They Can't all be Winners

Neil Young

Living with War

2006, Reprise

produced by Nick Bolas and LA Johnson

singles-

• Let's Impeach the President

This sounded like a good idea.  Coming from the man who wrote Ohio and Rockin' in the Free World, an album of Bush era protest music sounded like a great thing, epic even.  However, this album falls so far short, I gave it another listen just to make sure it wasn't me.  It wasn't.

I heard it was rushed to completion and distribution, and it sounds like it.  The fact that the album cover is just a stenciled paper bag should have tipped me off.  It sounds like Young wrote the songs on Monday, recorded on Tuesday, and then handed it in on Wednesday, like some college kid completing a term paper that was supposed to take a month.  The lyrics are predictable, and overly simplified.  The music is nothing to write home about, compared to his other work.  If someone told me it was all improv, I think I'd have more respect for it.  Even the album cover looks like the brown paper bags I used to use to cover my school textbooks.  Recycling is a great idea.  Just not for album cover art.

What I can't understand is how it was nominated for 3 Grammy awards.  Clearly the dude in control of nominations didn't actually listen to the music, he just saw "new Neil Young", and got excited.