Ever since Neil Young got divorced, his albums have increasingly referenced his own life, more directly and blatantly than they did for the first fifty years of his career. We only mention this because it’s all there in the lyrics; he stops just short of naming names when it comes to his family, but doesn’t hold back when he’s yelling about current events. And the first good thing about Second Song is that there is no yelling, at all, anywhere. Rather, it’s a pensive reverie by an 80-year-old man who knows, as they say, his time ain’t long. “The Foggy Edge Of Time” wanders in on repeated piano notes and presents something of a memoir and explanation for his recent life change (spoiler alert: alcohol appears to have been a problem for somebody) while Micah Nelson’s atmospheric guitar and an uncredited Mellotron add to the dreamy vibe. Three familiar chords drive “Day After Day”, which acknowledges both the hardship and the wonder of life, while soft harmonies and Spooner Oldham’s piano make for a simple but catchy chorus. “Earth Girl” is an unabashed tribute to his wife, using as many references to nature and the sky that he can find. The title track is the album’s centerpiece, and not just because it’s over eleven minutes long. It’s another observation of the world, nicely accompanied by video taken driving around his old ranch, with harmonica breaks, vibraphone strikes, and Micah exploring a dulcimer. There are chord changes beyond the basic them, and at the very end he finds a motif he repeats a couple times, which helps shape the journey.
The new songs weren’t enough to fill an album, so he went back into his archives—not for the first time—to re-record a couple of oldies. “Casting Me Away From You” was a demo recorded in 1965 with friend Comrie Smith, then the melody turned up as “The Emperor Of Wyoming” on his first solo album. The lyrical content is very much the opposite of his current relationship songs, but newcomers will enjoy hearing references to other tunes. A blast of fuzz guitar that’s not really that loud but startling because it’s the first time we’ve heard one opens “Soon I Might Be Going”, yet another rumination on passing time, this one over nine minutes. He mentions the current president and the literal demolition of the White House, but that’s a precursor to noticing how things are changing in towns all over, and that he might not be around to seeing what happens next. Rather than end the album on a downer, he goes back in the past again. “I’ll Love You Forever” was first recorded way back in 1964 with his first band, The Squires; this new version is a little slower, but replicates some of the seashore effects from the original, as well as the tremolo guitars. It also resonates in his current life, so there you go.
There is a lot of sameness throughout Second Song, between the recycled melodies and chord changes. It’s not the masterpiece some have touted, and we suspect we like it simply because many of his albums in this century have sounded made up on the spot. It’s easy to enjoy and while slow, doesn’t take up a lot of time. (The After The Gold Rush lettering on the cover is a nice touch too.)
Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts Second Song (2026)—3