Re: Artist of the Week 04/18/11 - Neil Young
Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:17 pm
#37
The Visitor/Neil Young + Promise of the Real (2017)
Hi there,
December 1st will be a big day for me.
The Visitor will be coming to your town. I will be going to my town. You will be able to hear me and see me. My archive will open on that same day, a place you can visit and experience every song I have ever released in the highest quality your machine will allow. It’s the way it’s supposed to be. In the beginning, everything is free.
Lots of Love,
neil
And this is how Neil announced his new album, The Visitor. After deciding not to team up with Promise of the Real on 2016’s Peace Trail, Neil hit Rick Rubin’s Shangri La Studio with Willie’s boys for a second time to rail against Donald Trump’s America. An artist whose greatest inspiration for decades was love and nostalgia, now was primarily drawn to the recording studio to express his anger and rage about the politics of 21st century America. The results are not great. Stylistically speaking, this is as big a hodgepodge record Neil has ever recorded. It’s just so incredibly inconsistent. I’m not sure Promise of the Real is the ragged band to back Neil. As long as they’re healthy, bring back The Horse!
1. Already Great – Comes out of the gate like a lumbering, grungy guitar anthem. Falls short of anthem status. Donald Trump got elected on the strength of his campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” The angry Canuck is here to let us know that America was already great. (4)
2. Fly by Night Deal – What sounds like a toy piano ushers in this song. Chorus and Neil ranting and raving about the Dakota Access Pipeline. Not feeling it. (2)
3. Almost Always – Guitar lick from Unknown Legend is brought out of retirement. More shots at the orange asshole – “And I'm living with a gameshow host who has to brag and has to boast ‘bout tearing down the things that I hold dear.” This one is solid. (6)
4. Stand Tall – I feel like this is an outtake from one of those shitty 80s Geffen duds. Mother Earth, women’s rights, scientific truths… Neil is here to fight for you. (3)
5. Change of Heart – Some distant whistling. A ragged-voice Neil. Got some Western Hero shuffle going on. Hard to pinpoint exactly what Neil’s singing about and that’s a good thing. No more ranting and raving against headlines. (6)
6. Carnival – I brought my kids to Cirque du Soleil Luzia last night and this song nails that whole scene/vibe. I wasn’t crazy about it before, but last night it was playing in my head. Neil and Promise of the Real do really nail that circus/carnival vibe here. Particularly, one that is based upon and celebrates Mexican heritage and culture. (7)
7. Diggin’ a Hole – Bad stab at the blues. Nope. (2)
8. Children of Destiny – The addition of the trumpet and chorus give this song a strong connection to Living with War. Neil reaches into his Nitzsche bag of tricks and brings back the fuckin’ orchestra. The guitar has some bite here, but the ostentatious gloss buries this song in shit. (3)
9. When Bad Got Good – “Lock him up!” Neil turns Trump’s infamous Hillary Clinton rally cry against him. Promise of the Real gets Horse stanky here. They clumsily try to find that hypnotic groove and almost get there. (4)
10. Forever – Clocking in at just over 10 and a half minutes, we close things with an unplugged epic. This is the best track on the album. Neil just spitting out stream-of-conscious styled lyrics. Kind of a red-headed stepchild of Will to Love. The more I listen to this one, the more I like it. "Earth is like a church without a preacher, the people have to pray for themselves." (7.5)
Overall score – 4.5
The Visitor/Neil Young + Promise of the Real (2017)
Hi there,
December 1st will be a big day for me.
The Visitor will be coming to your town. I will be going to my town. You will be able to hear me and see me. My archive will open on that same day, a place you can visit and experience every song I have ever released in the highest quality your machine will allow. It’s the way it’s supposed to be. In the beginning, everything is free.
Lots of Love,
neil
And this is how Neil announced his new album, The Visitor. After deciding not to team up with Promise of the Real on 2016’s Peace Trail, Neil hit Rick Rubin’s Shangri La Studio with Willie’s boys for a second time to rail against Donald Trump’s America. An artist whose greatest inspiration for decades was love and nostalgia, now was primarily drawn to the recording studio to express his anger and rage about the politics of 21st century America. The results are not great. Stylistically speaking, this is as big a hodgepodge record Neil has ever recorded. It’s just so incredibly inconsistent. I’m not sure Promise of the Real is the ragged band to back Neil. As long as they’re healthy, bring back The Horse!
1. Already Great – Comes out of the gate like a lumbering, grungy guitar anthem. Falls short of anthem status. Donald Trump got elected on the strength of his campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” The angry Canuck is here to let us know that America was already great. (4)
2. Fly by Night Deal – What sounds like a toy piano ushers in this song. Chorus and Neil ranting and raving about the Dakota Access Pipeline. Not feeling it. (2)
3. Almost Always – Guitar lick from Unknown Legend is brought out of retirement. More shots at the orange asshole – “And I'm living with a gameshow host who has to brag and has to boast ‘bout tearing down the things that I hold dear.” This one is solid. (6)
4. Stand Tall – I feel like this is an outtake from one of those shitty 80s Geffen duds. Mother Earth, women’s rights, scientific truths… Neil is here to fight for you. (3)
5. Change of Heart – Some distant whistling. A ragged-voice Neil. Got some Western Hero shuffle going on. Hard to pinpoint exactly what Neil’s singing about and that’s a good thing. No more ranting and raving against headlines. (6)
6. Carnival – I brought my kids to Cirque du Soleil Luzia last night and this song nails that whole scene/vibe. I wasn’t crazy about it before, but last night it was playing in my head. Neil and Promise of the Real do really nail that circus/carnival vibe here. Particularly, one that is based upon and celebrates Mexican heritage and culture. (7)
7. Diggin’ a Hole – Bad stab at the blues. Nope. (2)
8. Children of Destiny – The addition of the trumpet and chorus give this song a strong connection to Living with War. Neil reaches into his Nitzsche bag of tricks and brings back the fuckin’ orchestra. The guitar has some bite here, but the ostentatious gloss buries this song in shit. (3)
9. When Bad Got Good – “Lock him up!” Neil turns Trump’s infamous Hillary Clinton rally cry against him. Promise of the Real gets Horse stanky here. They clumsily try to find that hypnotic groove and almost get there. (4)
10. Forever – Clocking in at just over 10 and a half minutes, we close things with an unplugged epic. This is the best track on the album. Neil just spitting out stream-of-conscious styled lyrics. Kind of a red-headed stepchild of Will to Love. The more I listen to this one, the more I like it. "Earth is like a church without a preacher, the people have to pray for themselves." (7.5)
Overall score – 4.5