Neil Young

"He sings like a woman."

That's what my father said to me when I told him that I was reviewing the new Neil Young album. In a crude sense, my father was referring to the nasally, alto singing that is typical of Young.

In his latest release, Chrome Dreams II, the Canadian rocker returns with that same vocal style that has so long enabled his success as both a folk rock singer and an experimental musician.

Chrome Dreams II is the appropriately-titled sequel to 1977's unreleased Chrome Dreams. The result of an impromptu recording session, most of the album's material was recorded live, featuring a mix of the old and the new. It has unreleased songs mostly from the '80s, such as "Beautiful Bluebird" and "Boxcar." It also features new material written specifically for the album.

While previous Young albums, such as Living with War and Everybody's Rockin', have focused on one particular sound or subject, Chrome Dreams II incorporates many of Young's sounds-folk acoustic rock, electric hard rock, rockabilly and blues-into one cohesive album that is about the human condition more than anything else.

The masterpiece of the album is the 1988 track, "Ordinary People." Here we're taken on an epic horn-heavy journey where Young becomes the advocate of the everyman. It is also the first single off the album, but don't expect "Ordinary People" to garner much airtime. With a duration of more than 18 minutes, it is more likely to be featured on radio websites than radio stations.

As a sequel, Chrome Dreams II makes the transition Young from an '80s rocker into a 21st century musician. Unreleased older songs still sound relevant and his new material fits perfectly into popular musical traditions. And yes, he still sings like a woman.