Are You Passionate?

One of the album's biggest flaws is the fact that 90% of it blends together into one song...songs like "You're My Girl", "Are You Passionate?" and "She's a Healer" are very good, but tend to sound repetitive before too long. Young's voice doesn't really change the entire album and the guitar licks are all simple...but there are some real bright spots.

Early favorites? "Goin' Home" and "Two Old Friends"...the later featuring that same classic ballad-esque feel that older slow Young sogngs have. If you're a huge fan, buy the album...it'll grow on you. If you're not a huge fan, but love soul (think the background guitars of Otis Reddings songs...), but the album...it'll grow on you. But, if you're looking for Mr. Grunge or Mr. Acoustic...you won't find him here.

Because, you see, this is Mr. Soul's moment in the sun...

Backed by Stax house band Booker T. & The MG's for most of this album, Neil dives head-first into '60s soul, and you can hear echoes of the old Stax sound in several of the tracks here. The opener, "You're My Girl," is a classic example, referencing a handful of '60s classics but written from the perspective of a man who's grown up and now faces an increasingly empty nest at home. Neil has explained this during his 2002 concert tour with CSNY as a song he wrote for his daughter, Amber Jean (who also had a song written for her during the '84 International Harvester period), whom he used to drive to school every day and has always loved the motown sound.

My favorite cuts on the album come next, in "Mr. Disappointment" and "Differently." You can see Neil gently swaying back and forth on a stool with "Old Black" in his hands as he weaves through both of these tunes, the lyrics of which continue the theme of the reflections of an older man on his storied past.

"Don't Say You Love Me" is another slow-rolling smoothie, and the first of three tracks on this album that were debuted on the 2001 European tour with Crazy Horse. The second is "Goin' Home," which comes to us from the same portion of Neil's mind as the classics "Like a Hurricane" and "Cortez the Killer." This one was an instant classic when performed live, and it's unfortunate that the studio version (even with the Crazy Horse lineup) lacks a lot of the punch the live version had. This one feels like it was recorded at 8 am while the Horse was still waking up, but even then it's a great song.

"When I Hold You In My Arms" sounds much more like the drifting ballad it was originally (anyone who saw Farm Aid last year on CMT got a preview of this). Lyrically it's representative of the new direct approach Neil's taken with his songwriting - you won't find anything as deep as some of the older albums, but that's not necessarily a bad thing: this new style fits the music well (can you see the lyrics to Ambulance Blues going along with an r&b/soul type of sound?).

"Two Old Friends" has been another staple in the CSNY setlists of this year, stuck right in between "Long Time Gone" and "Woodstock" - that oughta tell you how confident Neil is about it, and I agree - it's another of my favorites from the album. "Let's Roll" works really well in a live concert setting, however I wonder what that will sound like several years down the road. "Ohio" has had a long life and still applies - let's all hope that "Let's Roll" won't. This song has caught a lot of flack from a lot of people - it seems you either love it or you hate it. While I'm not a fan of some of the George W. Bush style lyrics, I still think it's a decent song, just a little out of place on this album.

Overall I think this album will go over well for fans of the Booker T. sound, as well as anyone who wants to hear Neil doing something different yet again. Far from the days of "Landing On Water" and "Everybody's Rockin'," Neil turns in a beauty here.

Young has written some of the most powerful, ambitious rock lyrics ever (think of "Powderfinger," "Pocahontas," "Cortez the Killer," and so many others), so it's depressing to hear him resort to obvious hackneyed rhymes and greeting card sentiments, as he does on much of this album. And his reaction to 9/11, "Let's Roll," could have been written by any hack songwriter--it doesn't tell us anything we don't already know. "Ohio" and "Rockin' In The Free World" had real passion; this new topical song feels done for the sake of doing it. Frankly, this is more like something one of his CSN cronies would have penned. I was hoping that recent events would fire up Neil lyrically, but it wasn't to be.

The music is fine--it's not as far a stretch from Neil's regular sound as, say, "This Note's For You," which in some ways is the closest album in his catalog to this one, stylistically. The Stax groove added by half of the former Booker T. and the MGs is enjoyable, and Neil tailors his guitar playing to the sound well, showing he's capable of some restraint in his solos he doesn't always display with Crazy Horse. This album mostly features a relaxed sound, but with a little bit of edge to keep the music interesting.

And speaking of Crazy Horse, the one true standout is "Goin' Home," the lone appearance by the group. It's the most energetic Neil and the Horse have sounded together in the studio in a long time, and the lyrics even have some of that old Young mystery. Hearing more of the Horse would have been nice, but given the unambitious, minor songs, it would have been a waste.

I keep hoping Neil will dust off his muse and deliver another great album, but this isn't it. It's far from his worst, but that's not good enough. I hate to say it, but this album and "Silver and Gold" make him sound old and a bit out of touch. But I wouldn't write him off yet...he's surprised us before.