The last Neil Young album you really cared about

Broken Arrow. The Greendale tour turned Neil's albums from "automatic buy" into "be cautious - check before buying" status. I have yet to buy any since then.

 

Of all his recent stuff I've moderately enjoyed "Silver & Gold", "Greendale", and "Americana" the most. The rest I could take or leave. I've given them all a couple of spins at least. IMHO his last truly great album was "Broken Arrow" and his last great song was "Bandit".

 

Harvest Moon.

 

Heard almost all of them, I'd probably say "Sleeps With Angels", though "Silver & Gold" had some moments as did "Psychedelic Pill".

 

Psychedelic Pill. Great album.

 

Prairie Wind. I enjoyed this a lot when it came out, and it was much better than the seemingly-one-long song Greendale.
Since then, I still care, but things have been just ok.

 

Americana

I thought this was a fine album, in concept and execution, and I liked the way he dug up all the original lyrics of ages old songs. Who knew that "My Darling Clementine" was about a guy who watches his girlfriend drown and then starts banging her sister? I didn't. I did know that "This Land Is Your Land" advocated trespassing on "private" property, but it was good of Young to remind us. Crazy Horse provides its usual good backing, especially on "High Flying Bird". I thought this album and the concurrently-released Psychedelic Pill made great companions, and 2012 was the first year I paid attention to Young since the 90's. He has since lost me again, but I think he'll manage to win me back again before he's through.

 

I'm not sure that I understand the question. I find all of Neil Young's albums to be interesting, without exception. I don't find them all to be equally good, of course, but I can't say that I "care" most about his best albums, either. Le Noise, for instance, resonated with me more profoundly than any Neil Young album had in ages, and more so than, say, Comes a Time or Freedom ever have. I wouldn't necessarily contend that it's a better album than those two, though. Nor would I say that it's the last album of Young's that I particularly liked, since I do like Americana, Psychedelic Pill, and Monsanto Years quite a lot.

The man's just never lost me. I don't think he could. He's too interesting.

 

Broken Arrow for me - this album kicks off with 3 killer tunes that just make me feel great. After that, I'd pick Le Noise and Psychedelic Pill as serious contenders.

 

Well, I didn't even know he had a new album out....

THE MONSANTO YEARS


I am listening to a preview...I like it more than any of his other recent albums....IMO it harks back to "Ragged Glory", sorta mixed with "Harvest Moon"

I will definitely be picking it up!!!


( ....I think he should have called it "MONSANTO MOON" )


Thanks, Neil!

 

Storytone

Between the mix of choice band songs and acoustic versions, one near classic album can be made from the combination of the two.

I hate "Who's Going To Stand Up?" for its hamfisted lyrics; nevertheless, it's a classic melody. Indeed, I feel the whole thing has some classic melodies.

I can't say the same thing for The Monsanto Years, even though the production value on that album is unbelievably good! In fact, it might be his best sounding "rock band" album, ever!

 

I don't pick up everything he does, but Psychedelic Pill, Le Noise, Chrome Dreams II, and Living With War were all pretty good. I'd still give them a listen sometime and I can't say that for everything.

 

first of all, i think you mean the last Neil Young album you "liked" as opposed to "cared about" -- I care about them all, always looking for a latter day gem.

here's what I find with these guys that are 40 to 50 years into it. yes, their recent stuff is dwarfed by the material that made them giants, but the new stuff always stands very well on its own. for instance, i have a few thousand songs on shuffle on an Ipod right now, and I can't tell you how many times I've heard a Stones song come up and been slayed by how good it is, and it'll be from Steel Wheels onward. I also prefer Dylan's post-Time Out of Mind work to everything before it. I won't argue that it's BETTER than his iconic output, but it's what I come back to most often.

as for Neil, I buy everything, and I like Monsanto more than Letter Home, Americana and Storytone (all of which I can find something to like on, save for Letter Home). I really like Psychedelic Pill -- more than Monsanto. With Monsanto, I LOVE the guitar work. I can't get past the ham-handed lyrics on about 3 of the songs. After that, I'm good with all of it, and I think that this band live will melt people's faces.

 

Harvest.

 

I guess i could have just clicked "like". But it's nice to talk this way about Neil. A real artist in every sense. I love some, I like some, I'm completely unaffected by some.
But I'm always interested, I always care. He always committed, always interesting. Like you I find some of his most interesting projects, ones that I personally deem failures.
What a guy.

 

Here's Peter Gabriel after seeing Neil with POTR this summer.



I agree though. Even The Monsanto Years tracks that I was lukewarm about on record were blistering in concert.

 

the typical response of course to this is I can't remember back that far

 

"Psychedelic Pill" was the last one that I was really looking forward to, and it delivered.

(After "Americana" which went on the shelf after five or six listens. I'm a Horse type person...but that was Lazy Horse).

Love the first four songs on "The Monsanto Years", but the rest not so much. The other five songs have the lyrics forced into the songs.

 

I've found much to like in a lot of his later stuff, but if I'm being honest, the last album I really cared about was Rust Never Sleeps...

 

The Monsanto Years, in my opinion, is not Neil's best music ever, and it doesn't contain his best lyrics ever, but given the issues he so frankly and earnestly takes on, it occurs to me that he has a lot of cajones to put out an album with content that may alienate a lot of his fan base. But obviously he's decided that airing the issues he cares about is more important than most other considerations. Anyway, Neil's conviction makes me really care about the album. Of course it doesn't hurt that I agree with some of the things he's going on about. And, last but not least, I gotta get psyched for his show at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

 

Haven't liked anything after Harvest.

 

For me his last completely listenable album was "Prairie Wind". Since then "Americana" and "Psychedelic Pill" weren't too bad. All the rest since 2005 have ranged between "Ordinary" to "Abysmal" with "Fork in The Road" taking the prize for worst album of his career. Since 1980 its hard to go past "Freedom"; "Ragged Glory"; "Harvest Moon" and "Sleeps With Angels" as his very best and everything pre 1981 are absolutely essential and classic.

 

There's been a few good albums ' but selective cherry picking in regarding choice cuts.

 

Chrome Dreams II. Great album, specially the two first acoustic songs and "Ordinary People". "Driftin Back", "Ramada Inn" & "Walk Like A Giant" from PP are also great