2008 Woodie Awards
Neil Young Brings Bittersweet Sounds
Lori Lipkin
Issue date: 10/28/05 Section: Arts & Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
Time Magazine's, Critic's Choice, calls Neil Young's new album critically-acclaimed including 10 new songs. I call it great music to study with.
What I enjoyed most was not only how each song related to a sense of being on a journey through the prairie, but also how it was completely non-intrusive acting as an accompaniment rather than a deterrent of attention.
It was perfect to listen to while studying. There were only a few words that stood out causing a break in concentration but overall it is one of the first styles that actually added to my cramming than took away.
The first track began with a blend of instruments and sound that was very captivating, almost an ominous invitation into the creative world of this LP.
It was very sentimental in nature and welcoming becoming the apparent theme sewn within and throughout the process.
Initially it sounds a little country and twangy but the mellowness of his words and voice mixed with melancholy and remembrance, bring images of slow, cloudy summer days.
Neil is known for his distinct voice and can be recognized the moment it resonates from speaker to ear.
It is so distinct I can't help but wonder if one likes it immediately, dislikes it immediately, or that it becomes an acquired taste.
His easy melodies and calming story lines parallel the prairie and the lolling of the wind nudging the tumbleweeds onward in their journeys through vacant towns or stretched out landscapes.
In his first song, entitled The Painter, he wrote "We left our tracks in the sound"
Seemingly descriptive, if not metaphorical, for how each artist contributed to the finished piece.
When you listen to some of the words there is definitely a sad tone to them but very sentimental in nature illuminating a sense of letting go and moving on.
It sounds as if he is taking inventory of his life, a mixture of regret and gratitude, realizing that home is where the heart is, was, and always will be - that the times have changed so much sometimes our memories and dreams are all we have as reference.
Even the subdued pictures chosen are shadowed with a sense of pausing and having clarity.
It seemed well thought out from beginning to end with everything coming together to create a picture of universality that we could all relate to from our own introspections and times of deep thought.
His words and thoughts are very bittersweet but swollen with wisdom and information about life and love and loss.
Like I said, you have to have a certain ear for his voice but this album is worth a trip down sentimental lane if you ever need to stop, slow down, or smell the roses.
Neil Young will take you there through The Prairie Wind and his other intensely intimate offerings.
What I enjoyed most was not only how each song related to a sense of being on a journey through the prairie, but also how it was completely non-intrusive acting as an accompaniment rather than a deterrent of attention.
It was perfect to listen to while studying. There were only a few words that stood out causing a break in concentration but overall it is one of the first styles that actually added to my cramming than took away.
The first track began with a blend of instruments and sound that was very captivating, almost an ominous invitation into the creative world of this LP.
It was very sentimental in nature and welcoming becoming the apparent theme sewn within and throughout the process.
Initially it sounds a little country and twangy but the mellowness of his words and voice mixed with melancholy and remembrance, bring images of slow, cloudy summer days.
Neil is known for his distinct voice and can be recognized the moment it resonates from speaker to ear.
It is so distinct I can't help but wonder if one likes it immediately, dislikes it immediately, or that it becomes an acquired taste.
His easy melodies and calming story lines parallel the prairie and the lolling of the wind nudging the tumbleweeds onward in their journeys through vacant towns or stretched out landscapes.
In his first song, entitled The Painter, he wrote "We left our tracks in the sound"
Seemingly descriptive, if not metaphorical, for how each artist contributed to the finished piece.
When you listen to some of the words there is definitely a sad tone to them but very sentimental in nature illuminating a sense of letting go and moving on.
It sounds as if he is taking inventory of his life, a mixture of regret and gratitude, realizing that home is where the heart is, was, and always will be - that the times have changed so much sometimes our memories and dreams are all we have as reference.
Even the subdued pictures chosen are shadowed with a sense of pausing and having clarity.
It seemed well thought out from beginning to end with everything coming together to create a picture of universality that we could all relate to from our own introspections and times of deep thought.
His words and thoughts are very bittersweet but swollen with wisdom and information about life and love and loss.
Like I said, you have to have a certain ear for his voice but this album is worth a trip down sentimental lane if you ever need to stop, slow down, or smell the roses.
Neil Young will take you there through The Prairie Wind and his other intensely intimate offerings.