“I’m deep inside myself, but I’ll get out somehow”, sang Neil Young on his classic 1975 album On The Beach and, judging this introspective new record, he is still struggling to free himself of his inner angst and turmoil.
Sure, Young has been a little less inward-looking lately with Living With War, a most brutal and effective attack on Bush and Blair’s horror show in Iraq externalising many of his churning emotions, and Fork In The Road savaging the greed that is poisoning public life in both sides of the Atlantic. Now, though, it’s once again time for an inventory of his soul.
Psychedelic Pill is an extraordinary record, a searing journey into the very heart of the American dream like On The Beach or Tonight’s The Night, and an exhaustive (though not exhausting) look at Young’s own experiences from growing up in Ontario to hearing Bob Dylan for the first time.
With the legendary Crazy Horse providing the thunderous backdrop, Young invests Psychedelic Pill with an emotional urgency and literacy that most of his musical contemporaries can only dream about.
At the heart of this superb album lies Driftin’ Back, a rumbling, explosive 27-minute epic trip down Young’s very own memory lane, fuelled by anger, regret and despair.
Then, clocking in at a mere 17 minutes is the haunting Ramada Inn, a bitter-sweet love story between two ageing alcoholics, grimly holed up in a physical and spiritual wilderness.
It is not all doom and gloom, though, with Twisted Road paying generous tribute to Young’s musical influences and the exquisite She’s Always Dancing underlining the restorative power of music.
The astonishing Psychedelic Pill is a crucial staging post in Neil Young’s musical and spiritual journey and is up there, alongside On The Beach and Harvest, with his very best.
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