WERS 88.9 fm - ALbum Review: Neil Young - Fork In The Road

August 5^th, 2009

To appreciate much of Neil Young's latest album, one must be familiar with the time when it was made.  It's certainly an album for today, a time when alternative fuels for our cars are on the rise, and when American car companies are slumping and asking for the government's help.  The Canadian rock legend's latest effort was rush-produced so Young's commentaries – like the bailout-basher "Cough Up the Bucks," and the government-attacking title track, "Living With War," could be heard in a proper context.   In only a few years this record just might go from topical to dated, but it's still a good listen for what it is.

The first track, "When Worlds Collide," sets the albums loud, bitter tone.  Dirty guitar riffs back Young's unmistakable, at times breaking vocals.  The lyrics evoke "the old days," when "guys and gals used to get their kicks" on Route 66, with Coca Cola in hand, a reference to the transformation of American culture.

If you like the angry, electric Young on songs like "Ohio," this album is for you.  Sonically, much of this record carries the tone of "Cinnamon Girl," with its steady, straight rhythms and plenty of feedback.  Just by looking at song titles – "Fuel Line," "Get Behind the Wheel," "Off the Road," "Hit the Road," – it's clear that this is a concept album, and the heavy, vintage rock sound makes this disc a great one for the highway. 

Then there's the album's one acoustic number, "Light a Candle".  Young gives the albums cynical affect a rest on this track.  Instead he sings, "Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle for where we're going."

But the album as a whole feels more like a curse towards our dark times.  This era might be remembered as one of economic pain, or as the transition from gas-powered cars to greener vehicles.  So if that's the case years from now, consider Young's album a distorted, cynical time capsule.

-Benjamin Tan