If all music could sound as crystal clear as this, it makes you wonder whether Young’s Pono portable music player was such a ridiculous idea. For Storytone, Young recruited a John Williams sized orchestra – 92 musicians to be exact.

Anyone who knows Young might think there would be a weird contrast between Young’s thin, nasally voice and luscious strings. Actually though, it works incredibly well. Tracks such as opener “Plastic Flowers” are operatic and breath-taking, and it really makes you wonder how Young hasn’t been snapped up to do film scores. Whilst the tunes might not be gruff and brutal as those that made his name, the whole album is so awe-inspiring in its clean and detailed production that it more than makes up for it. Tracks like “Glimmer” and “Tumbleweed” are as warm, delicate and nostalgic as the soundtrack to that old children’s film you forgot you loved.

The band pieces like “I Want to Drive My Car” that intersperse the orchestral pieces seem a bit outdated. They’re enjoyable, but not as emotive as their orchestral counterparts and sometimes the transition is a bit jarring. “Tumbleweed” soothes and envelops the reader before “Like I Used To” launches into a 50’s throwback rock song.

The last three tracks on the album are arguably the best Young has produced in many years. More subdued in their use of orchestra, delicate piano lines and acoustic strumming dominate and are supplemented only by the occasional surge of strings.

The deluxe edition of Storytone comes with solo versions of each song. The gap between the two albums was always going to be massive- 92 musicians to be exact. Yet Young’s ineffable ability to keep writing songs capable of astounding audiences and critics 45 years since his debut, maintains the mirroring album into a different yet still magnificent whole.

Alex Fowler

photo: huffpost.com