The thought of getting older can lose much of its terror if you look at the right role models, such as Neil Young. It's not only that his recording career has lasted for almost 30 years; it's more that he has always kept, or even made, the pace of current music. And there are still no signs of slowing down. 1994 brought the epic masterpiece Sleeps With Angels, and in 1995 his collaboration with Pearl Jam on Mirror Ball showed that he's still on top when playing with today's kids. With these constant style changes, how does his 1996 model surprise us?
Broken Arrow shows Neil Young back together with his old friends from Crazy Horse. Considering that, one could expect a more backwards oriented sound. This is indeed the case... partly. There are some of his teasingly simple ballads, like "Scattered (Let's Think About Livin')" or "This Town/Music Arcade" that have always brought him the largest commercial success. Then there are a bunch of almost classical rock songs, like "Big Time" and "Changing Highways". These are mostly very long and serve as platform for some guitar excesses, where Neil Young finds extensive opportunities to showcase his trademark playing style and outstanding skills. His dirty guitar sound has become the basis for grunge, but still nobody does it like the godfather himself.
It's hard to put a label on Broken Arrow - it's more like a cross-section through Neil Young's whole career. The songs may seem overly simple at first sight, but he always mastered the gentle art of making music that is better than it pretends to be. Broken Arrow should probably not be the prime choice for new fans, but it's certainly another excellent album in a long row of excellent albums, and is especially recommended to the fans of Young's guitar playing. They will easily forgive him that the album contains only 7 real songs (not counting the questionable rendition of "Baby What You Want Me To Do") and the awful packaging of the CD.
