CD reviews: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, The Beach Boys, Regina Spektor

Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Americana/Reprise

I have to admit that when listening to Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s new CD, “Americana,” the last thing I thought I’d get was an education on a song I thought I knew by heart.

Collecting what Young considers to be classic American songs, the album takes tunes such as “Oh Susanna” and “Clementine” and gives them the Crazy Horse treatment.

For the uninitiated, that means that Young and his on-again/off-again backing band play the songs with wild abandon, complete with distorted guitars and feedback.

One of the more well-known tunes included is “This Land is Your Land,” written by Woody Guthrie. As Young sings the song, an unfamiliar verse pops up: “There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me. Sign was painted, it said private property. But on the backside it didn’t say nothing. This land was made for you and me.”

At first I thought Young might be taking a bit of artistic liberty, but after researching the song, I learned that the verse was indeed written by Guthrie, one of two “lost verses” that are rarely associated with the tune.

Included on the album is everything from the ’50s classic “Get a Job” to “God Save the Queen,” which doesn’t sound American until you consider that “My Country, ’Tis of Thee” shares that song’s melody.

So is the album good? Well, if you’re really into Crazy Horse and the idea of hearing these classic songs performed in the same vein as “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black),” then you’ll likely dig this collection. It is definitely different from other recent attempts at American folk music, such as Bruce Springsteen’s tribute to Pete Seeger a few years ago.

Kudos to Young for once again refusing to follow the herd.

Key Tracks: “Oh Susanna,” “This Land is Your Land,” “God Save the Queen”

The Beach Boys
That’s Why God Made the Radio/Capitol

When it comes to rock and roll, The Beach Boys are as American a band as they come.

The band is essentially the American equivalent of The Beatles, and the sunny, melodic surf-drenched music the band made early in its career all but invented a new genre.

When it was announced that founding member Brian Wilson would be rejoining the band for a world tour and new album to coincide with The Beach Boys’ 50th anniversary, fans the world over rejoiced. While the other surviving band members had toured in Wilson’s absence, most consider Wilson to be the genius behind the band’s biggest hits and signature sound.

The new CD, “That’s Why God Made the Radio,” starts off as sunny as one of the ideal surfing days described in many of the band’s hits. The opening track, “Think About the Days,” features the band harmonizing before kicking into the album’s title track.

For just over the first half of the album the mood stays cheerful and bright, thanks to songs such as “Spring Vacation” and “Beaches in Mind.”

When Wilson digs into “Strange World” later in the album though, one can almost see the storm clouds forming on the horizon. That isn’t to say that the remaining songs on the album are bad, but there is definitely a noticeable shift in attitude at that point.

In the end, the album is a triumph for the most part, and is certainly better than the questionable work the band did in the ’80s with insipid songs such as “Kokomo.”

Beach Boys fans can grab their boards and dive into “That’s Why God Made the Radio.” It’s not a perfect set, but there are indeed some tasty musical waves to be caught here.

Key Tracks: “That’s Why God Made the Radio,” “The Private Life of Bill and Sue,” “Daybreak Over the Ocean”

Regina Spektor
What We Saw From The Cheap Seats/Sire/Warner Bros.

I sometimes wish that I could look into the musical mind of Regina Spektor just to see what incredible snippets for song ideas are whirling around in there.

Since gaining notice for her third album, “Soviet Kitsch,” the Russian-born, New York-raised songwriter has made it a point to record music in her own special way.

Much like other against-the-grain piano players such as Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos and Ben Folds, Spektor’s music can change styles, rhythms and feelings, sometimes within a single composition.

On her latest effort, “What We Saw From the Cheap Seats,” Spektor is in top form, and no two songs sound alike.

“Oh Marcello” borrows lyrics from “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” a song popularized by The Animals in the ’60s, but Spektor does it in a way that doesn’t make the listener focus on that fact.

The catchy “Small Town Moon” opens the album with Spektor aiming to please early.

Subsequent tunes, such as the bouncy “Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)” or the sharply satirical “Ballad of a Politician” further demonstrate that Spektor will likely never fall into the trap of recording the same album over and over again, as many artists do.

Spektor’s bold music makes listeners feel as if they are on a journey with unknown but pleasant twists and turns.

Key Tracks: “Small Town Moon,” “Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas),” “Ballad of a Politician”

Devin Grant