Road Rock Volume I Album Review

by Chris King

Recorded during last summer's US sojourn, Road Rock Vol 1 proves once again that unlike many a doddery statesman of rock, Dylan, Jagger or Macca say, Neil Young's contemporary output remains relevant.

Not that he's getting jiggy wiv it or has started hanging with the sportz metal posse. God forbid. After all, his 80's attempts at re-invention, such as Trans and This Note's For You, were dome-sized disasters. Rather, he's a bona fide rock icon who, stylistically, rarely strays far from 1969's eponymous debut LP, and yet skilfully, and seemingly wilfully, manages to transcend the vagaries of fashion. For instance, when, in 1992, he was hailed as the Grandaddy of grunge, instead of releasing a ragged, strat strafed opus, typically, he opted for the laid-back langour of Harvest Moon, the follow-up to country-rock classic Harvest.

Astonishingly, this is Young's 36th album release and sixth live outing. This time out, his musical compadres include virtuoso sticksman Jim Keltner and Booker T bass ace Donald 'Duck' Dunn. Even these stellar stalwarts struggle to prevent the marathon 13 minute blast through Cowgirl In The Sand from constantly threatening to derail, before its inevitable collapse in a searing wall of frazzled feedback.

Of course, its this sense of teetering on the brink of anarchy that makes Neil such a compulsive performer. Like Dylan, he possesses a healthy disregard for his work, though thankfully, unlike ole nasal whine, this doesn't involve deliberately desecrating fan faves until they are virtually unrecognisable. Instead, Young manages to execute even vintage material as if it were penned during that night's soundcheck.

Chrissie Hynde duets on a serviceable version of Mr Zimmerman's All Along The Watchtower, which doesn't quite equal the incendiary intensity of Hendrix's definitive reading but boasts one of Neil's superlative yowling axe solos. Another guest spot sees his spouse supplying backing vox on the poignantly plaintive Peace Of Mind, surely one of his most affecting ballads.

Overall, Road Rock Vol 1 is a tad sloppy and definitely no match for Live Rust, still Young's finest live album. That said, it's crudely compelling and with the exception of disappointing newie Fool For Your Love, further affirmation that this grizzled vet remains at the pinnacle of his considerable powers.

Neil Young, he's still rockin' in the free world.