Neil Young: Living With War CD Track Listing

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Neil Young Living With War (2006)
Living With War\n\nOriginally Released May 8, 2006\nRaw CD+DVD Edition Released December 19, 2006\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: In a move that deliberately echoes the rush release of "Ohio" in the wake of the Kent State shootings, Neil Young bashed out his 2006 protest record Living with War in a matter of days, sometimes recording songs the day they were written, and then seized the opportunities of the digital age by streaming the entire album on his website only weeks after it was recorded, with the official digital and CD releases trailing several days later. It's the best use yet of the instant, widespread distribution that the Web has to offer, and it also hearkens back to the days when folk music was topical, turning the news into song. But if the ballads of the 19th century were passed along gradually, growing along the way, or if the protest tunes of the folk revival of the 1950s and '60s grew in stature being performed regularly, gaining strength as singer after singer sang them, Living with War captures a specific moment in time: early 2006, when George W. Bush's approval ratings slipped to the low 30s, as discontent sowed by the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, rising gas prices, and much more turned into a general malaise in the country (or in political shorthand, it was the moment when George W. turned into Jimmy Carter). To some, the specificity of Young's writing on Living with War will forever date it, but that's a risk with any topical folk, rock, or pop, from "We Shall Overcome" to "We Are the World" -- or "Ohio," for that matter. Young is aware of this and embraces the allegedly short shelf life of his songs for Living with War by directly addressing the political turmoil in the U.S.A. in 2006 and the real human wreckage it has left behind. As such, it will function as a vivid document of its era, as much as any journalism of its time, but Living with War isn't rock-as-CNN: it's a work of art, and it's a canny one at that, with Young drawing on familiar words and music to create both historic and emotional context for his songs. It's not merely clever that "Living with War" quotes "The Star Spangled Banner," or that "Flags of Freedom" consciously reworks Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom" -- it helps tie Young's work to the past and gives his new work greater resonance. And nowhere is that more true than on "Let's Impeach the President" and how its melody recalls "The City of New Orleans" to help underscore what was lost in the government's bungled reaction to Katrina's devastation to the legendary American city. With a grandstanding title like that, along with its George W. soundbites, "Let's Impeach the President" is the flashiest song here, and it crystallizes what's good about the album: sure, it pulls no punches and it's angry, but it's not just ranting; it's artfully written and effective, as is Living with War as a whole. It's not perfect, but it has a vitality lacking in Young's recorded work of the last 15 years or so, and its blend of Greendale's loud, meandering guitar rock and the bittersweet mournful, aging hippie vibe of Prairie Wind is not only appealing, it's better executed than either of those good yet flawed records -- and that execution not only applies to the ragged glory of the recording, but to the songs themselves. They manage to be unified in a way that Young wanted Greendale to be but didn't quite pull off, yet they also stand on their own and are, overall, more memorable than those on Prairie Wind. And that's the reason why, politics aside, Living with War stands as a very strong, effective Neil Young album that will continue to have a punch long after the George W. Bush administration has faded into the history books. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine\n\nAmazon.com Editorial Review\nEven if you don't agree with Neil Young's politics, you can't help but be daunted by the intersection of his genius and ire on his second album in less than seven months. It is the very rare artist who is able to channel indignation and moral disgust in such a coherent and forceful way--without sacrificing any of the vivid imagery, passion, or the high level of musicality that we have come to expect from him over the past four decades. But that's not what elevates this album: it's his pure, naked, visceral reaction to the Bush administration's foreign policy, building on a canon of outrage that he began with 1970's "Ohio," penned in the wake of the Kent State student deaths. But here he goes one better, filling in the lines that he began to draw on 2003's Greendale about a family caught in changing times. But Young's done with musing about lost ideals. On Living with War, he demands much more from his audience, and himself. This is nothing less than a call for fearless action in extraordinarily fearful times. --Jaan Uhelszki \n\nAmazon.com Product Description\nThe Canadian music hall of famer and former member of Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young is responsible for hits like Southern Man, Heart of Gold and Harvest Moon. But on his newest record, to be titled Living with the War, Young is taking a page from Bob Dylan and putting together an album of protest songs against the actions of American President George W. Bush. One of the tracks on the upcoming release, which as of yet has no release date, is said to feature the single Let's Impeach the President whose subject is fairly obvious. Not a stranger to protest music the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young tune Ohio was written in reaction to a protest against the Vietnam War. \n\n\nROLLING STONE REVIEW\nIn a time of crisis, subtlety is not an option, and speed is essential. Neil Young recorded the nine original songs on this album in six days, just a month ago. He wrote four of those songs on the day he cut them. And in all nine, Young charges the current president and his administration with, among other things, lying, spying, waging