★★★☆☆
Three Stars
In a bold move, the songs on Neil Young’s new album Storytone are being released alongside arrangements for 91-piece orchestra and choir. Some of the songs benefit from the orchestral arrangement, but for others it removes the delight of their simplicity.
In ‘Glimmer’, for example, the orchestral introduction is magically atmospheric, but when Young’s voice enters his thin, off-key sound breaks the spell. In ‘Who’s Going to Stand Up’ the choir sings the words of the chorus: “Who’s gonna stand up to save the Earth? / Who’s gonna say that she’s had enough?” It’s probably meant to sound like an inspirational rally, but the effect is marred by the inexpert lyricism.
Paradoxically, the tracks in which the orchestra has the most positive effect are those that are led by Young’s guitar. In ‘When I Watch You Sleeping’, a delicately-picked guitar line leads the music, while the strings evoke a gentle lullaby.
Listening to the solo versions changed my view of the album. In the orchestral arrangements, much of the lyric-writing comes across as clunky, yet in the piano versions it somehow works. In the solo version of ‘Plastic Flowers’, for example, there is an emotional quality to the singing that is entirely new.
Young’s voice, however, is ultimately not able to match the quality of his orchestral arrangement. At the end of the album, I promptly switched on Harvest and breathed a sigh of relief.
