Neil Young – Big Crime Review

Nuance for the protest singer is no longer possible. In the time it takes to impart some wisdom on a topic of real human error, the next story has come along. We live in ever-shifting times, and Neil Young is the first of these wizened musicians of old to try the blunt force process. His lyrics are clearer than the wistful and empathetic former tracks. But then Rockin’ in the Free World is hardly a poet at his floweriest. Protest songs need that balance between cutting lyricism and keeping attention on the topic, which is what Young and his peers, like Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello, successfully did during their popular peaks. A new form of writing has taken hold of Young, his patience slipping, and rightly so, on Big Crime. Punchy work from the man who released an expansive taster session for these new political aims with Talkin’ to the Trees earlier this year.  

A heavy, three-minute rocker is what Young and the Chrome Hearts offers. Clear from the first lyrics is its aim. The “Make America Great Again” grift and the “fascist in the White House” offer a widely shared opinion on world leaders and back it with that thrilling, garage rock-like sound. Part of that is because of the sound check this release is pulled from. Repetition is the real winner here, that crime at the White House, which Young constantly pulls from is the hook needed to involve an audience. Protest songs at their best are often repeatable, recognisable words. This Land is Your Land or Running the World springs to mind. Songs where the chorus is crucial, the repetition is built on a call and response with the audience. Young nails this with Big Crime, a song which shares a clear resentment and a shared one which spreads through the audience.  

Chicago was lucky to receive this world premiere, and the opportunity for change is not wasted. Crucial to a song like Big Crime is not mincing words. Young is clear with his target. He takes aim at Donald Trump and those disgusted or, at the very least, disgruntled with the current President’s actions, across the globe, that is, can connect with this song. There were moments on Talkin’ to the Trees where it sounded as though Young had not quite hit on the political motivation at the core of his song. He needed to strip it back that much further. It’s no good throwing sly jabs. Every punch needs to connect and be clear in its intent. That is exactly what Big Crime is. A thumping, rocking piece of work which could not be clearer in its target.  

That is what the best protest songs can offer. Clarity of target. Even without a solution, there is a sentiment worth remembering. Big Crime brings that fully into view. For those connected with the world around them and not gaslighting themselves into believing the mouthpieces sent their way through the very algorithms they claim to hate, Big Crime is a no-brainer. A gutsy piece of work from Young, which should be no surprise. What does remain a surprise though, is that he is still one of the best to offer songs of protest. It does feel as though it’s in an echo chamber of sorts, but that collection of people, like-minded enough to repeatedly listen to the song, is global. There is a need for fresh protest material to tackle the toughness of modern times, and that is what Young offers here.