The very title Before and After suggests Neil Young is in a contemplative mood on this acoustic set from 2023 and, sure enough, a good portion of the record finds him looking back at his very beginnings. A number of songs he wrote for Buffalo Springfield are here, balanced by a few rarities -- chief among them "If You Got Love," which was pulled from Trans at the last minute -- selections from Sleeps with Angels, Mirror Ball, and Ragged Glory, albums that retrospectively can be seen as written during a particularly restless middle age. Before and After isn't agitated or electric, though. The album features no other musician than Young, who supports himself with an acoustic guitar, harmonica, and, occasionally, a pump organ. The starkness of the arrangements helps draw attention to the distance between the origin of a song and Young's present. Now creeping toward 80, he doesn't sound fragile, yet his vocals display some age-related raggedness. Embracing his weathered, keening voice, Young highlights the tender yearning that runs throughout these songs. They may have been written at various stages in his life, but they're united by his iconoclasm, his dedication to the earth, and his quest for universal love, common threads that are emphasized by how the 13 songs are segued as a suite, allowing listeners to immerse themselves in Before and After as a holistic experience.

Clear Vinyl

1 I'm The Ocean
2 Homefires
3 Burned
4 On The Way Home
5 If You Got Love
6 A Dream That Can Last
7 Birds
8 My Heart
9 When I Hold You In My Arms
10 Mother Earth
11 Mr. Soul
12 Comes a Time
13 Don't Forget Love