Neil Young’s fifth album in as many years comes in a “standard” version that defies any expectation raised by that word. Its backing band is a full orchestra and choir, whose gooey strings and slangy swing make standard stuff like guitar solos surplus to requirement. The “deluxe” edition pairs this with Young’s acoustic demos: not at all deluxe, just naked and heartfelt. It’s worth investing in the latter and tracing each song back to its roots. Glitzy with cruise-liner brass and boogie-woogie piano, Say Hello to Chicago with orchestra sounds like a Bruce Forsyth theme tune, but solo it’s a rain-spattered, late-night whiskey blues. The standard edition of Tumbleweed’s woodwind is lovely, but its Disneyfied strings are an unnecessary sweetener to Young’s mandolin, which is all his fragile voice needs. Many of these songs convey a querulous romance, but while the orchestra adds a chocolatey smoothness to the sound that renders emotional complexity glossy and neat.
