Paradox [Original Music from the Film]

Paradox [Original Music from the Film]

Paradox [Original Music from the Film]

Paradox [Original Music from the Film]

CD

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Overview

Saying Neil Young has built a career out of following his muse wherever it may lead is a dramatic understatement. But even by his own free-spirited standards, Young's work in the 21st century has been wildly idiosyncratic, with the venerable songwriter frequently using his albums as broadsides for his causes of the moment and diving into his music headfirst with little concern about fidelity or neatness. Even by these standards, Young's soundtrack to the film Paradox is very much a mixed bag, though this time he alone can't be held entirely responsible. Paradox was directed by actress and activist Daryl Hannah (who is also Young's significant other), and it's hard to tell how much of the disjointed nature of the album can be chalked up to the requirements of Hannah's film and how much is just Neil being Neil. Set in a future when men and women live as separate tribes in a manner that recalls the Old West, much of Paradox sounds like it was recorded around a campfire, with Young and the members of Promise of the Real (the band led by Willie Nelson's sons Lukas and Micah, who backed Young on his albums The Monsanto Years and The Visitor) tackling Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me to Do?," Willie's "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground," and the Turtles' "Happy Together" like ancient folk standards. At some point, the characters apparently rediscover electricity, with Young and the band tearing into grand, noisy versions of "Cowgirl in the Sand" (here billed as "Cowgirl Jam") and "Running to the Silver Eagle" that demonstrate Promise of the Real can channel Crazy Horse with genuine authority. "Show Me" and "Tumbleweed" sound somewhat better here than they did on (respectively) Peace Trail and Storytone, and there's a nice solo version of "Pocahontas" with Neil at the pump organ. But the six "Paradox Passage" tracks are guitar meanderings that make Young's Dead Man soundtrack seem like a lost masterwork, and ultimately the aimless leaps from one sound to another prevent this music from truly coming together as an album. As odd Neil Young albums go, Paradox doesn't hold a candle to Americana or A Letter Home, but this could have been trimmed down to an EP and it would have worked better. Fans will want to give it a listen, but they might not pull it off the shelf again for a while. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date: 04/20/2018
Label: Reprise
UPC: 0093624908197
Rank: 185895

Tracks

  1. Many Moons Ago in the Future
  2. Show Me
  3. Paradox Passage 1
  4. Hey
  5. Paradox Passage 2
  6. Diggin' in the Dirt [Chorus]
  7. Paradox Passage 3
  8. Peace Trail
  9. Pocahontas
  10. Cowgirl Jam
  11. Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground
  12. Paradox Passage 4
  13. Diggin' in the Dirt
  14. Paradox Passage 5
  15. Running to the Silver Eagle
  16. Baby What You Want Me to Do?
  17. Paradox Passage 6
  18. Offerings
  19. How Long?
  20. Happy Together
  21. Tumbleweed

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Neil Young   Primary Artist,Organ,Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica,Guitar (Electric)
Promise of the Real   Primary Artist
Micah Nelson   Charango,Guitar (Electric),Organ,Guitar,Vocals
Tato Melgar   Drums,Percussion
Paul Bushnell   Bass
Jim Keltner   Drums
Chris Walden   Conductor
Lukas Nelson   Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Electric)
Anthony LoGerfo   Drums,Bongos
Corey McCormick   Bass,Vocals,Double Bass

Technical Credits

Micah Nelson   Composer
Tato Melgar   Composer
Alan Lee Gordon   Composer
Johnnie Burik   Assistant Engineer
Diego Ruelas   Assistant Engineer
Tyler Beans   Assistant Engineer
Rob Bisel   Assistant Engineer
Anthony LoGerfo   Composer
Jimmy Reed   Composer
Chris Bellman   Mastering
Garry Bonner   Composer
Huddie Ledbetter   Composer
Niko Bolas   Engineer,Producer
Neil Young   Composer,Producer
Tim Mulligan   Mixing,Engineer,Recording
Willie Nelson   Composer,Narrator
Dave Lohr   Mixing,Engineer,Recording
Steve Genewick   Engineer
Eric Lynn   Engineer,Recording
John Hanlon   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Recording
Chris Walden   Arranger,Producer
Al Schmitt   Mixing,Engineer,Recording
Lukas Nelson   Composer
Gary Burden   Art Direction
Jenice Heo   Art Direction
Elliot Roberts   Direction
Adam Vollick   Artwork,Engineer,Recording,Photography
Corey McCormick   Composer
Dana Fineman   Artwork,Photography
Dana Nielsen   Mixing,Engineer,Recording
Frank Gironda   Direction
John Hausmann   Assistant Engineer
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