Are You Passionate?
by Neil Young
Metascore
54

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 17
  3. Negative: 3 out of 17
  1. E! Online
    83
    A quietly retro mix of guitars and organ-fueled songs, the music simmers rather than boils over.
  2. Launch.com
    80
    Throughout, Young's guitarwork--in tone and style--is noticeably on the money, playing his fuzzy, single-note melodic lines with the deliberateness of a horn player.
  3. Blender
    80
    Young sounds fresher here than he has in nearly a decade. [Apr/May 2002, p.110]
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  5. Billboard
    80
    Some of these songs about life, love, family, friends, and the world seem subtly laced with lyrics inspired by the terrorist attacks, which helps make Are You Passionate? seem not only like a great next step in Young's career but also the best album he could have issued right now.
  6. Pitchfork
    75
    Sure, it's nowhere near his incredible run of the seventies, but it is probably his best album since 1992's Harvest Moon.
  7. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    He hasn't been this off-the-wall in years. [12 Apr 2002, p.74]
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  8. CDNow
    70
    And even though Young laces plenty of signature guitar riffs throughout, Are You Passionate? is for those who appreciate his songwriting as much as if not more than the histrionic fireworks he creates with Crazy Horse.
  9. Rolling Stone
    70
    What makes this Mr. Young-goes-to-Memphis excursion resonate is the trouble that lurks just outside its boundaries.
  10. Austin Chronicle
    67
    Just how bad can an LP produced by "Neil Young & Booker T. Jones with Duck Dunn and Poncho Sampedro" be? Not bad at all.
  11. The A.V. Club
    60
    For the most part, Are You Passionate? feels like an after-hours session, its songs weary and a little lost, but at times, Young makes those qualities work for him.
  12. Nude As The News
    45
    The catchy songwriting doesn't sit well next to Neil's crunchy soul, and the performances feel so stiff it makes for an unusually uncomfortable listen.
  13. Q Magazine
    40
    Mostly what you'll hear, though, is the hollow sound of a man needing a good, long break.
  14. AllMusic
    40
    Instead of sounding like a refreshing change of pace, it's a muddled, aimless affair from an artist that's had too many middling efforts over the last decade.
  15. Uncut
    40
    Where there was once ragged glory there is now only a sort of bludgeoning earnestness which, as in the nine-minute "Goin' Home," blusters a lot to little effect. [May 2002, p.108]
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  16. Neumu.net
    30
    It's not bad, it's just so goddamn mediocre.
  17. Mojo
    30
    An homage to Memphis soul and R&B that initially seems a pleasant lark but grows blander and more characterless the more it is heard. [Apr 2002, p.106]
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  18. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    20
    Young's surprisingly conservative new album, Are You Passionate?, is simply frustrating, and worse, often as risk-averse as a CSNY reunion.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 2 out of 11
  1. IanB.
    Jul 17, 2009
    9
    An album that is a real grower - the soulful side of the legend. This is a lost classic.
  2. SteveM.
    Jul 16, 2002
    9
    Back to his brilliant best.
  3. JohnB.
    May 25, 2002
    9
    A passionate new work from Young.
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