Neil Young
Landing On Water

THE REVIEW

1986: Neil Young had already delighted us with the conservative country of Old Ways, the rockabilly of Everybody's Rockin', the electro-Trans, Re-ac-tor, and so on... By now, even the most indulgent fan expected a new madness, and in fact, here comes this Landing On Water right on time.
It can be understood somewhat as the parody of the pop-rock genre that was so rampant at the time and especially as a prank on that annoying David Geffen, to whom Young still owed 2 albums to honor the contract. After the commercial flop of Everybody's Rockin' and the subsequent legal quarrel, there was bad blood between them. Besides, our artist did everything to avoid being a "good guy" during the five Geffen years, carefully avoiding (as we have seen) releasing successful albums with the tried and tested harvestian formula (which was the reason David had signed him).

Here we are. The dance opens with the syncopated Weight Of The World, one of the more acceptable tracks. Here, as later on, there is a playful melody but with a melancholic lyric, if it's true that "I dropped the weight of the world”, then it reinforces the typical concept "I was alone for all of my life". Violent Side starts with a pop base to give us choir parts from the San Francisco Boys Chorus as a catchy chorus in full Aor (adult-oriented Rock). In the middle, a brash solo which, for those who know Neil well, is deliberately ridiculous. A valid comparison is with the Floydian wall's transgenic experiments (especially the parodies Young Lust and Run Like Hell). "Got to fight to control the violent side /Every day and night": unfortunately, this time you didn't make it. Hippie Dream, full pop-rock, is a nostalgic journey into the illusions of the wonderful 60s, but perhaps in truth, it is yet another jab at his friends Crosby, Still, and Nash.

Bad News Beat, cheerful proto-dance music for bumper cars for a sad theme (the separation). Touch The Night, flashy hard rock or Aor, again the previous choir helps out, honorable mention for the little voices (uuuh-ahhhh). People On The Street, calm synth-pop and therefore honest, marks the beginning of Steve Jordan's driving beat, which continues in Hard Luck Stories, with an airy and Van-Halen-like chorus (and overall fun: "Don't tell me hard luck stories/ And I won't tell you mine").
The closing songs reveal the lack of depth, a fundamental part of the DNA of much pop and rock from those years, after just a few seconds of listening. More vigorous guitars on I Got A Problem, the oppressive Pressure is boring, and finally, Drifter is the most complete with long artificial instrumental parts. If nothing else, particularly these two, in the lyrics they reveal the poor state of mind of the artist.

These are the 80s: singles quickly created to be consumed like a sandwich at the MTV supermarket, boastful solos, recorded and pounding drums, noises, and various decorative little voices, artificial instruments with computer-recreated sounds, all in weak and rough compositions for the joy of producers and fleeting consumers. It's obvious that great "classic" artists like Young (but also Dylan, Reed, etc.) remained confused in the face of all this, being left disoriented and showing it in the albums they released.
Landing On Water is only for Young enthusiasts or those who love the fantastic 80s (with the caveat: here you must not be taken seriously!), along with its worthy successor Life (slightly better if only for the return of Crazy Horse, who, however, will not entirely remove the "plastic") it is one of the candidates for the coveted title of the worst Neil Young album.
But remember: there's always a reason, behind every little note, that moves the old Canadian fox.....