Neil Young And Crazy Horse - Barn

by Zena Grieg

published: 18 / 1 / 2022

Label: Warner Bros
Format: CD

Urgent and reflective fourteenth album from Neil Young with with his original backing group Crazy Horse

Review

Almost fifty years since the release of his rural-rock album ‘Harvest’, the Canadian-American singer-songwriter and rock-and-roll icon Neil Young has got together with his original backing group Crazy Horse from ‘After The Goldrush’ and ‘Tonight’s The Night’ to bring out a new album, the eighth in eight years for this prolific musician. ‘Barn’ is named after the barn from the 1850s in the Colorado Rockies where the recording was made. This reflective 14th album by the band deals with themes ranging from climate change, divisiveness, to the impact of Covid-19. On re-uniting with Crazy Horse Young said: “We’ve been together for a long time for over fifty years. And for us to be able to go and make a record in this great old barn… was just a pleasure, and the songs came fast.” Highlights of this ten-track album include: the opener, tranquil folk-rock ‘Song Of The Seasons’, inspired by and about lockdown: “Masked people walking everywhere/It’s humanity in my sights”; the toe-tapping ‘Heading West’ with its nostalgic recollection of his teenage years in Winnipeg, to a piano accompaniment by Nils Lofgren; the bluesy ‘Change Ain’t Never Gonna’ ; the honky-tonk ode to his wife Daryl Hannah ‘Shape Of You’ with some memorable lyrics: “You changed my life for the better/Wore my love like your favorite sweater/That brings me back to the shape of you”; the in-your-face ‘Human Race’ with its dissonant chords and angry, reproachful lyrics: “Child like a flower/That rose and fell/Back to the earth as it turned to hell/Today’s people”; and the closer, the wistful, romantic ballad ‘Don’t Forget Love’ with its bar-room piano. Laced with urgency, laconic acoustic tracks mixed with catchy choruses, raw rock tracks and appealing ballads, ’Barn’ is quintessentially Young and Crazy Horse, showing their ability to engage and entertain has not eluded them.

Track Listing:-

1 Song Of The Seasons
2 Heading West
3 Change Ain't Never Gonna
4 Canerican
5 Shape Of You
6 They Might Be Lost
7 Human Race
8 Tumblin' Thru The Years
9 Welcome Back
10 Don't Forget Love