Neil Young is surely one of the most prolific rock artists of all time. "Road Rock Vol 1 - Family & Friends" is Young's second release of 2000, and it's a live recording, made during his 2000 tour. Unlike most of his other live recordings (there have been three official live albums in the last decade alone), this one does not feature his long-time collaborators, the primitive but effective Crazy Horse. Instead, Young is backed by Friends and Family, consisting of long-time friends like Ben Keith, Spooner Oldham, Jim Keltner and Duck Dunn, plus wife Pegi and sister Astrid on backing vocals. While its certainly not a bad CD, "Road Rock" will probably leave many Neil Young fans scratching their heads.

This single CD includes versions of "Cowgirl In The Sand" and "Tonight's the Night" that, while enjoyable, will not make anyone forget the previously issued live versions of either song. Its nice to have performances of "Walk On" and "Words," two `70's classics that Young has not previously revived. Also included is a cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," on which the Pretender's Chrissie Hynde joins Young.

The problem with this release is that it doesn't really have anything to say. The musical arrangements and performances are solid but unexceptional; unlike Dylan or Springsteen, for example, Young doesn't seem interested in reinterpreting or reinventing his earlier triumphs to find new meaning. None of the other instrumentalists seem able to push or prod or wrestle with Young as the boys in Crazy Horse would. Complicating matters further is that neither Pegi Young or Astrid Young are accomplished singers, and their performances are somewhat less than professional. Finally, the recording quality of the entire disc is disappointing, with much of the music sounding muddled and indistinct. In the context of a Young with Crazy Horse show, such crudity is acceptable, or even welcome; here its just frustrating.

This is hardly a disaster. There's a lot of fine music here, and perhaps this will sound better over time, as Young's 1973 "Time Fades Away" does now. Almost any other artist would be well-served by a live recording of this quality. This CD, though, is a letdown from an artist of Neil Young's stature and achievements. It lacks the power and energy of his Crazy Horse shows, and fails to find the beauty and directness that were so wonderful in Young's 1999 solo tour and recent "Silver and Gold ." Luckily, Young reinvents himself every year or so, and by now is already pursuing another musical direction, as he has throughout his long and varied career.

Just three years after the lackluster Year Of The Horse, Neil Young released another live set, Road Rock, Vol. 1. The record is another good, but not great live set. There are some great tracks including the mammoth 18 minute opening track "Cowgirl In The Sand". The song, even at its tremendous length, does not seem drawn out or over extended. "Words" is a great old chestnut from Harvest and is a treat as is "all Along The Watchtower" which is a duet with The Pretenders leader Chrissie Hynde. The rest of the album is okay.

This album has received a lot of negative criticism, and unfortunately much of that (though not all of it) is warranted. Indeed, the sound is awful, and like others, I don't understand why an album has to sound this bad. We all know Young is a fantastic guitar player, and he must know that himself, so why does the guitar get drowned in a vague, hazy, echoy mist?

However, there are redeeming qualities. The version of "Cowgirl in the Sand" is good, but especially the bass (drum and guitar) sound terrible, as if they were recorded in cardboard box. Don't knock "Walk On" too quickly--it's meant to be a slightly happy tune, and I like this one. I am also very happy to now have a live version of "Peace of Mind"--it's a beautiful tune and it's well played. Crazy Horse couldn't have pulled this off: Keith and Oldham know where it's at. Neither old nor decrepit, the guys backing Young up know that there is more to rock 'n' roll than loud and fast.

Both the good and the bad on this album are evident on "All Along the Watchtower." Young pays his dues to Hendrix and Dylan on this one (he's played this before--I have a CD single at home somewhere with this song live) and his guitarplaying is brilliant. That is, I think it is, because it's hard to make out in the mix. I hope those who saw the tour heard it better; it must have been awesome.

In all, I have very mixed feelings about this album. It's by the man, so I got to buy it, and I must respect what he was trying to do, but I can't say I understand how this album came to sound the way it does. Perhaps Young can enlighten us.

ROAD ROCK (VOL 1) is a slow-burning, smoldering live set from Neil Young, one of only a handful of artists who should be given carte blanche to release live albums at will. From TIME FADES AWAY to YEAR OF THE HORSE, there's not a throwaway in the bunch, which is likely why spoiled fans may be quick to trash ROAD ROCK, which while being a three-star album for Neil, ranks five stars compared with any other live releases in recent memory.

I challenge anyone who doesn't own this album to resist purchase after listening to the first two minutes of "Cowgirl in the Sand." After nearly twenty minutes of rhythmic feedback frenzy, the segueway into ON THE BEACH's "Walk On" carries the mood nicely. "Words" nearly equals "Cowgirl" and surpasses its former status as the nice, subdued, though hypnotic, track on HARVEST and sets yet another standard for live Young performances. "Tonight's the Night" shines as expected and the closer with Chrissie Hynde, "All Along the Watchtower," is fine, a tune that's hard to wreck, and Neil performs it brilliantly.

That said, this is still just a three-star album for Neil. The "Friends and Relatives" are just OK, comprised largely of a few Stray Gators, Jim Keltner, Duck Dunn, and (the relatives) Pegi and Astrid Young. With relaxed backing musicians performing simple arrangements supporting a lot of Young soloing, there simply isn't much room for these guys to shine. And as for the back-up singers, they're fine, but the late Nicolette Larson and Linda Ronstadt are sorely missed, as they would be right at home with these tunes. Add to this the terrible "Fool For Your Love," a silly track that sounds like an EVERYBODY'S ROCKIN' outtake, completely out of sync with the mood of the other material on this album. No one in the band gets behind it and the results sound halfhearted and downright bored.

All in all, though, a fine album. Had the "Friends and Relatives" moniker not led me to expect a little more from the backing band, I'd probably rank it four stars. A must-own for Neil fans and a should-buy for anyone hungry for plain old rock and roll.

This DVD is great. Neil Young still rocks just like 25 years ago. Sounds a lot like the Crazy Horse years. Much better than Silver and Gold DVD. The best part is the 21 minute version of "Cowgirl in the Sand" played outside during a driving thunderstorm. It was incredible. Be careful if you order this to not order the "DVD-audio" version. That makes no sense to me at all since the DVD-video has the same songs (DTS and Dolby surround) and the incredible video to go with it at the same or cheaper price. Amazon has been confused about this since the video version was released in December so make sure they are sending you the right one.