borrowed tunes

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October 03, 2005

neil young :: prairie wind

(buy)

I've told you about the DVD; it's now time to cover the record. Prairie Wind brings us back to Folky Neil, a land last visited on Silver and Gold, which was followed by Genre Neil (the entirely forgettable Are You Passionate?) and Rock/Concept Neil (the enjoyable Greendale, with its disarming companion film and stage play).

Folky Neil these days means Sappy Neil, and the sentimentality is both the strength and weakness of this record. It opens with two of his strongest songs since his early '90s revival, both driven by his inimitably wistful nostalgia. They cover two key aspects of his craft: the timelessly simple folk song, and the epic, sprawling lament. "The Painter" is A-class Neil, all glowing sweet economy and deceptive singalong simplicity. Then he gets angry on "No Wonder", the kind of overwrought piece that shouldn't work but does in Neil's hands - you can't imagine that invoking Chris Rock's post 9/11 comments in a folk song would be a good idea, but he pulls it off. "No Wonder" is a song made for die-hard Neil fans; it's the one we'll return to most on this album over the years.

Next comes the heartbreaking "Falling Off the Face of the Earth", undoubtedly written for his departed father, a victim of severe dementia in his later years. He hits a childlike falsetto in the chorus that some will find grating, while others will see how it adds ache to the song.

From there, unfortunately, the album begins a slow descent into pure sap and silliness. Two minor tunes close out what would be side 1 of an LP: the family-style swinger "Here For You", which you can actually imagine surviving as a cover in the hands of good-time Texas bar bands, and the best Flaming Lips song that Neil ever did, the syrupy "Only a Dream".

Side 2 is largely constructed of half-baked exercises, a terrible bit of Elvis-worship (who needs it?), and an excruciating hymn. The lone keeper in the second half is "Here For You", a classically-proportioned folk-rocker, but by and large these songs are irredeemably maudlin and almost self-mocking.

I'm compelled to rate this disc in the context of Neil's recent catalogue (it doesn't compete with the golden years). It begins as a better record than Harvest Moon but ultimately slips behind it. It has more high points than Silver and Gold, though, and will be remembered longer.

The Painter (mp3)
No Wonder (mp3)

Posted by borrowed_tunes at October 3, 2005 10:10 PM

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