NEIL YOUNG
Before And After (Reprise)
Neil Young’s 45th studio album, Before And After, is aptly titled. Introspective and raw, we hear a reminiscently-voiced Young over this eclectic mix of his greatest music. This album reaches to the past with knowingly scuffed re-recordings of decorated tracks like single On The Way Home – a song from his mid-60s period with his pre-solo band Buffalo Springfield.
In its entirety, this album feels intimate and reflective, giving the listener an unembellished perspective of Young’s phenomenal career, presented in 13 imperfect tracks. In its 1994 version, My Heart is already impassioned and expressive; revisited in this album, it is stripped back but no less emotive. This rings true for the full 48 minutes of the album’s run time – a musical experience that stirs a hazy nostalgia for a forgotten time. Slow and brooding in moments, but important to the core purpose of this collection, and definitely worth a listen.
words TERESA DELFINO