The Neil Young reviews are in: "One motherf**ker of a protest album"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Review: Neil Young's 'Living With War' is 'one MFer of a protest album'

Jim Cirile
Published: Saturday April 22, 2006



Let's get one thing out of the way right now: this album rocks. It's post '80s electric Neil Young at his grunge best, and of the 10 cuts on Living With War, the first eight are mostly uptempo rockers. In fact, this may be the 60-year-old Young's most crossover-worthy album yet, since many of the songs should appeal to fans of bands as diverse as Green Day and Pearl Jam and will likely be embraced on campuses across America.

But there's one other tiny thing that makes this record stand out: it is one motherfucker of a protest album. In fact, Living With War may just be the Fahrenheit 9/11 of rock.

The album kicks off with the tight wistful rocker, "After the Garden." Its strong hook sets the tone by hearkening back to Woodstock—remember what we were fighting for in the '60s, folks? It's all been dashed. Next up: "Living With War," a good cut that had toes tapping. But the room really came alive with the third cut, "Restless Consumer," a headbanging indictment of both American consumerism and the manipulation of the public by the corporate media. Young breaks into an almost rap-style rant in the choruses, with the refrain, "We don't need no more lies!" No, we do not.

The fourth cut, "Shock and Awe," skewers our botched "liberation" of Iraq due to hubris and deliberately falsified intel. By this point it is clear Young is not pulling any punches. The lyrics are sometimes heart-wrenching, sometimes humorous, sometimes laden with uncomfortable truth.

MORE: http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Neil_Youngs_Living_With_War_reviewed_0422.html

[CrazyOrangeCat]

1. Like Helen Thomas . . .

. . . he's leading the way. We're never too old . . .

[Journeyman]

8. Except Helen Thomas has remained true to her past . . .

and never lost what she believed in . . .

There's a serious object lesson in Neil Young's recent past that no one -- least of all Neil Young -- must lose sight of, for it illustrates how concerned people can be easily frightened and adopt positions counter to their best interests.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

14. Very wise words.

Coming out in support of Ronald Reagan was lunacy. But then, if I had had two autistic children, I'd have been loony-tunes too.

I've always liked the guy. I've connected with most of what he's had to say . . . and as an artist, I admire his ability to not give a damn what people think of him.

[napi21]

2. Has it been released yet? I haven't heard any of the cuts. n/t

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

5. Here's the schedule:

THIS Friday (4/28), the entire CD will be streamed for free over the Internet.

SOON after that, the CD will be available for sale as MP3 downloads (I haven't seen a confirmation that iTunes will be the vendor)

SOON after that, the actual CD will be in stores ("mid-to-late May" is the current estimate).

Young and his people want this available A.S.A.P., hence the "three stage roll-out" above.

Keep an eye on DU. I plan to keep everyone updated.

:patriot:

[stillcool]

9. oh...that is so cool....this is very exciting...

:toast:

[napi21]

11. THANKS! I'll keep watching. n/t

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

17. UPDATE:

Starting April 28, fans can log onto Young's Web site, and listen to the 10-track collection in its entirety, free of charge, said Bill Bentley, a spokesman for Warner Music Group's Reprise Records.

The album will first become commercially available as a digital download beginning May 2, "and we plan to get it into retail stores as soon after that as we can get them manufactured," Bentley said.

He said the label anticipates getting the album into retail outlets between May 5 and May 15. "Neil wants this album out there as soon as possible," Bentley added.

http://news.com.com/Neil+Youngs+protest+album+to+get+Web+premiere/2100-1027_3-6064023.html?tag=st_lh

[incapsulated]

20. Goody, I can't wait!

:bounce:

[pacalo]

7. He said it's at the manufacturer now & will be released ASAP.

Check out this video of his interview on CNN:

Huffington Post

[medeak]

3. artists in antiwar concert!!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=996561&mesg_id=997213

[Pharaoh]

4. WOOT WOOT!!!!

I love neil!!!!

but your clown guy is kinda creepy...........

[medeak]

12. agree

bless his heart..

[Atman]

6. I'm not yet Neil's age, certainly not Helen's, but dammit...

...where the hell are the young people today? I lived through Nixon and Viet Nam and students killed on campus by our own troops, and young people willing to fight the power. Hell, back then nearly every album was a protest album. Now, everybody has their head in a fucking iPod, text messaging their friends about the latest video game system.

It obviously going to be up to us old farts to get this country rockin' again!

..

[Roland99]

10. Well, kids back then had more of a personal stake due to the draft

there's no personal stake felt in the Iraq war right now.

[sandnsea]

13. They didn't grow up on radio

They didn't grow up to words that had to paint a picture, they grew up to visuals. That's why you see things like jib-jab instead of great songs. They'll find their way. If we could get into their heads instead of insisting they get into ours, maybe we'd all get there a little faster. We haven't got a moment to waste!!

[CrazyOrangeCat]

15. so true about the words/visuals . . .

MTV really interferes with the imagination.

[annabanana]

16. bingo!

there is lots of "video junk" (short little clips recorded on cell phones) that are flying around all the time...And some of them are political in nature...

(the kids are alright)

[sandnsea]

19. That's right

Some of it is quite good. That's probably why groups like Moveon go straight to online contests.

[0007]

18. I hear ya man -

[HardWorkingDem]

21. WATCH THIS BRIEF INTERVIEW WITH NEIL - HE GORE'S BUSH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7utryGZ25dg&eurl