There are not one but two Neil Young albums going by the name Storytone; one lush and orchestral, and one solo acoustic. The former is the event, where Young sings of planetary pillage, Chicago, cars and new love (he is divorcing his wife of 36 years and stepping out with Daryl Hannah) alongside strings. Young’s fans are a long-suffering lot, but this is an unprecedented curveball. Who’s Gonna Stand Up? is an environmental plea scored for a musical, as baffling as it is prosaic, but I Want To Drive My Car is hilarious, a razzmatazzy blues with Young’s deadpan tones juxtaposed against the glitz. As Storytone goes on, a pink-umbrella cocktail of vulnerability, bravery and Disney, it becomes engrossing – car-crash listening, even.
