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List Price: $11.98 | | Label: Interscope Records
Salesrank: 203044
Released: December 12, 2000 |
| Our Price: $38.90 |
| Used Price: $3.98 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Life Track Listing:
1. Mideast Vacation
2. Long Walk Home
3. Around the World
4. Inca Queen
5. Too Lonely
6. Prisoners of Rock 'N' Roll
7. Cryin' Eyes
8. When Your Lonely Heart Breaks
9. We Never Danced
Editorial Review:
Those Neil Young fans who cherish their hero's aggressive work with Crazy Horse were dealing with an extended drought when Life hit the shelves in 1987. A half-dozen years had passed since Young last emerged from the studio with a Crazy Horse collaboration--the flawed but fascinating Reactor. Unfortunately, they'd have to wait three more years for a great Young/Crazy Horse set, 1990's Ragged Glory. Despite the fact that Life contains what's clearly meant to be the Crazy Horse credo in "Prisoners of Rock 'n' Roll" ("That's why we don't we don't wanna be good"), Young and his three longtime foils feel constrained by dated '80s production touches and some spotty material. Still, its highlights (notably the strange foreign-policy treatise "Mideast Vacation" and the wistful closer "We Never Danced") offer modest rewards for loyalists. --Steven Stolder
Life Reviews:
Highly Underrated - Yes, Actually, This IS A Five-Star Album! 
2007-01-04 - Many of the more one-dimensional Neil Young fans dislike LIFE because they can't handle the 80's stylings and the synths. For those willing to give it a chance, though, there's some fantastic music here and not a dud in the bunch. It's a huge improvement over the so-bad-it's-depressing LANDING ON WATER which was completely drenched in synths and totally uninspired.
Anyone who accuses Young's music of sounding too same-y should check this one out. It combines killer guitar rock with 80's modern production and some weird sensibilities which contribute to its personality. Any open-minded Young fan will find a hell of a lot to enjoy here, and there's plenty of squealing guitar for the meat-and-potatoes Young fan as well.
Breakdown:
"Mideast Vacation" - Neil manages to finally pull off a great, powerful song in a pulsing New Wave style. Listen for Neil's metallic guitar attack toward the end. *****
"Long Walk Home" - the opening mouth-harp signals an abrupt shift in style. This one is a placid piano-based beauty even as it's being viciously battered with sounds of war. ****
"Around the World" - a very interesting song - the contrast between light 'n' airy synths with crunching Crazy Horse riffage is striking. At one point, a wild guitar solo bleeps like a dying computer. *****
"Inca Queen" - why is this beauty being overlooked by so many other reviewers? "Inca Queen" is surely one of Neil's more gorgeous acoustic guitar ballads. Presented with luscious orchestra and some tasty sound effects, it could've filled a whole album side without wearing out its welcome, way past its 8 minute length. A classic musical epic from Neil. *****
"Too Lonely" - coming up for air with some good ole rock 'n' roll, crunchy and nasty. This one provides a glimpse into some of Neil's sharp-edged sense of humor. ****
"Prisoner of Rock N Roll" - a swinging diss on record companies that addresses the practice of releasing crappy material to get out of a recording contract. But the song itself is by no means weak, plus it has a spacey, zen-like "concert-style" climax which lasts nearly a minute. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but I think it sounds kick-ass! ****
The beginning of "Cryin' Eyes" vaguely suggests Neil may have actually been listening to "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure which came out this same year, 1987. Don't tell me he hasn't looked like Robert Smith from time to time! (in particular, see the ARC cover). There's also some strange, Cure-ish alt-rock guitar textures on this one too. Actually, although it's basically a cool, straight-up Crazy Horse rocker, the guitar solos are very strange and completely unique. ***1/2
"When Your Lonely Heart Breaks" - is an amazingly effective and soulful ballad - a deeply moving masterpiece! *****+
"We Never Danced" - effective if dated space-age production decorates this shimmering, beautiful love song. *****
Anyone who admires Neil Young for his fearless, occasionally reckless diversity and can handle an album that ranges from tender ballads to free-wheeling guitar freak-outs should definitely pick this one up!
prisoner of neils 
2005-09-19 - The more I listen to this cd, the more I like it. No. it's not Ragged Glory but I think this is where it starts to form.Especially Sleeps With Angels and Broken Arrow. I believe Geffen got a good one and didn't know it. This album is Neil,different but the same.
Prisoner of rock'n roll
2005-06-06 - what's up with the bad review's.no real neil fan would give any of his albums 1 star,they may be turd's,but their neil's turd's.Life is a solid 4 star album,yes it lack's production,everything in the late 80's sounded like this,but the song's are there,inca queen,prisoners of rock'n roll,mideast vaction,long walk home,etc.. great stuff!long live old shakey!
A strange one for sure
2004-03-26 - A strange one for sure. Contains a number of very good songs - Mideast Vacation, We Never Danced, Too Lonely, Prisoner of Rock n Roll - as well as one of his worst - Inca Queen, which still manages to have a gorgeous melody. Around the World is sung with great passion & anger - & sunk by an annoying synth & a recitative that may or may not be sarcastic. Yes, very much a mixed bag, but like Neil's other albums for David Geffen, the misdirections are stories unto themselves, & the disguises are used to evade & filter out the deeply personal emotions Neil finally vented on "Freedom" & "Ragged Glory." Only two of these cuts show up on "Lucky Thirteen," which makes "Life" essential for Neil Young devotees, I should think.
Bob Rixon
his second worst 
2003-11-24 - Hot on the heels of the wretched "Landing On Water", this record is nearly as bad. There isn't anything good to say about it. It stinks like old fish. Every song is instantly forgetable, mired in studio overkill and power-ballad mush. Crazy Horse limps along, obviously not having any fun. Only one of these songs was worth rescuing--"When Your Lonely Heart Breaks". On this record though, it sounds as uninspired and miserable as the rest. Thankfully, Young worked his way out of this slump with "Freedom" two years later.
