Reprise Records 9362481112
Over the past 20-plus years, whenever I hear a new Neil Young album, the
first listen has provided an immediate impact. If it is not received with
outright ecstasy, I'll often find at least a number or two that hooks me to
its sludgy groove,
frenzied solo, or acoustic revelations, and pull me along through the rest
of
the tracks.
Later, the album takes on another, more urgent, set of circumstances,
when "Let's Roll" – the infamous song released last fall as a tribute to
those
who perished September 11th on Flight 93 – appears. Placed in the middle of
the
series of love songs, it's a reminder of the fragility of life and how, when
cornered, you have to stand up and fight. At the same time, it emphasizes
the
love songs in a new light.
Early on, Young sounds as earnest as a puppy dog, but as he slides into
the slow blues of the title track, which follows "Let's Roll", he almost
sounds hollow, as if he's still shell-shocked from 9/11. But what keeps him
grounded is the inner flame of love.
As the album moves along, it veers back and forth between what it wants to
be. Much of it is unexpectedly sweet soul music that could find its starting
point over a decade ago on This Note’s for You. But "Passionate?"
swings
and sways from that to Young's interest in Native Americans, Crazy
Horse-style rock and even a retread of the musical background of its own
opening number
("Being With You" has a slightly different key change with the same
bass/drum
background, only more prominent).
It's especially noticeable here because he uses Crazy Horse on "Going
Home." While Booker T & the MG's provide a clean accompaniment, the ragged
glory of the Horse elevates the proceedings. How I wish that Young's trusty
trio would have been in the studio for "Let's Roll". While that song is
haunting because of its subject matter and Young's deft condensation of
events and its effects, the Horse could have provided a heightened
intensity.
In the end, "Are You Passionate?" leaves me torn between what is and what
could have been. It has its moments and is enjoyable for its mild-mannered
ways, taking Young in one more musical direction in a widely varied creative
career. But there's little, at this point in time, that leaves me
passionately seeking to push the 'play' button in a hurry once it's
completed.
