco-conscious loner and his young band
NEIL YOUNG
Hitchhiker
A test acoustic session from 1976 resurfaces for the crazy horse
NEIL YOUNG
The Visitor
Second attempt, this time patriotic, from the Loner and his young co-stars
NEIL YOUNG
Paradox (Original Music From The Film)
The Loner and his young co-stars in an environmentalist western musical
NEIL YOUNG
Colorado
A pleasant return for the Canadian Loner alongside the old Crazy Horse
NEIL YOUNG
Homegrown
Finally released: one of the great Canadian loner's most famous lost albums
NEIL YOUNG
Barn
The Canadian singer-songwriter and Crazy Horse return with an album written and recorded entirely in a barn
NEIL YOUNG
World Record
Back in action, the Canadian singer-songwriter delivers an act of love for our planet
NEIL YOUNG
Before And After
The Canadian singer-songwriter revisits thirteen songs from his vast back catalogue in acoustic form
NEIL YOUNG
Oceanside Countryside
Another lost Loner album resurfaces, featuring a series of evocative 70s tracks in their original form
NEIL YOUNG
Talkin To The Trees
The Loner raises his voice against Musk and Trump's America in a travel diary that is both raw and intimate
NEIL YOUNG
Tonight’s The Night
The work in which Young reveals himself as a supreme philosopher of pain, bearing a timeless, universal message
NEIL YOUNG
Second Song
Acoustic-tinged recollections and reflections from the Canadian musician
CHARTS & PLAYLISTS
Neil Young - OndaTop – The 30 Best Neil Young Songs
In our new annotated playlist, an "impossible" selection of our 30 favorite songs by the Canadian singer-songwriter
STARDUST
Neil Young - The song Young stole from the Rolling Stones to reveal his darkest period
The story of the track the Canadian singer-songwriter "stole" from the Stones during the darkest period of his career - one that nonetheless produced one of his landmark albums
STARDUST
Neil Young - The album that crowned Young as the godfather of grunge
The Canadian rocker was embraced by the grunge generation as a guiding light, not just musically but morally too - a bond he sealed with an intense 1994 album
SINGLES GOING STEADY
Best singles of the month - New videos: from Neil Young to Oasis, from Richard Ashcroft to Andrea Laszlo De Simone
Best singles of the month of August, from Neil Young to Oasis, from Richard Ashcroft to Bright Eyes and Andrea Laszlo De Simone
STARDUST
The song of discord - The Neil Young track Bob Dylan couldn't stand: “I hated hearing it on the radio”
Between the two folk-rock masters there has always been mutual respect, but one song nearly cracked the relationship...
STARDUST
The Loner and the Legacy of the Seattle Sound - When Neil Young Became the Godfather of Grunge
The relationship between the Canadian songwriter and the Seattle scene, which saw him as an artistic and moral touchstone
SINGLES GOING STEADY
Best singles of the week - From Peter Murphy to Trentemøller, from Neil Young to The The: the most interesting new releases
This week too brought us great music: here are the best releases, from Neil Young to Peter Murphy feat. Trent Reznor to the return of The The
JUKE-BOX
Neil Young - Cortez The Killer
Probably the most beautiful track in Neil Young's songbook, and one of the most moving guitar solos in all of rock. The Story Behind the Story of "Cortez The Killer"
STARDUST
"Danger Bird" - When Neil Young Made Lou Reed Cry
The explosive meeting of two very distant worlds, thanks to a Loner song dated 1975
STARDUST
The Unpredictable Encounter - When Neil Young Tried to Reunite Led Zeppelin
After jamming together, the Canadian songwriter tried to convince Jimmy Page and Robert Plant to get back together
Live reports
Neil Young - Neil Young – Rome
The Canadian songwriter's return to Rome, backed by his faithful Crazy Horse. Opening set entrusted to Devendra Banhart
Live reports
Neil Young + Promise Of The Real - Postepay Sound Festival 2016
Neil Young and his young crew return to set the Italian summer ablaze
Live reports
Neil Young - Rome
The Canadian songwriter's return to Rome, backed by his faithful Crazy Horse. Opening set entrusted to Devendra Banhart
News
17-09-2026
08-08-2026
24-05-2026
24-04-2026
Neil Young: "The world will be a better place once we get rid of Trump." New album "Second Song" out now
Neil Young: a new album with Chrome Hearts is on the way. Listen to the title track "Second Song"
Neil Young makes a surprise return to the stage: watch the video of his Vancouver performance
Neil Young announces new live album “As Time Explodes” with Chrome Hearts
Latest Reviews
FLOATING POINTS
Mere Mortals
A new experiment for Sam Shepherd, this time between electronic and contemporary music
NOTHING BUT THIEVES
Stray Dogs
The most markedly alt-rock work yet from the English band fronted by Conor Mason
SPACE AFRIKA
Quiet Storm
The new album from the Anglo-Berlin duo is an ode to resilience
ANGELA AUTUMN
Believer
New songs from the Zelienople singer-songwriter, written while wandering through the Appalachians
GURRIERS
Nobody’s Coming To Save You
Ten convincing tracks that confirm the talent and ambitions of the young Dublin post-post-punk quartet
BRENNAN WEDL
Brennan Wedl
Inspired by Kathleen Edwards, Lucinda Williams and Tom Petty, the scrappy debut from the Nashville-based artist
NED COLLETTE
Mixed Light
The Australian singer-songwriter's return is a tribute to the need to escape the logic of the mainstream
BORIS MAURUSSANE
Tears Of English Town
A refined blend of bossa nova, jazz, psychedelia and classical music
original design & development by
Edoardo M. Cappuccio
Edoardo M. Cappuccio
redesign by
Gabriele Brombin
Anna Quaranta
Gabriele Brombin
Anna Quaranta