Neil Young—Chrome Dreams II
Neil Young recorded the original Chrome Dreams 30 years ago, and for reasons that still remain unclear, the album never saw the light of day. Chrome Dreams was to feature a host of future Young classics (including “Sedan Delivery,” “Pocahontas,” and “Powderfinger”), some of which ended up appearing on his 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps. In his inimitable quirky fashion, the legendary guitarist has just released a “sequel” to the unreleased album, aptly and wittily entitled Chrome Dreams II. The album doesn’t have the musical or thematic consistency of recent Young efforts Greendale, Prairie Wind or Living with War. Instead, it runs the musical gamut, which serves as a fitting microcosm for Young’s career: the album features folk (the opening track, “Beautiful Bluebird”), country (the pedal-steel driven “Ever After”) and even grunge—“Ordinary People,” which clocks in at over 18 minutes, rivals anything Young has ever recorded with Crazy Horse in terms of musical intensity. If Harvest Moon and Prairie Wind were billed as successors to Harvest, then maybe Chrome Dreams II is the true successor to After the Gold Rush. Hearing so many styles on the same album certainly hearkens back to hearing the soft-folk of “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” and the early grunge of “Southern Man” on the same album. Despite all his self-purported changes, Neil Young hasn’t really changed very much since 1971.
—Simeon Cohen
Britney Spears—Blackout
With an album title like Blackout, and song titles such as “Rebellion” and “Freakshow,” Britney’s comeback CD—her first since 2003—focuses more on the rollercoaster life of the artist rather than her musical ability. The Neptunes should receive more credit for the quality of the upbeat, club-ready tunes than Spears herself. However, this type of music is what made Brit-Brit a bubblegum pop star back in the days of Catholic school uniforms and Justin Timberlake. Rather than working for a more mature sound to reflect the changes that motherhood, marriage, and divorce have wrought in her, Spears attempts to channel her original aesthetic—which will afford her many radio-friendly singles, but little respect in the industry.
—Jennifer Mayer
Robert Plant and Allison Krauss—Raising Sand
Robert Plant and Allison Krauss’ joint album, Raising Sand, is at least interesting because it is the first recorded collaboration between these two iconic, genre-defining artists. But don’t expect a softer, countrified Led Zeppelin album featuring tunes in the vein of “Going to California” or “Tangerine” or a harder, blues-tinged Allison Krauss & Union Station album. Most of Raising Sand is a true amalgamation of the two artists’ unique talents (although it could have been billed as a trio album, since legendary songwriter and former Bob Dylan cohort T. Bone Burnett produced and contributed guitar). Krauss and former Zeppelin frontman Plant work very well together on tracks such as on “Stick with Me Baby” or the acoustic “Please Read the Letter.” However, the album is most successful when the artists each stick to what they know best. “Your Long Journey” sounds like a classic Krauss track, and is strong in its own right, but doesn’t really benefit much from the presence of Plant. The standout track is Plant’s cover of the classic Allen Toussaint blues song, “Fortune Teller,” which was covered by both the Who and the Rolling Stones in the ’60s (Krauss is essentially nonexistent on this new version). The album, which was released in the shadow of the long-anticipated Led Zeppelin reunion in London next month, is likely to be largely overlooked. It is an intriguing study in genre-crossing, but it certainly doesn’t break any new ground.
—Simeon Cohen
Marla Hansen—Wedding Day
While Marla Hansen’s description of her sound as “sitting in an old chair by a window with a cup of tea in your hand and a cat on your lap” evokes vomit-inducing images of grandmothers and the type of assuming people who call themselves “unassuming,” her music itself evokes neither. The six songs on Wedding Day reveal Hansen to be a subdued, female version of Sufjan Stevens—which isn’t surprising, considering he contributes vocals, piano, and percussion to the CD. Despite the heavy influence, Hansen’s clear songbird voice shines throughout. Wedding Day provides the perfect dose of serenity on a rainy day or chilly fall evening. Hopefully her next effort will be longer and showcase more of Hansen’s versatility.
—Jennifer Mayer
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