At 78, “Shakey” is showing no signs of slowing down, although he seems more comfortable with looking back. Recorded over the course of four shows on his recent Coastal Tour, Before and After is a live album with a difference: 13 songs from throughout Young’s career are performed, without audience noise, in a continuous 48-minute sequence. The acoustic-based selections cover seven decades and are mostly lesser known, although the minimal instrumentation and similar themes, such as the passage of time and a changing world, mean they complement each other well.
The structure is well-suited for “I’m the Ocean”: the song was first recorded with Pearl Jam on their 1995 album “Mirror Ball”, and removing the electric guitars allows its beauty to shine through. A notable addition is “If You Got Love”, originally recorded for the electronic album “Trans” in 1982 but not included on the final tracklist. The soft melody translates perfectly to pump organ and occasional harmonica. The piano playing on “My Heart” and “A Dream That Can Last” is exquisitely delicate and fragile. The lyrics of “Burned” (“there’s no use in running away, and there’s no time left to stay”) hold a different energy when sung by a seventy-something compared to Young’s 20-year-old self when he recorded it with Buffalo Springfield in 1966. The environmental message of “Mother Earth” is still relevant today. There is a beautiful sense of closeness and vulnerability in songs like “When I Hold You in My Arms”, and though Young’s voice may have lost some of its youthful power, it has gained tenderness, nuance, humanity, and warmth.
Source: theguardian.com
