All good things must come to an end, and Neil Young's 90s renaissance could not last forever. Before embarking on this project, I only had a spotty knowledge of his 2000s material. He did not go back into the Ditch, but Young definitely decided to move away from his traditional modes, to varying degrees of success. In the latter half of the decade he seemed to find his footing, but no album in this period measures up to the best he had made in the prior decade. Nevertheless, I found some of these to be at least interesting.
Road Rock Vol 1, 2000
I was not sure whether to put this one in the last installment or this edition, and basically made the decision to put it here because the 90s post was getting too long. (Not the most honest periodization method, I know.) This is a live album from Young's 2000 tour, and I think its lack of distinctiveness makes it a good curtain-raiser for a more mediocre decade in his career. The music here is by no means bad, just not completely distinct. It starts with a good take on "Cowgirl in the Sand" that lasts 18 minutes. At the same time, why? The same can be said for the extended take on "Words" and the closing cover of "All Along the Watchtower." The sense that Young was leaning on his traditional modes yet building on them is just not there anymore. This album may be good in a vacuum, but there's far, far better things in this mode in his catalog. Ultimately, it's just inessential.
Rating: Three and a half Neils
Toast, recorded in 2000-2001 released in 2022.
In a sign that Young is not as steady as before, we have our first lost album in awhile. It's recorded with Crazy Horse, but like Sleeps With Angels, it's not a trip back to the garage. I have to say, I liked it. From what I understand, Young's relationship with his longtime wife Pegi was hitting some snags, something that shows up in many of the songs. Crazy Horse grooves along and the emotions are reminiscent of the Ditch years. I am not sure why Young didn't release it, but his newfound tendency to doubt himself is a throwback to his tumultuous 70s. It's certainly better than the record he put out instead.
Rating: Four Neils
Are You Passionate?, released in 2002
Some of the songs from Toast ended up here, but recorded with Booker T and the MGs instead of Crazy Horse. We are back to Young's 80s experiments in genre, this with time soul music. That band as always sounds fantastic and they are the highlight of this record. What's striking here is Young's voice. He is barely projecting, sounding like a chastised child. The songs reference problems in his marriage, and he really comes off like a man in emotional pain. Unfortunately, soul music requires soul power in the singing, and Young provides the opposite. The elements just don't work together. I am sure his live gigs with Booker T and the MGs are great, but this record lacks that spark. The backing band saves it from being completely missable.
Rating: Two and a half Neils
Greendale, 2003
Does anybody remember CD burning? For a brief time in the early-to-mid 2000s it was a big way for me to access music. My friends would get stuff and burn it for me and I would give them burns of stuff I had and they didn't. We were all music nuts, so doing this did not mean spending less on CDs, it meant we got more bang for our buck. I listened to this one in the burned CD format, and had mixed reactions. Young plays with Crazy Horse but without Poncho on rhythm guitar. I like the stripped-down sound and the loose, jammy quality. This is an old-school concept album, telling the story of a family in a small town and touching on police violence and environmentalism. It has the same problem all rock operas do, in that songs based on plot get boring and indistinct. Despite that persistent issue, I enjoyed listening to it again after a twenty-year hiatus. There's a similar vibe as Toast in terms of Crazy Horse's approach and I have to commend Young yet again for trying new things even in old age.
Rating: Three and a half Neils
Prairie Wind, 2005
I had never listened to this album before, but I knew the music well from Young's Heart of Gold documentary with Jonathan Demme, filmed around the same time. (I love the Demme docs, more on that later.) In a trend I've noticed with his more folkie material, I prefer Young's live versions over the studio tracks, which creep way too far out of the Ditch into the middle of the road. Not all of the songs are strong, but he's playing with some great country musicians and he captures some of that Harvest spirit. Tellingly for this stage of his career, it's not as good as Harvest Moon. When his songs evoke the landscape of his native Manitoba, this album really gets me. I too was raised on the Great Plains swept by prairie winds, due South from him in Nebraska.
Rating: Three and a half Neils
Living With War, 2006
The "War on Terror" and the degradations of the Bush years brought a lot of dissent out into the open, but few artists were able to rise to the moment. Political songs are always a challenge because the lyrics are often more suited for writing pamphlets than crafting songs. While this album achieved some acclaim at the time, I think it's mostly because folks were glad to hear a Sixties rocker take on Dubya. Almost twenty years later, it is incredibly cringey. I did find it to be an interesting artifact of a past time, as well as an early example of what has been termed "resistance lib" in the Trump Era. Like a lot of Boomers of this persuasion, Young's objection to a criminal president is rooted in an idealized vision of America he absorbed in his youth (even if he grew up in Canada.) Instead of seeing Bush as the natural outgrowth of a lot of trends in American life, he is talked about as a deviation from the great American way. While this framing serves a political purpose, its naivete grates. The one thing I appreciated is that Young attacks these songs with genuine fire.
Rating: Two Neils
Chrome Dreams II, 2007
Young mysteriously named this as a sequel to one of his "lost" albums even though it does not share much musically or thematically. Whatever his motivations, he starts really strong, sounding better than he has on any officially released album since his 90s comeback. This album really goes all over the place, especially the eighteen-minute "Ordinary People," which he had recorded in the late 80s with the Blue Notes. The thing is, it sounds better than just about any song he put out in that mode! Instead of just playing the blues, he has Old Black growling and scratching with aplomb along with the horn section. There's pretty ballads too, like "Shining Light." "Ever After" is a lovely country song. Not all of these songs work, but the ones that do really grabbed me. If you haven't listened, give it a shot.
Rating: Four Neils
Deja Vu Live, 2008 with CSNY
This was recorded in 2006, in the middle of Young's political reaction to the Bush wars. Young decided to bring the rest of CSNY back together for a tour, attempting to rekindle the hippie political spirit of "Ohio." At the time I must admit I rolled my eyes a little because I was tired of Boomers hogging the mic when it came to anti-war protest. Listening to it now, I was struck by how much better the songs from Living With War sound live. Political messages will always connect better in front of a crowd, and unlike the recent studio CSNY records, those famous harmonies are back. Well, except for the version of “Wooden Ships,” which is more like harm. (The guitars sound great though.) Here “Let’s Impeach the President” is a raucous party song that based on the crowd’s booing really touched a nerve. While much of this is pretty rote, I at least had to respect that bit of punk edge.
Rating: Three Neils
Fork in the Road, 2009
The blurry Polaroid photo on the cover tells you this is not going to be a clean record, which is just how I like it with Neil. Yes, it's thrown together and sloppy but it's also creative and fun. The lyrics might need more polish but the garage sound kept me tuned in. The theme here is cars, as this came out around the time he rigged up his old Lincoln Continental to be electric. When I read his memoir (which came out a couple of years after this) I must admit I got worn out by all of his talk about electric cars and improved streaming sound. At this stage in his life it felt like he was more interested in his technical hobbies than in his music, which was more tossed off than crafted. Nevertheless, I had fun with this one even though it's on the slight side. I especially enjoyed "Dirty Old Man," which had the gutter punk humor of "Welfare Mothers" all over it.
Rating: Three and a half Neils
Le Noise, 2010
Until I listened to this one I didn't know that the title was a play on producer Daniel Lanois' name. From the title I expected something that did not sound like a typical Neil Young record, and I was correct. Lanois' production style is distinctive and can be divisive. I tend to be a fan, and on this record Lanois provides his sheen but does not overpower what Neil does best. I have to say, I really liked it. As with his other latter-day records, the lyrics are not exactly inspiring, but the new sound helps cover that up pretty well. It should be noted that even in his heyday Young had some lyrical clunkers, like rhyming "rain" with "rain" on "See The Sky About to Rain." While the 2000s did not produce any classic Neil Young albums, he at least ended things up with three solid efforts. I had a hard time trying to periodize this stage in his career, but I think this is a good stopping point. After a decade of experiments of varying quality, he would move into the 2010s with a return to Crazy Horse.
Rating: Four Neils
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