To the idea behind the album of the week, go here. (It is becoming more like the album of the month, but I'm defiantly carrying on as best as I can. ;-))
Neil Young, along with Dylan, Cohen, Cash, Hank Williams, Springsteen (and perhaps a few more), belongs in my inner circle of favourite songwriters, which is why I (having seen an ad for his new album on a advertising column recently) had to pick up his latest album and give it a listen.
"World Record" is musically right in my wheelhouse and typicall of Neil Young - a nice mixture of blues, rock, country, folk or Americana as it is often called. With decades of experience, Neil Young switches seamlessly and expertly from one genre to the next: from a hoarse blues to a groovy, anthemic rock to a laid-back, almost jazzy stroll that is the opening song of the album.
Lyrically the whole album centers around Young's concern for our planet, its environment and the direction in which it is heading (in spite of all the promises made my the people in power). Young urges us "love earth", but warns us at times in a sweet and grateful, but at the same time foreboding reminiscence of what the earth once was, at times in unambigious terms that (as one song has it) "The world (is in trouble now)". Mixed in between are songs, which could be classified as call to arms, urging the listener to not sit on the side-lines, but to become involved in the cause.
Some of the songs (such as "Walkin' on the Road (to the future)" might be perceived as a tad too fuzzy and sentimental, lacking an edge, but to my ears they sound sincere and heartfelt (even though lyrically one might be bugged by the almost new-agey phrasing).
Standout tracks: the lovely "Love Earth", the tender "This Old Planet" and the all-encompassing, nearly anthemic "I Walk With You (Earth Ringtone)"
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