![]() ![]() Close attention and repeated listens offer few rewards to the careful listener, because Young doesn't really say much of anything here, no matter how elaborately he says it. Here, the story and the setting give Young a hook for the record, a common theme that he can rally around, and the album benefits so much from that focus that it doesn't really matter that the story is convoluted beyond comprehension the plot matters so much that it winds up not mattering at all. Ever since 1994's Sleeps With Angels - or, if you're less charitable, 1990's Ragged Glory - he had been drifting, playing with different groups, never quite mustering up enough energy to assemble a consistent set of songs whenever he headed into the studio. Early in the summer of 2003, there was a brief blast of stories about this quasi-scandal, setting the stage for the late-summer release of the album: it got Young some needed press, and announced that unlike his last several albums, Young was actually trying this time around. ![]() Young hauled out his concept album - about an extended family in a small town called Greendale, and how they're torn apart by a murder - to unsuspecting audiences, who by and large were not happy about spending anywhere from 55 to 85 dollars to hear a dense convoluted song cycle, complete with rambling narrative from Young, for the first hour of the show and not hearing many hits in the remainder of the set. Prior to its release, Greendale received more attention than any Neil Young album in years, but it wasn't positive. ![]()
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