Neil Young
Ragged Glory

Freedom is universally known as the turning point of Neil Young's rebirth after several years out of focus. However, many do not give due recognition to its discographic follow-up: Ragged Glory from 1990. The title is emblematic, a ragged glory that synthesizes the triumphant and at the same time "old" soul of that musician, long considered lost by everyone. With the faithful Crazy Horse, Neil reunited in a barn in the countryside, where, among the horse dung, he recorded the album. Indeed, you can feel a genuine attitude of rustic, sunny and warm life in many of the songs. The beauty is that this is perfectly fused with the usual distortions (certainly influenced by the fact that Sonic Youth were the supporters of their tour at the time), more alive than ever since, from the first to the last second, this is Young's most electric album.

It starts beautifully with the lively Country Home, a calling card for the mood of the entire album. This state of "peace of mind" is also reinforced by Mansion On The Hill, quoting: "psychedelic music fills the air, peace and love live there still". It's impossible not to be captivated by such serenity, incredibly expressed with tons of feedback. Then there is the brief White Line, with an on the road atmosphere, which once again talks about drugs, along with Days That Used to Be, it's the song with the least sound evolution but they are still outstandingly effective, leaving a lingering sense of déjà-vu. In fact, the latter borrows the melody from My Back Pages by the great friend Bob Dylan. Fuckin' Up is really angry and has been a reference point for the grunge generation, with violent percussion, a similarly strong text (the title is sometimes censored), and a crescendo of noise. Many claim that this record is among the fundamentals of the grunge movement, it certainly paved the way for a slew of new fans. There are as many as three long electric rides: the sweet Over And Over, Love And Only Love, and Love To Burn with its style worthy of Cowgirl In The Sand, I don't think these three have anything to envy from the classics of the past, if nothing else, they demonstrate the vitality of Neil and his band after all these years. However, the homage to folk roots is not overlooked. Farmer John is a garage rock cover of an old '60s track (the most famous version is by the Searchers, a Beatles-like group) that lasted only two minutes, here it lasts twice as long with the only verse constantly repeated. An operation similar to that done with On Broadway in the previous album.
It closes with the evocative Mother Earth (Natural Anthem). The music is taken from an ancient 1600s English folk song called The Water Is Wide or O Waly Waly. Neil rewrote the lyrics to make it an environmental anthem. The spiritual melody is excellent and engaging, also thanks to the choral singing.

The only real flaw (besides the often banal lyrics but they were meant to be that way to integrate with the atmosphere of the songs) is that the band is almost in perfect shape. But it will suffice to wait just a year to hear the excellent live performances on Weld, where the tracks from this album will be maximized. In short, there is feeling and joy, there are electric rides, there is the most intense garage, there are truly evocative choirs... all together to enjoy this excellent album around the hearth of your own mansion on the hill.