by Daniel V. Garcia
Daily Lobo
Neil Young's songs on Prairie Wind sound like rehashed versions of previous hits.
Perhaps he's come to the end of his songwriting prowess, because his sound seems lifted. However, this makes for a surprisingly diverse album, musically. It may serve adequately as an introduction to the non-initiated, because the songs go from country-tinged to hymnal to soulful to rocking with his unique pre-grunge brand.
In addition, Young doesn't short-shift with his political and apocalyptic argumentations. The rocking "No Wonder" - which sounds like he went back to the '70s album Tonight's the Night and reworked an old tune - is the best example of this on the album. It conjures up poignant images that border on the horrific during his unveiling of the brutal realities of the modern world.
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Weaknesses include "Falling Off the Face of the Earth," in which his effort to hit certain high notes falls short by a half step. This is probably a result of his one-take-only ethic. Given his penchant for thinness of tone delivered in his characteristic high tenor, on this song it approaches the ridiculous and is reminiscent of the chipmunk sound that is being liberally employed by hip-hop artists as of late.
Young's best work has been that which makes sparse and yet effective use of counterpoint melodies, often with him playing a melody and another person playing a slide or pedal steel alternate melody.
While there isn't an abundance of this dynamic interplay on this album, there is a good amount of quality guitar work done by veteran Ben Keith, who has worked extensively with Young over the years (and who incidentally produced Jewel's Pieces of You.) Unfortunately, songs like "This Old Guitar" sound like a session reject from "Harvest Moon," where the rhythm and chord progressions are exactly the same in certain places.
For diehard enthusiasts, Prairie Wind is essential, as Young proves again that he can write beautiful songs within the sparse melodic space that is his musical niche. However, for the casually curious, his collection Decade is a better example of his finer work.
