Where her last album, 2019's Daylight, was quietly drenched in remorse and pain, Mother Road's ten tracks burn with passion from a recharged Grace Potter. Collectively, the album is  what she calls "a tantrum and a haunting." The spiritual inheritor of Janis Joplin and Tina Turner's fiery performance style and sassy soul shouter delivery, Potter radiates energy through her voice which is in fine form here, charged at turns by tinges of searching, anxiety and some good old-fashioned flipping-the-bird, go-to-hell spirit.  The title track, in which she indulges her penchant for wailing, sets the tone, but then "Ready Set Go" rolls into a stomping groove, followed by the singalong gospel of "Good Time," which features Benmont Tench on ARP string machine. The concept of life being a "mother road," appears in "Little Hitchhiker," a ghost story co-written with Natalie Hemby (The Highwomen), where Potter shows a sweet, patient side to her voice. Set to the rhythm of a galloping horse, "Lady Vagabond" is an inspired ride into spaghetti western territory in which Potter's husband and producer Eric Valentine plays castanets, shakers and kora. Having recorded in Nashville at Dave Cobb's famed RCA Studio A under Valentine's steady hand—he also produced her 2015 breakthrough Midnight—the band is made up of trusty veterans like keyboardist Benmont Tench (Tom Petty), guitarist Nick Bockrath (Cage The Elephant), bassist Tim Deaux (The Whigs, Kings Of Leon), pedal-steel guitarist Dan Kalisher (Fitz and the Tantrums), and drummer Matt Musty (Train, Gwen Stefani). Meant to project good times and confidence, the sonic profile is an aggressive rock sound, though occasionally on the edge of being too loud. While there's no question that Mother Road is more personal than anything Potter has recorded so far, the tour de force closer, "Masterpiece," takes lyrical intimacy to an entirely new level. It fully deserves the rank of "epic." Beginning its ballsy run with, "Somewhere in the middle of the seventh grade/ I realized that everyone my age was an asshole" it progresses through various physical and emotional specifics before a breathtaking midpoint summation: "Embroider all my vices/ Catharsis and crisis into one/ Incorrigible / Pendulum."  Back at full strength after a raft of personal challenges stemming from the avalanche of fame that came after Midnight, Potter is recentered and ready for more.  © Robert Baird/Qobuz

A great expert in unearthing and displaying his own buried treasures, Neil Young has always had a pretty unique relationship with recordings of his own music. The Loner records sessions by the shovelful, and sometimes decides to shove the result in the basement, sometimes to publish it. It depends, and his choices can be puzzling. His XXL discography looks like a rollercoaster, with incredible summits, but also some steep declines... This Hitchhiker who appeared in Summer 2017 in fact brought together songs from an acoustic session on 11 August 1976 and which figure, by and large, on the albums he brought out in the five years previous: Pocahontas (on Rust Never Sleeps in 1979, including some overdubs), Powderfinger (also on Rust Never Sleeps, recorded live with Crazy Horse), Captain Kennedy (on Hawks & Doves in 1980), Ride My Llama (again, on Rust Never Sleeps, a solo live performance), Hitchhiker (on Le Noise en 2010, on electric guitar), Campaigner (on Decade in 1977, missing a verse), Human Highway (on Comes A Time in 1978, recorded as a group) and The Old Country Waltz (on American Stars 'n Bars in 1977, with Crazy Horse). There are also two completely new numbers: Hawaii and Give Me Strength… If all that sounds a little warmed-over or for fans only, the beauty of the versions offered up on this striking compilation renders the result unmissable. These compositions are of the highest calibre. But the performances are truly inspired. A pure marvel. © MZ/Qobuz

A great expert in unearthing and displaying his own buried treasures, Neil Young has always had a pretty unique relationship with recordings of his own music. The Loner records sessions by the shovelful, and sometimes decides to shove the result in the basement, sometimes to publish it. It depends, and his choices can be puzzling. His XXL discography looks like a rollercoaster, with incredible summits, but also some steep declines... This Hitchhiker who appeared in Summer 2017 in fact brought together songs from an acoustic session on 11 August 1976 and which figure, by and large, on the albums he brought out in the five years previous: Pocahontas (on Rust Never Sleeps in 1979, including some overdubs), Powderfinger (also on Rust Never Sleeps, recorded live with Crazy Horse), Captain Kennedy (on Hawks & Doves in 1980), Ride My Llama (again, on Rust Never Sleeps, a solo live performance), Hitchhiker (on Le Noise en 2010, on electric guitar), Campaigner (on Decade in 1977, missing a verse), Human Highway (on Comes A Time in 1978, recorded as a group) and The Old Country Waltz (on American Stars 'n Bars in 1977, with Crazy Horse). There are also two completely new numbers: Hawaii and Give Me Strength… If all that sounds a little warmed-over or for fans only, the beauty of the versions offered up on this striking compilation renders the result unmissable. These compositions are of the highest calibre. But the performances are truly inspired. A pure marvel. © MZ/Qobuz

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