Prairie Wind
An artist for all musical seasons, Neil Young returns to autumnal harvest mode onPrairie Wind, with homespun material and sing-song melodies that renew the spirit of some of his most popular releases. Yet the mood here is darker in its maturity than onHarvestandHarvest Moon--the previous releases in what now sounds like a trilogy--and the arrangements have greater range and aural depth, with Wayne Jackson of the soulful Memphis Horns, the Fisk University Jubilee Singers gospel choir, and a string section employed to striking effect. This is a song cycle of dreams, memories, family ties, and the passage of time--what is lost and what endures. The elliptical, epic "No Wonder," with its evocation of 9/11, ranks with the most ambitious songs of Young's career, while "Falling Off the Face of the Earth," "It's a Dream," and the bluesy title cut combine childlike innocence with unsettling experience. Spooner Oldham's church keyboards and coproducer Ben Keith's steel guitar reinforce the sound's sturdy simplicity. Young has released a lot of albums in different musical styles, butPrairie Windfeels like a homecoming, and ranks with his very best.--Don McLeeseRecommended Neil Young DiscographyHarvestAfter the Gold RushTonight's the NightRust Never SleepsRagged GloryDecade