As we lost another legendary music icon last week with David Crosby, it was a good reminder to give love to them while they are still with us. Even if the legends are not your musical bag, or in Crosby's case, a human Oscar the Grouch, recognizing their influence on the music cannot be ignored.
Neil Young and David Crosby had a well-known difficult relationship, but in the wake of Crosby's death, Young hailed praises of the CSNY founder. From the Neil Young Archives website, Young writes, 'David is gone, but his music lives on. The soul of CSNY, David's voice and energy were at the heart of our band. His great songs stood for what we believed in and it was always fun and exciting when we got to play together.'
Young is out with a new album, World Record, (his 42nd!) playing alongside Crazy Horse in their 15th album together. Like a lot of work from Young, there is a messy and loose quality that makes the listener feel as though they were invited in to the studio to watch friends jam out. There is obviously more intention than that, but it does create an immediate warmth. Audibly visible to the listener, the band recorded the album live without overdubs.
There are songs rooted in the blues, rock bangers, folk tunes, a 15-minute song about Young's love for cars, and in classic Neil Young style, addresses and confronts the destruction of our environment.
Listen to our album of the week, World Record, on KAXE!
