On The Monsanto Years, the iconoclast skewers economic deception, corruption of our food and the profit motive while offering evidence of why the raggedy rocker matters.
The Monsanto Years is a crystallisation of some of Young’s hardest-fought political positions. And it comes at a time of minor global awakening on many of these fronts.
Young uses his sturdy footing to lash out at what he perceives as destructive forces -- to our dinner tables and social fabric -- and if the individual message may wind up fading like yesterday's newspapers, the music will keep The Monsanto Years burning bright.
The topic at hand may have been considerably altered compared to past works, but this is the gritty, no-nonsense Young of old at work having made his most compelling record since 2010’s Le Noise, and one of his most important.
As things stand, The Monsanto Years is another inessential and underpowered Neil Young album to file alongside the likes of 2003's ecological garage rock opera Greendale: good ideas and inspiring ideals grounded by half-baked presentation and paucity of substantial songcraft.
In a cultural landscape craving feel-good entertainment, The Monsanto Years' brand of straight-shootin' rock'n'roll activism is going to be a tougher sell than a Pono.
Like Monsanto’s ancestral predecessors, the result is underproduced, underwritten, and not likely to take up more than a few months (if not weeks or days) of Young’s promotional energies before he moves to the next thing.
Sadly, Neil Young’s The Monsanto Years has too little of the speed, appeal, and lucidity needed to pull off a 21st-century “protest” album.
Another embarrassing late career Neil Young album. This time 'round, the music itself would indicate a competent albeit boring album, while the lyrics absolute destroy any sort of positive qualities it could have had.
An album going against GMOs was only a matter of time when it comes to Neil Young. The guy has had no problem in the past protesting against things he disagreed with, so something this big was very obviously going to be something he'd start making music about. And that's all well ... read more
"Don't say pesticides are causing autistic children"
Jesus Christ, Neil. As an autistic person myself, I genuinely expected better from him. At least he didn't veer into fully anti-vax territory?
That aside, while GMOs themselves aren't inherently dangerous, he sure has a point about Monsanto and its scummy business practices. Though it also gets really, really repetitive.
1 | A New Day for Love 5:54 | |
2 | Wolf Moon 3:53 | |
3 | People Want to Hear About Love 6:20 | |
4 | Big Box 8:18 | |
5 | A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop 5:00 | |
6 | Workin' Man 4:43 | |
7 | Rules of Change 4:40 | |
8 | Monsanto Years 7:47 | |
9 | If I Don't Know 4:27 |
#55 | / | Uncut |