Unlike most artists his age, Neil Young has a lot to show in terms of new material output in the 2010s alone. Not all of it’s great, given – in fact, some of it is flat out bizarre – but it’s also brought us such fascinating ventures as a 30-minute Crazy Horse song and a covers LP recorded entirely within a 1940s recording booth (2014’s A Letter Home). You have to hand it to the man: He’s certainly not done. He even confesses as such less than ten minutes into his 37th album – “I can’t stop workin’,” he sings. “Cause I like to work.” Fair enough.
Peace Trail is intended as a more stripped back, acoustic effort; more in line with his ‘70s material than the louder and more experimental LPs of late. Unfortunately, that comes at a price – there is a lifelessness to more than a couple of songs on this album, while the rambling nature of songs like My New Robot and My Pledge threaten to derail the thing entirely.
Still, time should at least be made for cuts like the aforementioned Can’t Stop Workin’ and the entertainingly unsubtle John Oaks. Young’s grumpy ballet lives on.
By David James Young