war with no right or reason and dereliction of duty to the nation's founding ideals. He then calls for the most extreme judgment available to the American people in "Let's Impeach the President," with rusty-fuzz guitar, the righteous muscle of a hundred-strong choir, a trumpet playing "Taps" and the self-incriminating voice of Bush himself. \nLiving With War is one man's opinion: Young reports, you decide. But it is an indictment of the sorry state of open debate in this country -- and its rock & roll -- that the most direct, public and inspiring challenge to the Bush presidency this year has been made by a sixty-year-old Canadian-born singer-songwriter who, even at his most apoplectic, can't resist a line like "trippin' down the old hippie highway" ("Roger and Out"). It is also an impressive measure of Young's refusal to burn out or fade away that he states his case with clarity as well as dirty garage-trio momentum. For me, the most damning lines in "Let's Impeach the President" have nothing to do with Iraq and everything to do with Washington's shameful delinquency at home: "What if Al Qaeda blew up the levees?/Would New Orleans have been safer that way/Sheltered by our government's protection?" \n\nYoung has stuck his neck out before, not always in the expected direction ("Even Richard Nixon has got soul," he noted in "Campaigner"). But he has not written and recorded with such emergency since "Ohio." You can hear the haste in the sometimes odd balance of Young's strangled tenor and the gospel army behind him. And many songs are built on mantralike repetition: Young's chanting of "Don't need/No more lies" in "The Restless Consumer," the circular worry in the melody of the title song. But much of the album is set to the rhythm of Vietnam repeating itself. In "Flags of Freedom," a young girl watches her brother march off to certain death to a chorus that echoes Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom." And since the White House ensures that we don't see the soaring price of Iraq -- the coffins coming home -- on the evening news, Young has trumpeter Tom Bray blow a bruised, elegiac solo for the dead in "Shock and Awe," against sandstorm guitar and the harsh splash of drummer Chad Cromwell's cymbals. \n\nRight-wing foghorns will go to town with the fact that Young is not a U.S. citizen, even though he has lived here since the late Sixties and has three American-born children who will have to live through the consequences to come. But at the end of the album, Young lets America speak for itself, in the choir's Sunday-prayer-meeting delivery of "America the Beautiful." There is no irony, anger or guitars, just faith and a final warning that until we truly live up to the perfection in the final verse -- "Brotherhood/From sea to shining sea" -- no one has the right to say, "Mission accomplished." (May 1, 2006) -- \nDAVID FRICKE\n\nHalf.com Details \nProducer: Neil Young, Niko Bolas \n\nAlbum Notes\nPersonnel: Neil Young (vocals); Tommy Bray (trumpet); Rick Rosas (bass instrument); Chad Cromwell (drums).\nNeil Young has never been one to avoid political commentary. Ever since "Ohio," his classic anthem of moral outrage about the Kent State student massacre in 1970, Young's music has pulled no punches about the injustices of American policy both foreign and domestic. 2006's LIVING WITH WAR continues that trend; in fact, the album is the most overtly political of Young's long, dazzling career.\nA collection of protest songs that takes the Bush administration directly to task for their actions in Iraq and elsewhere, LIVING WITH WAR boils with outrage and aches with pathos (the grungy, midtempo opener "After the Garden" is a fine example of the latter). "Let's Impeach the President" and "Lookin' for a Leader" leave little question as to Young's opinion of George W., while the crunching, electric-guitar-heavy feel of the album underscores Young's bitter aggression. The album draws on the artist's lineage to the socially conscious activism of the 1960s, yet it feels energized, angry, contemporary, and timely, further highlighting Young's status as one of rock's longest-running and most integrity-driven heroes.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nMISSION ACCOMPLISHED, December 25, 2006\nReviewer: Mo Lindsey (Newark, New Jersey United States)\nThis is a great cd. Overall the cd is an abashing commentary on the GW Bush administration's incompetent , deceptive , and arrogant approach to going into Iraq and its effect on most of the soldiers , the friends & relatives of the soldiers , and the American public in general. \n\n"Lets Impeach The President" and "Lookin' For A Leader" are very direct expressions of disdain for George W. Bush. The titles alone will tell you that. ("Lets Impeach The President" uses Bush's own soundbites to point out his contradictions). "Shock & Awe" reminds us of the embarrassing display of overconfidence by Bush landing on that fighter deck and claiming "mission accomplished" yet unfortunately after that day there have been hundreds and hundreds of soldiers in Iraq killed since. For me , this is one of the more powerful songs on this cd along with "Lookin' For A Leader". At times its tough for me to determine which one is my overall favorite because both are so good. (I'm leaning towards "Lookin' For A Leader"). I love the accurate message/lyrics , that slightly overamplified guitar-driven sound , and the choir is awesome. \n\nWhether you agree or disagree with his point of view really isn't the issue. Neil makes it very clear where he stands. "Lookin' For a Leader" and "Shock and Awe" are as powerful as "Southern Man" and "Ohio". His effective blend of his own stern hopes and observations with terrific instrumentals makes this cd a work of art from top to bottom. Neil Young had something to express through his art and he achieved it loudly and clearly.....mission accomplished. