As Neil Young gears up for the second instalment of his mammoth archives series, it seems the right time to look back over the great man's recent past. A decade in which his mojo has remained within touching distance of his many whims.
Young began the new millennium seemingly happy to accept his place as the elder statesman of rock. He released Silver and Gold, a solo acoustic collection that featured some recordings that dated back almost a quarter-of-a-century, and by the end of 2000 he'd toured with a band populated by those he felt most connected to; his wife, step-sister and friends.
Two years later and Young had taken another sidestep and joined up with Booker T & the MGs for the much derided, Are You Passionate? But Young's muse was anything but stagnant as he hatched his next recording project; one that was destined to end up not only on CD, but also film, DVD and as a graphic novel, he was set to produce a concept as high and mighty as the Who's, Tommy.
Young Brings Crazy Horse To Greendale
Greendale was the fictitious name Young gave to a community in which he imagined a set of songs that loosely revolved around the murder of a police officer in a small town in California, and its effects on the town's inhabitants
He toured the album both solo and with his old stalwarts, Crazy Horse. The accompanying film featured actors and band members lip-synching to the Greendale songs.
Neil Young was, and is, a family man through and through. So it was no surprise that the illness and subsequent death of his father should inspire an album that was heavy on personal reflection and close in sound to such acoustic based stalwarts as Harvest and Harvest Moon.
Prairie Wind arrived half-way through the decade and, following its completion, Young was diagnosed with an aneurysm. Successful surgery also brought a new outlook on life and the album's tour was a heartfelt and passionate affair. It also made him look deep not only into himself, but also what was going on around him.
Living With War Strikes Out Against George W. Bush
From the reflection came Living With War, an album which was highly critical of the policies of the George W. Bush administration. It took less than a fortnight to complete and was described by Young as "metal folk protest music."
The topical nature of the album meant it was granted an almost immediate release and its spontaneity helped the album chart high on both sides of the Atlantic.
Young soon put his public display of politics to one side and returned in 2007 with Chrome Dreams II, which was billed as a sequel to Chrome Dreams, the legendary shelved album from 1977.
A slight blip in Young's quality control came in the form of his decade closer, Fork In The Road, which was inspired by the musician's Lincoln Continental that had been retooled to run entirely on alternative energy,
But Young's attention was soon back on the music and the resulting album, Le Noise, was an electric solo outing that was swathed in effects and strong melodies. The guy was punching well below his age and this 2010 release has set up his muse for a consistently interesting walk into the long sunset.
Long may he run,
