Neil Young.- Peace Trail (2016) Review

Neil Young.- Peace Trail (2016) Review

By: Ghost Writer
 

One thing you have to concede to Neil Young is that the man loves uncertainty, most of his records always live out of a comfort zone, you never know what will comes next from Neil and Peace Trail is no exception, no two Neil Young records are alike, the man is always on the move as if trying to escape from himself, going from classic rock, to troubled folk, to romantic crooning, to Southern rock, to weird electronica experiments and then to blasting dissonant brutal rock, again, Peace Trail is hard to define, Young acoustic and electric guitars joined by a subtle but firm bass player and massive drumming, you are sure this is Neil Young sound, but again, taken into uncharted territory. 

The title track has one foot in folk and other in the sort of rock singer songwriter sound Young created in the 70s, Young showing the lessons "alternative" guys like J. Mascis from Dinosaur Jr.  and Jack White from the White Stripes have learned from him, in a song kind of obscure, kind of pessimistic with Young incendiary guitars perfectly catching the despairing mood America is living these days, "the world is full of changes, something new is growing" sings Young while his electric guitar lead us in the middle of darkness, Can't Stop Workin' is another view from the gutter, mainly an acoustic affair with booming drums and Young’s guitar as red hot as you can imagine in your wildest dreams. 

Young goes deep into a bluesy romp with Indian Givers in a song about North American natives and their critical condition, "bring back the days when good was good" sings Young in a obvious reflection of today lost expectations, while on the swinging Texas Rangers, Young opens the gates and lets violent waves of distortion hit the listener mercilessly in an intermittent way, it's an engaging tune and a fearless experiment from Mr. Fearless himself, one that perversely continues on Terrorist Suicide Hang Gliders, a surreal song with Young apparently playing a very deranged version of the music people like Pixies, Dinosaur Jr.  and Nirvana stole him. 

The experimental nature of Peace Trail continues in My Pledge, with Young double tracking himself vocally and acquiring a Lou Reed like sound to the song, again, a brave experiment with Young taking us into an odd sounding song that paves the way to the rough edged country tinged roar of Glass Accidental, with Young not only taking inspiration from the blues, but also from the rural country flavored South, Peace Trail in not exactly one of Neil Young best records, but again is a very outstanding recording in the middle today's pop sterile landscape, is Young risking it all like always, and having a modest win, but consider not too many are winning these days.