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nMusically this album stands up with the best of Neil Young. , August 21, 2006\nReviewer: Brit Bunkley "Brit" (New Zealand)\n\nMusically this album stands up with the best of Neil Young. Although one of his infamous, brilliant long solos could have improved the recording, his spare electric rock playing is his strongest in years. Great back up band. \n\nLyrically, "Living With War" is both sappy and naively ill informed as well as thrilling and endearing...like most Neil Young songs. Although I, like most of the world, agree that the occupation of Iraq is criminal; his faith in George Bush preceding the invasion was immature at best. I am also unclear how he could suggest Colin Powel might make a good president. After all, Powell began his career as an officer in charge of coveting up the Mai Lai massacre in Vietnam. Powell in high level decision making capacity (like Rumsfeld and Cheney) supported Saddam without guilt throughout the dictator's worst atrocities in the 80's. \n\nBut then Young tends to follow the corporate media's lead, as when supporting Reagan in the 80s' (in reality, the only major administration found guilty in the international court at The Hague of "terrorism" when mining the harbors of democratic Nicaragua). The liberal wing of the Orwellian corporate powers that be (including some in the corporations that own and operate the major media) now realize the war was a mistake (not because of its ruthless illegal bloodshed, but because we did not win). Young is simply following the lead. On the other hand, given the power of the media, who can really blame him? As with the magnificent song, "Ohio", he does a great job at radical chic. \n\nFantastic music though and his overall sentiment is commendable. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nNeil Young - Sinkin' Since The River Took Emmy Lou..., July 17, 2006\nReviewer: Raymond Gerling (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI)\n\nAlright I get it - Barb and Neil want a Democrat in the Whitehouse. I know Republicans lie - Democrats don't. I got it -enough already!!! Neil Young needs a reality check. Young has created a catalog of many great songs/albums/DVD's and 3 great tunes bubble up to the service on this one; "After The Garden", "Families", and "Roger and Out". The remainder of the album is bogged down by poor music (no melodies) and poor lyrics \n(righteous indignation). When Young sings of Americans \ndoing "what we knew best and now we can't go back" in the vapid "Shock and Awe" he describes the population of America as a regretful mass of Bush supporters with no iniative to move forward. Young's depiction of Americans is both insulting and inaccurate. Young seems to be preaching to the "100 voice choir" \non most of this album. Most fans of Young already have similar political viewpoints and probably will welcome his vitriol. I have been a fan of Young's music for years but most of this album is unlistenable for me. I know that it is hard for an artist of Young's caliber to maintain consistent quality over a \nlong career, but this album makes me long for "Rust Never Sleeps" \nan album that seemed to be a more mature "protest" album. On "Rust..." nobody was neglected; his contemporaries(Thraser and Rust), Hollywood's lunacy and America's mistreatment of native Americans (Marlon Brando, Pocahantus and Me), etc. \n"Living With War" does not even come close to Young's finest work. Cromwell and Rosas combine to mimic a "Crazy Horse" sound. But what ever happened to Crazy Horse? Are they a bunch of Republicans? I wonder what Young would do if Ozama showed up at his door...Would he invite him in, call the authorities, or pull the trigger. I'd pull the trigger and "never stop to wonder why."\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nnot um ... not good, July 2, 2006\nReviewer: will owens (seattle)\nThis is my first negative critique, but thought it necessary because I treasure the Neil Young catalogue and wanted to sway any new fans away from this. I do greatly appreciate the concept of the album, and can embrace lyrics such as "Let's impeach the president / For hijacking our religion and using it to get elected." That, unfortunately, rings too blatantly true. But the music itself does not, which actually ends up hurting the overall cause. Relying on distorted electric guitars, for example, places too much emphasis on the drumming which is just painful to listen to here. Electronic drum tracks usually sound substantially better. I'm really not sure how fans of Crazy Horse could even digest this recording. The remainder of the mix, style and structure pales in comparison to any of Neil's finer work, which (among others) includes Tonight's the Night, Zuma, On the Beach, Stars n Bars, Ragged Glory and his first four solo albums. Of his more recent recordings, 2005's Prairie Wind holds up nicely while using similar choir-like backing vocals as used here. It's a well-formed acoustic album with nice hooks, sweet melodies and more thoughtful lyrics that better befit Neil Young, a great recording artist we're very lucky to still call (at least in the broader sense) an American. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nI thought we were gonna roll?, May 15, 2006\nA Kid's Review\nWhat's up, Neil? I thought we were gonna roll? You know, fight for freedom? I must have missed a memo. This cd is laughable - Country Joe and The Fish for the 21st century. Once you drive this lemon off the lot it's already depreciated considerably. In a couple months it will be as dated as that half gallon of milk that's been sitting in the back of your fridge. What pathetic about most of you Bush haters is how you will give 5 stars to anything that gives vent to your vile hatred of the president, regardless of the quality. Let's Impeach the President - what a pathetic, artless example of pettiness. Would a Dylan or a Springsteen resort to this pathetic, artless exercise even if they felt the exact same way. That's why Neil's in Triple A compared to those guys. But you can buy this glistening turd and build up Neil's bank account and pretend that your making a difference. As for me I'll be laughing at you the whole time. ;-)
This rock cd contains 10 tracks and runs 41min 54sec.
Freedb: 7d09d00a
Buy: from Amazon.com

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