Neil Young

DISCOGRAPHY

Buffalo Springfield: Buffalo Springfield (1966) 5/10

Buffalo Springfield: Again (1967) 7/10

Buffalo Springfield: Last Time Around (1968)

Neil Young (1969) 6/10

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) 8/10

After the Gold Rush (1970) 7/10 +

Harvest (1971) 7/10 +

On the Beach (1974) 6.5/10

Tonight's the Night (1975) 7/10

Zuma (1975) 7/10

American Stars & Bars (1977) 6.5/10

Comes a Time (1978) 5/10

Rust Never Sleeps (1979) 7.5/10

Hawks & Doves (1980) 4/10

Reactor (1981) 6/10

Trans (1982) 4/10

Everybody's Rockin (1983) 4/10

Old Ways (1985)

Landing On Water (1986)

Life (1986) 6/10

This Note's For You (1988)

Freedom (1989) 6.5/10

Ragged Glory (1990) 6/10

Arc (1991) 7/10

Harvest Moon (1992) 6/10

Sleeps With Angels (1994) 7/10

Mirror Ball (1995) 6/10

Dead Man (soundtrack, 1996) 6.5/10

Broken Arrow (1996) 6.5/10

Silver & Gold (2000) 5.5/10

Are You Passionate (2002) 4.5/10

Greendale (2003) 5/10

Prairie Wind (2005)

Living With War (2006) 5.5/10

Chrome Dreams II (2007)

Fork in the Road (2009) 4/10

Le Noise (2010) 5/10

Psychedelic Pill (2012) 7/10

Americana (2012)

Monsanto Years (2015) 4/10

Peace Trail (2016)

   Young's New Wave album Trans was a demonstration of audio effects, not so much of tasteful composition. And, exacting even further self-disgrace, Young recorded a New Wave version of Buffalo Springfield's Mr. Soul.

   Hold On To Your Love at least works as an honest country-rock number complemented by a bright keyboard -- but this makes up only three and a half minutes of the album's forty-four. The opener Little Thing Called Love is mostly untainted by the techno stuff, but that is quickly overshadowed by the fact that the song isn't very good in the first place. The bongos in Like An Inca is an obvious giveaway of Talking Heads influence, which would make sense considering the band's popularity at the time. 

   Ironically, the caustic bursts of grunge in Computer Cowboy and Sample And Hold prove that Neil still had that potent and compelling sound that made him so amazing in the past. But Trans proves that he simply rejected that sound and shed his skin in favor of bedazzling vocoders and cheesy synth. 

ROCKUMENTARIES

Jonathan Demme: Heart of Gold (2006) 5/10