Neil Young

The title of Neil Young's Living With War compares the Iraq War with an inoperable disease, like AIDS or cancer. Its songs ("Let's Impeach the President" and "Flags of Freedom," among eight others) boldly reference America's myriad internal crises. He inserts verses from the country's national anthem into "Living with War," and closes the disc with a rendition of "America the Beautiful." By streaming the album on his website, www.neilyoung.com, before it hits stores mid-May, Young's Living with War is not only an artistic effort, but a provocative political act.

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Living with War is a surprising change of heart for those who remember that Young loudly supported the Bush administration immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and "Let's Roll," his compelling homage to the doomed passengers on United 93. Years later, Young evokes the common man disillusioned by the war on terror. "Maybe it's Obama, but I think that he's too young/Maybe it's Colin Powell, to right what he's done wrong," he sings on "Lookin' for a Leader." "America has a leader, but he's not in the house/He's walking here among us, and we've got to seek him out." 3 stars