NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE "psychadelic pill"

Neil hadnt recorded with Crazy Horse in a decade then "bam!", one
autobigraphy and two albums
in the space of four months, a covers set "americana" and now this one!
apparently, also has a new 'live' set coming out in the new year...busy boys indeed!
ok,
i got this one yesterday, heard it twice already, but my thoughts of it go on the initial hearing
of it...to be fair to all others i do also!
the album is full of what i would call 'true' Crazy Horse sounds. the album is a double cd
as three of the tracks "driftin' back"(26.5mins),"ramada inn"(almost 17mins) and "walk like
a giant"(16.5mins) take up almost fifty minutes of space.
only eight tracks on the double set.
for my mind "driftin' back" is too overblown and struggled to hold my interest, the other two are
slightly too long IMO also,but they are ok.
the remainder are all good NY tracks.
this is an album of him looking back over his life.
a lot better than his last couple of albums,has the potential to grow over time into a good Neil Young album!

track by track guide:

1. driftin' back (1.5/5)
Neil is angry as hell on this track longing for a return to the good old days of life and music
lines like "dont want my MP3,dont want my MP3,you only get 5% now,you used to get it all"
detail his dismay at the quality of the recording of modern music.
and "im blocking out my anger,im finding my religion,maybe im a pagan"
show he is looking elsewhere for his inner peace and sanity.


2. psychadelic pill (2.5/5)
this one is musically rooted firmly in the psychadelic era,lots of effects,swirls etc, the album contains
an alternative version to this one without all the effects which is much better IMO
the song itself appears to be about 'age has no barrier when it comes to being able to have
a good time'.

3. ramada inn (3/5)
a song all about taking the time to see and appreciate all that you have and have achieved, lines include
"so many years now together,all those good times and bad-ups and downs
so many joys raisin' those kids,they moved on and out of town
so many times she cried,so many times she tried"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bi64Y55LEU video

4. born in ontario (4/5)
a song about no matter where you go or roam in this life you never forget where you came from.
the music on this one is reminiscent of the "american stars and bars" era of Crazy Horse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS0VNqqdjjE audio

5. twisted road (4/5)
similar sort of feel musically to the previous track,
appears to be about old friends and the memories of those friends, lines like
"first time i heard 'like a rolling stone, i felt the magic and i took it home"
and
"sounded like poetry rolling off his tongue"
an obvious refference to friend Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead are also mentioned on this track
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCbEOT4PTDc video

6. she's always dancing (3.5/5)
the third song he has released for his daughter Amber Jean, the others are "amber jean"
and "the painter"(there are other refferences to her on the 'prairie wind" album also).
his daughter is a painter in LA and is a 'free spirit' like her dad'
lines like "she likes to burn out on the edge,thats where she lives,
thats when she gives.
floating in the smoke,says it gives her hope"

7. for the love of man (4/5)
an acoustic track all about the fact that things happen in life that we have no reason for or why,
yet there is a reason for it,we just dont know what at the time.
this one is for his son Ben who was born with cerebral palsy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I49N3JEycs live

8. walk like a giant (4/5)
pretty much a song about his 'peak' in the early 1970s, yet with all the power and glory
came a downside, being unable to change the world the way he envisioned it,thus
leading to a breakdown becausewhen you walk like a giant you should be able to do anything,
unfortunately when you realise you cant,its too late, youve already crashed and burned!
im assuming the 'friends' in the lyrics below would be CSN and not Buffalo Springfield?!?!
lines like "me and some friends of mine,we were going to change the world
we were trying to make it better,we were ready to save the world
but then the weather changed and the white got stained
and i fell apart, and it breaks my heart to think about how close we came"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bemz-7fofcs video


overall rating for this one is 1.9 or 3/5 or 6/10 or 12/20 or 30/50!