Style: Garage rock; compare to Neil Young, CSNY
Top tracks: “This Land Is Your Land,” “Wayfarin’ Stranger,” “God Save the Queen”
Neil Young is arguably the best rock songwriter alive, so a covers project should be something special, given that his magical pen is taking a breather. But much of Americana sounds like Young and his legendary posse cranked up their amps and ripped through these 11 classics without an interpretive roadmap. Melodic diversions (such as repetitive backing vocals on “Oh, Susanna” and “Tom Dula”) feel like filler. Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” does get new life via original-but-often-censored “protest” lyrics, and the soft acoustics of “Wayfarin’ Stranger” nicely accentuate its spiritual core, standing out from Crazy Horse’s blistering M.O. But on the whole, Americana is a yawner.
Copyright © 2012 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
