New Music / NEIL YOUNG / Le Noise (Warner)

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The title alone gives you a warning that Neil Young's latest isn't going to be an easy listening experience. This isn't Young as a folkie, nor is it the distorted rock 'n' roller who hangs out with Crazy Horse -- this is a whole different Young, one armed with just a guitar, his well-worn warble and a studio of effects.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/10/2010 (5862 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The title alone gives you a warning that Neil Young’s latest isn’t going to be an easy listening experience. This isn’t Young as a folkie, nor is it the distorted rock ‘n’ roller who hangs out with Crazy Horse — this is a whole different Young, one armed with just a guitar, his well-worn warble and a studio of effects.

The eight tracks on Le Noise are filled with looped vocals, layers of guitars, fuzz, drone and echo all manipulated by producer Daniel Lanois. Underneath the mayhem is a brutally honest album with Young laying his soul bare. On Love and War, one of two acoustic tracks, he admits, “When I sing about love and war/I don’t really know what I’m saying.” Hitchhiker, originally written in the early 1990s, is an autobiographical tune that takes us on a walk down memory lane, from becoming famous to what drugs he used to deal with it. Walk With Me shows off his romantic side, along with Sign of Love, about with his 32-year marriage. Rumblin’ finishes things off on an ominous note as Young looks at climate change.

The experimental nature of the music doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about melodies, because no matter what Lanois is doing, he and Young understand the hook is king and Le Noise if full of them. 4 stars

This is a whole different Neil Young, one armed with just a guitar, his well-worn warble and a studio of effects.
This is a whole different Neil Young, one armed with just a guitar, his well-worn warble and a studio of effects.

— Rob Williams

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This is a whole different Neil Young, one armed with just a guitar, his well-worn warble and a studio of effects.

New Music / NEIL YOUNG / Le Noise (Warner)

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The title alone gives you a warning that Neil Young's latest isn't going to be an easy listening experience. This isn't Young as a folkie, nor is it the distorted rock 'n' roller who hangs out with Crazy Horse -- this is a whole different Young, one armed with just a guitar, his well-worn warble and a studio of effects.

The eight tracks on Le Noise are filled with looped vocals, layers of guitars, fuzz, drone and echo all manipulated by producer Daniel Lanois. Underneath the mayhem is a brutally honest album with Young laying his soul bare. On Love and War, one of two acoustic tracks, he admits, "When I sing about love and war/I don't really know what I'm saying." Hitchhiker, originally written in the early 1990s, is an autobiographical tune that takes us on a walk down memory lane, from becoming famous to what drugs he used to deal with it. Walk With Me shows off his romantic side, along with Sign of Love, about with his 32-year marriage. Rumblin' finishes things off on an ominous note as Young looks at climate change.

The experimental nature of the music doesn't mean he's forgotten about melodies, because no matter what Lanois is doing, he and Young understand the hook is king and Le Noise if full of them. 4 stars

-- Rob Williams

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