Neil Young: Fork in the Road
I’m a pretty big Neil Young fan and I like much of what he does. One of the most interesting things about Neil Young, to me, is how diverse he can be in the music he creates. One disc may be an acoustic offering that mixes country and blues while the next album may end up being a distorted guitar mix of rock and bad community theater (see Greendale).
The last few Neil Young albums have left me pretty cold, if I were to be honest. While I appreciate the folk inflected version of Young as much as the next guy, I lean more toward Harvest Moon and further away from Prairie Wind. My hear truly lies in the dirty, distorted guitar work of classic Neil Young and Crazy Horse albums.
Fork in the Road, Young’s latest outing, fits into this vein nicely with a collection of rough tunes full of classic Neil Young lyrics and political statements. Taking it’s cue from the current economic situation the songs range from the constant need of Americans to fill their cars with gasoline to the stimulus bill that offers bailouts to corporations “but not for you”. It talks of cars, travel, war and the economy and drives the messages home with some catchy hooks and simple American rock and roll. It’s a project with minimal production involved, or at least the appearance of such and it gives Fork in the Road a classic rough sound that’s come to define Neil Young’s rock offerings.
While I hate to chose just a few songs off of a fantastic disc, my stand out tracks would have to include “Fuel Line”, “Cough Up the Bucks”, “Just Singing a Song” and “Fork in the Road”. You can check out more info on the disc over at http://www.neilyoung.com where you can find some hilarious videos Young has put together for the disc. That’s if you can make your way through the crazy web design. If you’re a fan of Neil Young’s more simple rock outings, then Fork in the Road is one you should check out.
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Tags: fork in the road, neil young
May 7th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
I too are a Neil fan and have really been enjoying his latest disc. Reminds me of something he’d do with Crazy Horse but then again not quite. Good rockin’ tunes with Neil Young’s touch. How this guy continues to rock is beyond me because he’s getting up there in age but somehow seems young and hip all the while.