Description:
Like many musicians of his generation, Neil Young has never shied away from political statements... Lyrically, Living With War captures all the indignant ferocity and off-the-cuff logic of a blog-post screed: calls for impeachment, `Mission Accomplished` mockery, etc. Obviously, Young`s not dishing out well-measured, footnoted policy analysis here, but neither is he bothering with metaphor or subtlety -- it`s all direct, literal, and viscerally emotional... (And) from a musical perspective, Living With War`s short gestation benefits Young`s performance, inspiring him to make his loudest, rawest release of new material since at least Ragged Glory, maybe even Rust Never Sleeps. With his guitar re-tuned to its characteristic distorted snarl, and the clearly live mix preserving bum notes and sloppy harmonica or trumpet solos, Young returns to the spontaneous recording style of albums like Tonight`s the Night that best suits his talents. - Rob Mitchum, Pitchforkmedia.com (Reprise)
