Neil Young tackles pipeline, technology on ‘Peace Trail’
Neil Young, “Peace Trail” (Reprise Records)
Prolific rocker Neil Young is at his curmudgeonly best on “Peace Trail,” bemoaning his place in the current generation while standing up for his decades-long commitment to fighting for the underdog.
In that way, the largely acoustic “Peace Trail” is representative of late-career Young. It’s quirky, soulful, poignant and powerful — if not a little unpolished.
Young stands up for the Standing Rock Sioux and other protesters who have been fighting an oil pipeline in North Dakota on “Indian Givers.” He ends the 10-song album with “My New Robot,” a track that could have easily fit on his computerized 1982 release “Trans.”
On “My Pledge” Young sings, “I’m lost in this new generation, left me behind it seems.” And, in a great touch of irony, he sings it while using Auto-Tune.