Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Psychedelic Pill

Ending 2012 with one of the year's flagship albums is not satisfying, especially when it comes to Neil Young, and that the album, or rather, the double album, was given to me for my birthday/Christmas.

"Psychedelic Pill", just like the previous "Americana", marks the return of the collaboration between Neil and the Crazy Horse band, which hadn't been seen since 2003 with Greendale. If Americana, released in June of the same year, made many frown (not to say anger) due to a less-than-genius reinterpretation of some American folklore classics, this album of new songs is somewhat of a sign of forgiveness for all the disappointed fans and supporters. Even though I partially appreciated the offering of Americana, this "Psychedelic Pill" quickly shot to the top of my preferences this year. Not only because of the beauty of the record itself but also because of the (complicated) fact that a real battle has been waged in my head. A battle to best classify the top works of Neil Young and the Crazy Horse together. "Everybody Knows..." first or "Rust Never Sleeps"? "Zuma" first or "Ragged Glory"? "Sleeps With Angels" or this "Psychedelic Pill"? This or that? This one or that one? Wh... BOOM!!!

After showing you how many useless mind games I am forced to face almost every time, I prefer to focus on the work in question.

You all surely (or at least) have a vague idea of how our dear Neil likes to press heavily on the distortion pedal, when he happens to have a guitar in his hands. All his live shows are proof of this, as is the almost recent Le Noise. Well, this return of Neil, more electric than ever, along with the revival of the very early sounds of his recording beginnings, will cause all those who haven't yet graced themselves with a listen of this said album to die of heartbreak. A result of numerous jam sessions in the recording room, so much so that this turns out to be among the longest-lasting records of his entire career. You can tell right away with the first track "Driftin' Back", which takes up more than half of the first CD (27 minutes). It is also to be understood as a kind of "challenge" for the listener, to test their patience and attention. But if what you wanted was to blow your mind, then it's my advice to dive directly onto the title track, one of the most significant tracks in the whole tracklist which knows how to do its job perfectly. Don't bother taking something extra to have certain effects, the song alone will suffice and more. Whereas if you were addicted to the offer of "Driftin' Back", then you'll want to make yourself very comfortable, because satisfying your requests will be "Ramada Inn", another result of a long jam. And this, if you agree, represents one of the highest peaks of the entire album. The second will only come after a series of "normal" songs, so to speak. The most interesting are certainly "Born in Ontario", where, as the title already announces, the great Neil praises his birthplace, his native land, and "She's Always Dancing", which continues the story of the tireless dancer, already partially mentioned during the endless jam of "Driftin' Back". And here we arrive at "Walk Like A Giant", absolutely one of the most beautiful and most successful songs since the distant 1995 (that is, after "Mirrorball") and together with Crazy Horse. A song that, in addition to encapsulating the entire essence of the album (as I said before, also together with "Ramada Inn" and "Psychedelic Pill") represents a perfect synthesis of today's failure of us young people, unable to change things and save our future, if not by never stopping believing in our ideals. To close the entire "pill", a second version of the title track, with a much harder rock sound than the original.

In short, a real and authentic surprise for many of us. It is nothing short of extraordinary how still great artists of Young's age (we're now talking about almost 70 years old) can produce pearls of such rare beauty, taking into account the various missteps taken during the career, even recently. It seems that Neil is reliving a second youth, more determined and badass than ever. And we hope that from now on, if he ever wants to do something new, it's all on the same levels as "Psychedelic Pill". We don't care about newness or further experimentation, this is enough for us. We're perfectly fine with it.

SCORE = 90 / 100