Neil Young’s wildly inconsistent albums are what his fans have come to expect from the 79 year old rocker, and “Talking to the Trees” is no different. He swings from grungy guitar workouts, to gentle country rockers to sweet folkie tales with the same passion he has devoted to his music for over 60 years.
This is his debut album with The Chrome Hearts, made up mostly of members of Promise of the Real and Young’s long-time keyboard player Spooner Oldham. That the band can make the same turn-on-a-dime moves that the songs demand is indicative of the familiarity they have with each other.
Two of the songs borrow the melody of Woodie Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land”, one is an ode to his tour bus and the other is a scathing rocker directed at Elon Musk and the automotive industry. He puts them back to back in the running order on the album.
The rowdy groove of some of the songs mixed in with the more pastoral qualities of others let’s you know that Neil Young is living in the moment, like a method actor who ignores the real world to serve his muse. “Talking to the Trees” shows off the trademark spontaneity that has made his music so fascinating for so long.