While few people would despute Neil Young's status as one of the greatest songwriters in history, even his biggest fans would concede that his vast back catalogue (fast approaching 40 albums) contains its fair share of duds. Sadly, Are You Passionate? is one of them, a rambling mish-mash of half-formed ideas and stumbling performances that even Young himself can't seem to get enthusiastic about. One of the worst offenders is the much-heralded 'Let's Roll', a narrative tribute to the aircraft passengers who died on September 11, which sounds disappointingly simplistic from someone once hailed as a political visionary. Various members of Booker T and the MG's provide solid R'n'B backing for most of the album, but even such experienced musicians can't do much with songs as inherently lazy as these. Old fans are bound to be disappointed; newcomers should get hold of Harvest or After The Goldrush immediately.
