Are You Passionate? Neil Young Warner, 2002   Buy it online Reviewed by Gianmarc Manzione	Four decades and 36 albums into his career, Neil Young continues to explore his versatility with Are You Passionate. While his collaboration with Booker T & The MGs may seem discrepant, the loose guitars of Young and Crazy Horse sidekick, Frank "Poncho" Sampedro, frequently bridge the gap between grunge and soul. The results are often marvelous. Past departures from Young's folk and rock roots, such as Time Fades Away, Trans, Everybody's Rockin' or Landing on Water, were either flat or baffling or both. However, a sense of purpose and, yes, passion, make this the most compelling experiment of Neil Young's erratic career. Something genuinely fresh derives from many of these songs, in which Donald "Duck" Dunn's bass and the sly croon of Booker T. Jones' trusty organ sweetly complement Young's familiar guitar licks. Though Motown and soul characterize the album, a potpourri of styles and moods surfaces after repeated listens. From the searing, Crazy Horse rocker, "Going Home" to the jubilant "Be With You" to the gorgeously delicate title track, Young's capacity for venturing into unexplored musical territory shines as luminously as ever. Not Since 1992's Harvest Moon has Young's production been so artful, chiming with beautiful rhythm guitar on the rollicking "You're My Girl" and "Differently," the title track's softly lilting piano and the gently wailing guitar of "When I Hold You in My Arms," one of the most ethereal ballads of Young's career. "I knew that I wanted to play my guitar more like a saxophone this time," Young told Pulse magazine, "And I felt more like a horn player while I was playing my guitar." But while Young & Co. manipulate familiar instruments to create a fresh sound, the addition of bongos, tambourines, vibes and the occasional, hauntingly distant burst of a trumpet makes this one of Young's most flavorful projects. With the exception of "Let's Roll" -- an embarrassing nod to the wealth of 9-11 tribute songs -- many tracks on Are You Passionate? demonstrate the kind of lyrical honesty that is unique to Young's best songwriting, revisiting themes of love, hate and loss with renewed inspiration. Whereas Young's previous album, Silver & Gold, was both musically and lyrically lackadaisical, these new songs are focused, inspired and occasionally biting. "Please don't tell me that you're leaving me just yet/'Cause I know I gotta let you go/Please don't tell me that you're saying goodbye," Young sings on "You're My Girl," a farewell song to his college-bound daughter, Amber. Other songs, such as "Two Old Friends," suggest that Young's days of innocence, love and politics have acquiesced to the world-weariness and nostalgia of middle-age: The Preacher went up to the Golden Gate and met God there With the glow of love in his flowin' hair I'm dreamin' of a time when love and music is everywhere Can you see that time comin'?" No my son. That time is gone. There's things to do The world has changed since I first met you Back when the Band played Rock of Ages in their prime And the old Juke Joint was rockin'" As though to accommodate the album's bluesy ambiance, other songs bravely walk through memories of lost love and desperation, as on the beautifully tender "Mr. Disappointment": "I'd like to shake your hand, Disappointment / Looks like you win again, but this time might be the last." Elsewhere, Young reveals himself in intimately confessional statements such as the album's final words: "All I got is a broken heart and I don't try to hide it/When I play my guitar." While these mellow, sweet and introspective tunes foreshadow twilight ahead for the godfather of grunge, there are still some raucous reminders of younger, angrier days. If it really is "better to burn out than to fade away," then tracks like "Going Home" and "Differently" suggest that Young is taking his own advice. Ralph Molina's outraged drums punch through "Going Home" with ceaseless ferocity, while Young and "Poncho's" berserk guitars sing their decades-old anthem to rock and roll as though it were written just yesterday. At 56 years old, Neil Young insists that he still has something to prove. Not only is this one of the year's most inventive and inspired albums, it disputes the unfortunate stereotypes that dog rock's aging stars. "People my age, they don't do the things I do/They go somewhere while I run away with you," Young sings on Mirror Ball's "I'm The Ocean." Are You Passionate? reveals that the man means what he says. | May 2002 Gianmarc Manzione is a poet and music writer. He is currently working on his first book of poems, Clutter of Bones.	Tracks 1: You're My Girl 2: Mr. Disappointment 3: Differently 4: Don't Say You Love Me 5: Let's Roll 6: Are You Passionate? 7: Goin' Home 8: When I Hold You In My Arms 9: Be With You 10: Two Old Friends 11: She's A Healer