Neil Young – Ragged Glory Review

A fish eye lens and a doubling down of the tones which would inspire grunge can be heard on Ragged Glory. Neil Young gets carried away on a tone which would serve as an inspiring new decade of music from the Harvest songwriter. Like Bob Dylan before him, Young had ditched the acoustic momentum and aimed for experimental efforts throughout the 1980s. It was in those latter years when Young found a rock and roll quality to his work once more. Freedom lit the fuse, and on it goes for Young, the heavier tone, the distortion and feedback of brilliant guitar efforts, would define his work. Ragged Glory is a continuation of that style, a journey which can be heard on Life. He and Crazy Horse did not quite grasp the perfection Freedom did, but the pursuit of this sound is a magnificent experience. A few songs the band had played before blur together to create a brilliant statement of intent from Young at the start of the 1990s.  

Following on from the rock and roll heaviness of Freedom is a masterstroke from Young. Opening Ragged Glory with the rocked-out and instrumental bliss of Country Home, too, is a delight. Sharp playing that longtime listeners will already be aware of, but still impressed by, thanks to some delightful variety in Young’s style. These qualities are cemented on Ragged Glory, an album made with d “don’t look back” attitude. It benefits Crazy Horse and Young incredibly as they rattle through covers and cuts from his own discography. That blur, the improvised and laidback experience, is what gives Young an edge here. It’s not got the studio sheen of his previous releases, which, through the ‘80s, were lacking. This is a rebuilt Young firing through songs of interest to him with little prep beyond a desire to play them with like-minded musicians. Chemistry shared between the group is what keeps the fire burning on Ragged Glory. This is a tone which would inspire the likes of Green Day and Nirvana.  

Not the music itself, but the style of creativity. What was stopping the next generation from gathering in a garage and creating? There is a harshness to that sound, a blunt instrument which the very best would continue to use, as Young does to this day. Beauty in the harshness of this sound is what prevails. Over and Over is an excellent example of this sound. Crucial to Ragged Glory is hearing the fun to be had when creating with familiar collaborators. It’s the driving force of a very strong and unexpected album from Young. It’s not just instrumental thrills which wash over Ragged Glory but the lyrical brilliance. A call to arms can be heard on Love to Burn, a staggering song where the simple need to react is caused by an act. An outstanding piece of his discography, and one of the best songs Young has released.  

Young is at his very best here. There is a freedom to his playing style, a loudness to the instrumentals which maintains this feeling of being sat in the garage with Crazy Horse. Turning an album up loud is an awful cliché, but it is the only way to experience Ragged Glory, tinnitus and the neighbour’s dog be damned. Mansion on the Hill is proof enough of the need to play this at maximum volume. But it also highlights the earnest creative spirit which still floods out of this album. Nothing short of magnificent and gruelling efforts from Young and Crazy Horse here, a release which highlights not just their overlapping creativity but the desire to keep pushing on, with new approaches to their sound. It proved disastrous in the ‘80s, but marked a brilliant new noise from Young in the ‘90s.