Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Americana
Reprise Records
www.neilyoung.com

Rating: D

I am sick of people just assuming music is great because it comes from a legendary artist, such as Neil Young. In fact, I am probably the only person in the world who will say this album is boring and a great disappointment.

For starters, I am sick of pot smoking hippie music. I am also hacked off that Young wasted an album with Crazy Horse to put out this O Brother Where Art Thou crap. We do not need to hear Young whining –errrr--- singing “Oh Susanna” and even spelling out B-A-N-J-O on his knee. The entire song I could not help but think of B-I-N-G-O – the tune about the dog that kids love to sing.

Okay, fair enough, the music is done okay, Young sounds like Young, vocally – which, if you buy his albums you know what that sounds like – and, it is a collection of Americana music. For what they did, it is a good job. The big HOWEVER here is why? When I think of Neil Young and Crazy Horse I think of “Powderfinger.” That is kind of an Americana style song, in a way, but it rocked. And what about that song about Pocahontas and Marlin Brando? Cool ass tune and there were no instruments on anyone’s knees being spelled out at all.

Neil Young fans can let me have it, but I just don’t need an Americana musical history lesson from a stoned Canadian. I am sure as hell not going to cower and give the album a great rating JUST because it is Neil Young.

This album is silly and boring and I, for one, certainly missed the point. However, I am sure Rolling Stone Magazine will give it a great review.

What’s next? Neil sings Big Band? Polka? Come on, when Crazy Horse is on the scene one expects brilliance, not American Music 101, I took that in college and was bored with it then. Neil, you can, and should have done better.

Hopefully, Psychedelic Pill, scheduled to be released this October, will make up for the silliness of this outing.

By Jeb Wright