The story of Le Noise starts with Neil Young turning up at renowned producer Daniel Lanois home-studio (as you do), to make solo whoopee in the traditional Young style. Instead, Lanois cranked up the sonics, ramped up the feedback and created a pretty hefty wallop in the chops Le Noise might well be a nod to the Canadians surname (as pronounced in his home-land), but it also hints at the swirling ferocity on this unashamed self-indulgence.
Some reviews I have read point to this being difficult listening and short on tunes but I beg to differ there is one bonafide Neil Young classic-of-the-future on here called Love and War, one of the two acoustic-guitar workouts on here. Its five and a half minutes of Young at his most despairing and fragile sample lyric Ive seen a lot of young men go to war/and leave a lot of young brides waiting/Ive watched them try to explain it to their kids/Seen a lot of them failing. Heavy stuff maybe, yet not improbable.
The other acoustic track is the long and moody road-track Peaceful Valley Blvd., another song that hints at native-unrest and injustice in past times, images of railroads, settlers, wagon-trains and creeks smothered by a ring of fire. This is NOT Neil Youngs Get Up and Party album, no sir.
The remaining six songs swarm past with the sound of Youngs Gretsch pulsating and screaming its way around your head-space, decorated impressively by Lanois sheer depth of tonal hi (and lo) fidelity. The opening track Walk With Me and the closing woofer-stomper Rumblin (as apt a title as you could get, given the resonance emitted throughout), offer up the most fulfilling songs while Someones Gonna Rescue You also possesses a stone-melting riff.
Without the usual Crazy Horse band-format behind him, thus no drums or keyboards, Le Noise can become quite a head-mash after a while, but when sampled in two halves it seems to make sense. Another vital chapter in old Shakeys priceless book of rock-music.