Neil Young and Crazy Horse

Colorado

Colorado finds Neil Young reuniting with his past. l It has been 50 years since Young first collaborated with Crazy Horse. This is their 12th collaboration over the years. One original member has died and Nils Lofgren fills the void, playing with Young for the first time since 1982. This band has helped Young make some of his best music in the past, and here they help him make his best album in years.

As might be expected, the album is riddled with nostalgia. The folky “Think of Me,” with Neil playing his harmonica as he did in his early days starts that theme out. “She Showed Me Love,” his love song to Mother Earth,” continues to look back wistfully, although the long, long jam at the end may be a bit much for some people. “Olden Days” shows remembrance can be gritty, Young and his bandmates sing “There’s so much we didn’t do” in the beautiful ballad “Green is Blue.”

Of course, we have to have at least one political rant, and this time it has an ecological slant.”Shut It Down” pairs Neil’s preaching with a harmonic chorus in true folk protest style. “Rainbow of Colors” is another folk song, but with a more positive vibe: “There’s a rainbow of colors in the old USA/ Noone’s gonna whitewash those colors away.”

Then there are the more personal songs which certainly will take long-time Neil Young fans way back, “Milky Way” and “Eternity.” The album ends with the lovely “I Do,” which contains words of appreciation for all his loyal friends and fans.

Colorado is Neil Young and Crazy Horse in all their honest, ragged glory, and it is a treat to hear Neil back in this form again, with the band that has always understood him best. because this writer prefers the less abrasive Neil these days, my highlights are “Think of Me,” “Green is Blue,” “Rainbow of Colors,” “Milky Way,” “Eternity,” and “I Do.”