Living With War

Neil Young has always been a reactionary. He sees the world. He responds. “Four dead in Ohio,” "Even Richard Nixon has got soul,” his 1994 tribute to Kurt Cobain Sleeps With Angels, his 9-11 homage “Let’s Roll,” and now Living With War, his instantaneous reaction to the Iraq war and the world as we inhabit it circa 2006. This blog of today, time capsule for the future, is a rough and ready tumble of hard, distorted rock – diametrically opposite the acoustic gentleness of his previous 2005 Prairie Wind release – supported by catchy sing-along melodies (“After the Garden,” “Flags of Freedom,” which directly lifts from Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom”) and no doubt sentiments. “Let’s Impeach the President” doesn’t leave as much room for subtlety as “Rockin’ in the Free World” but “Lookin’ For a Leader” shows true bi-partisanship as he reaches across the aisles to suggest Barack Obama and Colin Powell as two leaders he might likely support. Young’s best moments have the human touch. “Families” and “Roger and Out” address the real cost of human life at a time of war. They’re angry and nostalgic, wishful and sad.