Grade: B
Neil Young, the man who once wrote songs such as "Cinnamon Girl," "Down By the River" and "The Needle and the Damage Done," has led a storied career in music.
However, on "Are You Passionate?" his first release since the critically acclaimed "Silver and Gold" two years ago, he is hit-and-miss.
Young's intention is obviously to construct a soul album of sorts. Here, he has recruited legendary bass player Donald "Duck" Dunn and equally legendary organist/vocalist Booker T. Jones. The result is a soul experiment - admirable, but definitely not a soul album.
"You're My Girl," the first cut, has a pleasant groove that sticks its toe into the pool of soul. The only problem: Neil Young is not a soul singer. Featuring Neil's trademark lyrics and voice, this is Neil Young trying his hand. This is not counting the annoying background singers who spring out of the music to shoot rock salt vocals into your ears. That is not a compliment. This is the kind of oddball track you expect to find on the flip-side of a single, not kicking off a new album.
"Mr. Disappointment" is considerably better, with a churning, distorted Neil Young sound. Lyrically, it's definitive Neil Young, resulting in possibly the finest song on the album. "Differently," which immediately follows, is lyrically as strong, but not as musically strong, essentially sounding like Young and Sergio Leone have been working together. Young should look into scoring more westerns.
"Quit (Don't Say You Love Me)," is reminiscent of Stax/Volt tunes gone by, but that thought flees from reality soon enough. By this point, I began to wonder if this album is a pivot point for Young or not. Overall, the track is fine, but is he really doing a soul album experiment here?
Come on, Neil, we're over here. Step toward the light. Put down the Stax/Volt boxed set, Neil. We need to talk.
"Let's Roll" is a tribute to the victims of Sept. 11, saluting the passengers who took control of the plane over Pennsylvania - problem being, he's saluting with his left hand. The title, taken from the last words heard from a cell phone-wielding passenger before the plane went down, is fine. Unfortunately for the listener and for all involved, the song is abysmal.
The lyrics are trite and the music sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Young have finally patched things up after that whole "Alabama" thing and started exchanging notes. The song, in essence, should not have been written, recorded or released into the collective consciousness and is a poor tribute to the victims and their families. Young, who defined an era with "Ohio," after the Kent State tragedy, should know better. Be ready to skip this track when you play the album.
Redemption comes swiftly, however, as "Goin' Home," grinds and grooves in that special Young way. Even though this is not a true Neil Young & Crazy Horse album, this track features Young with Crazy Horse for one stellar cut. Easily, Young's work with Crazy Horse is some of his strongest. This song provides off-put fans with a nugget of gold.
Essentially, with Neil Young, you pretty much get your money's worth. This album may have little cohesion and seem like a collection of soul-tinged rarities and B-sides rather than an all-new effort, but it's still Neil Young. True fans will be forgiving and easily take to this album, but new listeners should start somewhere else in Young's oeuvre.
Coming from the man who wrote the lyric, "It's better to burn out than to fade away," this album puts Young dangerously close to doing one or the other.
However, as Young has displayed several times in his career (the rockabilly, synth, jazz and grunge eras come to mind), he is one to experiment with new sounds before moving forward, ever growing as a musician and challenging his listeners with the question: Are we passionate enough about Neil Young to keep up with him?
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