Published on Nov 4, 2003
Typically, the release of a new Neil Young album gets a warm
response from hard-core fans and an indifferent shrug from the
majority of listeners.
However, in the case of
Are You Passionate? it’s likely that some people coughed up
the cash just to hear “Let’s Roll.” The song is Young’s tribute to
the passengers of Flight 93 who helped bring down the jet, which
was under terrorist control on Sept. 11, 2001. It was one of the
first songs by a major artist to directly address the events of
September 11. Unfortunately, the song begins with the ring of a
cell phone. It’s supposed to be chilling, but comes off as hokey.
The rest of the song begins to get bogged down by a riff that
sounds like it was lifted from David Bowie’s song “Fame.”
Other songs smack of familiarity. “Mr. Disappointment” sounds
like discarded Tom Waits. And the guitar riff on “You’re My Girl”
is straight out of a typical Lynyrd Skynyrd song — which is
strange because that band’s hick anthem, “Sweet Home Alabama,” was
basically a swipe at Mr. Young.
Often,
Are You Passionate? sounds like you’re sitting in on a solid
night at a local blues bar. Percussionist Steve Potts lays down a
basic drum beat for almost every cut and the guitar work by Young
and Frank Sampedro has a dirty, grimy, bluesy feel. Unfortunately,
most of the tracks on
Are You Passionate? just sound like pedestrian blues: The
artistry is present but the sound is too complacent. Young’s blues
fix now undoubtedly is fueled by producer Booker T. Jones. The
legendary guitarist of Booker T. and the MGs also plays organ as
well as supplying some vocals on “Are You Passionate?”
The album is by no means a career-suicide album. Young did not
opt to infuse electronica a la
Trans, nor did he pull in as many guests as he could find to
make the album more marketable a la Santana. For that, he should be
applauded.
From his solo projects, beginning in the 1970s until today, Neil
Young has dropped some clunkers for each decade he has continued to
play. The kicker is that for every weak album he releases, there is
always a possibility that there’s a great album like
Harvest Moon or
Ragged Glory right around the corner. That hope of another
potential Young classic should be enough to keep listeners engaged,
even through his artistic missteps. But in the case of this 2002
album, there’s very little for a listener to get passionate
about.