Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
BY XAVIER JOHNSON
At 80 years old and 50 albums deep, Neil Young continues to sound inspired and sharp, but he’s also so, so tired. On Second Song, that weariness turns out to be the point.
The last time we reviewed Young’s music was 2022’s World Record, an outing with Crazy Horse that delivered both lovely folk tunes and undeniable rockers like the standout track “Chevrolet.” Four years and a stack of releases later, spanning new material and archival efforts, Young is back, this time with a different band: the Chrome Hearts.
Guitarist Micah Nelson, bassist Corey McCormick, drummer Anthony LoGerfo and keyboardist Spooner Oldham join Young for their second studio album together, following 2025’s Talkin to the Trees. Unlike that record, Second Song is mostly acoustic, leaning on subtle musicianship and poetic lyrics over electric power.
What Young does best here is let the songs breathe, almost to the point of exhaustion. Almost. “Day After Day” saunters across seven minutes, circling back again and again to its central refrain. It’s repetitive, but so is life. You feel the weight of Young’s lifetime of experience in tracks like this. He’s incredibly comfortable where he is.
That comfort also reads as a heartbreaking acceptance that he might not be around much longer. He isn’t saying goodbye; it’s just another astute observation, a simple fact of the world that Young is aware of. He’s eighty, and his strained falsetto is a constant reminder of that across Second Song’s 40-minute runtime.
This reality hits extra hard on “Soon I Might Be Going.” God, what a heart-wrenching track. Electric guitars enter the fray with painful, crunchy chords. Young reminisces, then turns to modern-day observations on the climate crisis and the changing texture of towns. He acknowledges that even a long life comes to an end, and there’s an inevitability in his words. But alongside that inevitability is an equally strong desire to create art and connect with others.
The title track, an 11-minute odyssey, is the album’s centerpiece. It showcases Young’s gift for sharing his perspective both beautifully and plainly. He speaks about life with the authority of someone early in his ninth decade on Earth, and he expands on the central theme of art and human connection. On these long tracks, it’s as if every road leads back to that theme, given enough time. The gorgeous harmonica and subtle variations on the main melody keep the song sounding alive, but it’s Young’s lyrics that make the full 11 minutes captivating.
Not everything on Second Song is a free-flowing lyrical ride. “Earth Girl” is a brief, jangly ballad marked by soft guitars and patient drumming, and its gentle lyrics are enough to melt any heart. “Casting Me Away from You” is a somber song of lost love, carried by quiet instrumentation and a mournful delivery. It’s also one of two tracks written decades ago, and hearing a much older Young sing it gives the song new meaning.
The Chrome Hearts prove their worth again here. Their greatest strength is their ability to match Young’s energy. McCormick’s upright bass and LoGerfo’s percussion are subtle, drifting each track along like a lazy river. Nelson’s guitar stays in a supporting role but rewards close listening. Oldham’s organ swells, giving key moments a necessary grandeur.
The album closes with “I’ll Love You Forever,” another song Young wrote in his early years. It’s a beautiful love song that captures everything Second Song does well. The instrumentation is full of life and rolls along steadily. Young’s voice is achingly sincere, and his words are just as honest.
Second Song is the confident sound of an artist with multiple lifetimes of experience. Young’s decades of constant albums and touring has made him an artist with a legendary level of output. The tiredness in his voice isn’t one of sadness or an impending end. It’s what one feels after a full, honest day’s work.
