A mindless artist’s indulgence? Neil Young’s attempt at Metal Machine Music? “Revolution #9,” maybe?
Well, considering that I sort of like the alternates, it hardly matters where “Arc” lands. Mr. Young put together this beautiful mayhem by pasting together walls of feedback and guitar noise from the 1991 Neil Young and Crazy Horse tour. He refers to it as a “compilation compositor,” whatever the heck that means.
I hear this as having more in common with the Greatful Dead/John Oswald vehicle Grayfolded, a two-disc set of overlapping and interwoven bits from various versions of “Dark Star.” And while the surreal element is amped up by the occasional appearance of vocal fragments from “Welfare Mothers,” “Love and Only Love,” and “Like A Hurricane,” what really knocks me out is the savage and visceral nature of the song-ending power chords. They’re real aural punches to the chest.
Maybe more entertaining than this disc are the rabid and unhinged comments on the Internet. “This is NOT art!” Really? Coulda fooled me!
- How Eric Clapton’s ‘Me and Mr. Johnson’ Made the Case for British Blues - March 20, 2024
- Why Todd Rundgren’s ‘Back to the Bars’ Remains So Powerful - December 13, 2023
- Reevaluating Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle’ - September 11, 2023
