The Prophet Neil

Though "Greendale" received critical acclaim, Neil Young hasn't done much that's interested me since "Silver and Gold." So the hype for "Prairie Wind," his new record, should have been taken with a grain of salt. As it turns out, Young has produced a gem - a touching, gently rocking Nashville record with a series of great tunes on it. The album is one of the strongest of the year, despite its closing song.

"When God Made Me," which Young performed on television post-Katrina, breaks a vital rule of popular music: leave God out of it. While some of the best music out there is only a generation or two removed from the gospel records of the first half of the twentieth century, songwriters who try and tackle theology generally fail.

Alluding to a higher being, addressing issues of faithfulness and mysticism - all fine topics. But putting a pair of dei-glasses and describing what you see belongs in the eighth grade.