Neil Young’s latest release, “Psychedelic Pill.” (AP)
Albums of the week
NEIL YOUNG AND CRAZY HORSE
“Psychedelic Pill”
★ 1/2
THERE’S no doubt that Neil Young has earned his right to do whatever the hell he wants, but that doesn’t mean that the rest of us should always pay attention. Indulgent, overlong and downright boring at times, the Canadian’s first album of original material with his classic band in almost a decade is way more of a pill than it is psychedelic. Opener “Driftin’ Back” is a 27-minute (!) wheeze of endless soloing with Young moaning about such modern schisms as MP3s. It’s a curmudgeonly tone he repeats several times over the course of two discs and while odd moments of wistful beauty such as “For the Love Man” are hidden in the album’s sprawl, the patience of a mere mortal might not be enough to find them.
MACY GRAY
“Talking Book”
★
HERE’S the pitch: Macy Gray, the Muppet-voiced singer who has one hit to her name, tries her unworthy hand at reinventing Stevie Wonder’s still-peerless 1972 album. It’s bad enough as an idea, and it turns out to be even worse in actuality. The Ohioan constantly reduces Wonder’s pioneering blend of rock and R & B into bottom-of-a-hotel style cabaret, and it makes classic tracks like “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” and “You’ve Got It Bad Girl” sound insipid and infuriating. Only the curiously dark and menacing funk of “Maybe Your Baby” offers anything that feels even close to the inventive spirit of the original. Gray calls the album “my love letter to Stevie Wonder,” but despite her obvious affection, it’s one that deserves to be returned to sender.
Downloads of the Week
RNDM
“Modern Times”
★
JOSEPH Arthur and Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament have made plenty of stodgy alt-rock separately, and now, under the guise of RNDM (alongside drummer Richard Stuverud) they’re making it together. This leadoff cut from their new album “Acts” is a bland combination of half-assed riffs and flat vocals that smacks of three guys with too much time on their hands.
TOBY KEITH
“I Like Girls That Drink Beer”
★ 1/2
THEY say you should write about what you know and as this track from Toby Keith’s new album “Hope on the Rocks” proves for the umpteenth time that he knows about women, booze, and good down-home country music. It’s an absurdly banal track, but you have to applaud Keith for being so honest about his love of life’s simple pleasures.
ANDREW BIRD
“Three White Horses”
★★ 1/2
LIFTED from the “Hands of Glory” EP (a companion to the excellent “Break It Yourself” album, released earlier in the year), “Three White Horses” finds the Chicagoan channeling his sublime voice through three minutes of wonderfully eerie chamber-folk. A fine addition to his impressive recent output.
CALVIN HARRIS
“Sweet Nothing” (feat. Florence Welch)
★★
HAVING made his name as a big-name producer, Calvin Harris is evidently keen on keeping up his ratio of hits if new album “18 Months” is any indication. This soon-to-be released single mixes the familiar club beats he frequently peddles with Florence Welch’s typically elaborate vocals for another moment of dance-floor ecstasy. The Scot ultimately has one trick, but he’s still playing it pretty well.