Album Review: "Living with War" by Neil Young (2006)

I used to be quite a fan of Neil Young until I tired of his regular routine of putting out one of two albums every year for about the last twenty: either a regurgitated "Harvest Moon" for the aging boomer crowd or a half-assed, feedback-laden effort that is so self-indulgent it makes David Bowie look as obvious as Shania Twain.

Actually, that's not too far off at times, is it?

In any case, Young bridges the gap between the two with his protest record "Living With War", recorded in about a week-and-a-half and released last summer, just in time for a tour with old pals Crosby, Stills and Nash which charged those who wanted a piece of the dissent a top price of $275 per ticket.

Ahh, the good ol' rebel sell, huh?

Now, by looking at the title of this record, you could be forgiven for thinking that this album was perhaps about the troops in Iraq, or maybe those individuals and families in places like Baghdad who are trying to avoid getting caught in the crossfire between Sunni and Shi'ite militias who have no respect for life, but alas, you'd be wrong. As the title track unequivocally states, it's Neil himself who's "living with war every day". And not only is the guitar out of tune, but the horns are too.

Probably the three most catchy tracks on the disc are "After the Garden", "Let's Impeach the President" (where Neil finds common cause with this Massachusetts 12-year old - say it with me - "BUSH LIED, THOUSANDS DIED!") and "Roger and Out" where he laments the loss of a Vietnam buddy.

If you can't get past Neil's egomania, you probably won't like this album because the music itself is just a petard on which he hoists his Northern Californian anger while pleading for a return to peace in Iraq, as if that ever existed before the US arrived there anyways. Even if you can, it's certainly not even close to his best work. Throw on "Rust Never Sleeps", "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" or "Freedom" instead of "Living With War".

Overall rating: 4/10