Neil Young
Year of the Horse

(Reprise)

While the two-disc Year of the Horse contains some unusual and interesting choices for a live album, the versions of the songs are rather disappointing. Instead of filling the material with the overwhelming intensity typical of Neil Young's performances, more often than not, he and his band seem to be going through the motions. The absolute highlights of this set include a stripped-down acoustic rendition of Mr. Soul and a haunting Human Highway. Both of these songs were recorded at Shoreline and feature Young on harmonica. The remainder of the selections are all electric. Slip Away is driven by the floating, swirling, feedback-laden cacophony created by Young and Frank Sampedro, and Pocahontas still packs quite a blast of fiery passion. Unfortunately, the rest of the tracks seem to drag quite a bit, never really reaching the pinnacles to which Young often takes them.

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!