Summary

The author of the article has declared "Barn" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse as their favorite album of 2021, despite not being a superfan previously and having reservations about Neil Young's more recent work.

Abstract

The article expresses the author's unexpected deep appreciation for Neil Young & Crazy Horse's latest album, "Barn," released in December 2021. Although the author has enjoyed Neil Young's music over the years, they had never fully immersed themselves in his discography, fearing it might become an obsession. However, upon discovering "Barn," the author was pleasantly surprised by the album, quickly becoming a favorite. The connection to the album was further deepened by a special Sirius XM program hosted by Neil Young, which provided insights into the creation of the album's songs. Despite not loving every track, the author has found themselves listening to "Barn" almost daily and considers it the standout album of 2021.

Opinions

The author had a casual appreciation for Neil Young's music before exploring "Barn."
The album "Barn" has made a significant impact on the author, becoming a daily listen.
The author values the behind-the-scenes insights shared by Neil Young on the Sirius XM special, which enhanced their enjoyment of the album.
While the album is not perfect in the author's view, with one track, "They Might Be Lost," not resonating with them, their opinion on the songs could change over time.
The author was initially cautious about newer material from Neil Young, having enjoyed his work primarily from the 1970s through the early 1990s.
The article was inspired by other music lovers' writings on their favorite records of 2021.

‘Barn’ by Neil Young & Crazy Horse is My Favorite Album of 2021

I didn’t expect to love it — but I do

Image source: Reprise Records and Neil Young Archives

I’ve always liked Neil Young, but I’ve never considered myself to be a superfan of him. Over the years, I’ve owned probably three or four of his solo albums, but that’s it.

I often considered buying more by him, but I know me — I’m a music junkie. When I get really into the music of an artist, I get really into it. It becomes an obsession and I end up spending a lot of money and time on the works of the artist.

And there’s definitely nothing wrong with that, that’s for sure. It’s part of the fun of being a music lover!

Still, I always silently pushed off buying more by Neil. If I was ever going to become a superfan of him, it was going to be “sometime later on.”

Well, “later on” started to happen a little bit in the summer of 2021. Thanks to wonderful places like Apple Music and Spotify, I was able to easily start exploring some of Neil’s albums that I’d never heard before. I enjoyed just about everything that I listened to.

I’m pretty familiar now with approximately 10 of the studio albums he’s released since his self-titled debut album in 1969. Therefore, when I discovered that he would be releasing a new album called Barn in December of 2021, I was excited to hear it.

However, my guard was a little up.

While I’ve recently grown to love a lot of Neil’s music, most of it has been from the 1970s through the very early 1990s. I’m almost completely unfamiliar with the majority of his music released in the last 25 or so years. The little bit that I did know from that period didn’t impress me very much, so I proceeded into the Barn with a little bit of caution.

The album was released on December 10, 2021. It’s Neil Young’s 41st studio album and his 14th with the band Crazy Horse.

I listened to it on the day it was released and I was pleasantly surprised that I instantly liked the majority of the songs on it.

That same week, Sirius XM launched a brand new limited-run Neil Young channel. One of the special programs on it is devoted entirely to the making of Barn and is hosted by Neil Young himself. In it, he talks about the inspirations for each of the songs on the album.

As a music lover, I totally geek out over things like that!

I gave the program a listen and it gave me a whole new level of appreciation for the music on Barn— even the small number of songs that I didn’t care for at first. I probably would have still achieved the same sort of appreciation for the songs over time without listening to the special, but who knows?

I’m currently writing this article 10 days after Barn was released. I’ve listened to it almost daily since then. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed putting on my headphones and getting lost in the great music. There’s a nice mixture of hard-rocking and “soft” songs on the album.

It’s been a very, very nice surprise for me. I didn’t expect to love this album, but I do. There have been several great albums released in 2021, but I can honestly say that this is my favorite one.

However, I won’t go so far as to say that it’s 100% perfect and that I love every song on it. I struggle a little bit with the song “They Might Be Lost.” It’s decent enough, but I haven’t been connecting with it and I skip over it sometimes.

However, it’s funny how music works and our opinions about it can change over time. Next week, “They Might Be Lost” could easily become my favorite song on the album.

I’ve included the Spotify version of Barn at the end of this article, but first, here are my current favorite songs from it: