One of the great
Neil Young
stories concerns a visit to
Young
's ranch by
Graham Nash
.
ushered his friend into a rowboat, as he wanted to listen to his new album
Harvest
while lazing about on the lake. As it roared out of twin speakers emanating from the house and barn, producer
Elliot Mazer
asked
how the playback sounded,
hollered back "More Barn!" It's hard not to think of this tale when faced with
Barn
, the second album
has made with
Crazy Horse
after the retirement of guitarist
Frank "Poncho" Sampedro
Nils Lofgren
, the guitarist who
Sampedro
essentially replaced back in 1975, returned to the fold on
Colorado
, the 2019 album which feels like a cousin to
. Like
,
is heavily informed by
's new surroundings in the Rocky Mountains, a place where he restored an old barn with his wife
Daryl Hannah
. Naturally, the barn is also where
recorded
-- a process documented by
Hannah
on an accompanying feature-length documentary -- and the building also seems to be part of the record itself, providing a homespun warmth and wide open spaces. The setting gives
a lot of room to roam, enough to make it clear that this version of the
Horse
isn't as heavy-footed as the one with
Poncho
Lofgren
can crank up his amp but his gift is empathetic support. He nimbly follows
's lead on both the rockers and ballads, decorating the open-ended ramble "Welcome Back" with unexpected flourishes. As for
Neil
, he's living in the moment, pondering his civic duties as a new American citizen (he coins the term "Canerican"), worries about the state of the world, wonders what future generations will think of the wreckage today's population leave behind, yet never forgets to hold onto love. Alternately cutting and corny,
's songwriting feels impassioned to the point of diffusion: the songs aren't so much crafted as delivered. Happily, the loose performances more than suit these ragged compositions, turning
into a snapshot of this moment in time: a bunch of old friends in isolation, finding solace and comfort in the noise they can still make. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine