The very title
Before and After
suggests
Neil Young
is in a contemplative mood on this acoustic set from 2023 and, sure enough, a good portion of the record finds him looking back at his very beginnings. A number of songs he wrote for
Buffalo Springfield
are here, balanced by a few rarities -- chief among them "If You Got Love," which was pulled from
Trans
at the last minute -- selections from
Sleeps with Angels
,
Mirror Ball
, and
Ragged Glory
, albums that retrospectively can be seen as written during a particularly restless middle age.
isn't agitated or electric, though. The album features no other musician than
Young
, who supports himself with an acoustic guitar, harmonica, and, occasionally, a pump organ. The starkness of the arrangements helps draw attention to the distance between the origin of a song and
's present. Now creeping toward 80, he doesn't sound fragile, yet his vocals display some age-related raggedness. Embracing his weathered, keening voice,
highlights the tender yearning that runs throughout these songs. They may have been written at various stages in his life, but they're united by his iconoclasm, his dedication to the earth, and his quest for universal love, common threads that are emphasized by how the 13 songs are segued as a suite, allowing listeners to immerse themselves in
as a holistic experience. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine