Neil Young, 'Fork in the Road'

The buzz: Even more than Dylan, Neil Young has come to perfectly embody the old-coot version of rock ‘n’ roll rebellion. His get-off-my-lawn cantankerousness surfaces in everything from his political rhetoric to his damn-the-critics determination to explore as many musical styles as possible. After 2006’s fiery but ramshackle anti-Bush screed, “Living With War,” and 2007’s scattershot “Chrome Dreams II,” Uncle Neil returns with a concept album based on his latest non-musical project—a quixotic quest to convert his beloved ’59 Lincoln Continental from a gas-guzzling beast into the “LincVolt,” a cutting-edge, 100-mpg, plug-in hybrid.

The verdict: Musically, “Fork” clearly picks up where “Living With War” left off, further exploring the ragged rock glory Young perfected in the ‘70s with Crazy Horse (though neither album features that group). But where Young’s sloppy riffs and pissed-off rants on “War” quickly grew tiresome, here, they’re sort of fun. Yes, the anti-Detroit tirades and pro-hybrid sermons never let up, and frequently hit “Schoolhouse Rock” levels of corniness (sample: “The awesome power of electricity/Stored for you in a giant battery,” on “Fuel Line”). But they take a backseat to the music, which is full of the roadhouse rhythms and snarling guitar lines you’d expect from an album that, ultimately, is just a bunch of songs about cars—a hallowed rock tradition that Young smartly evokes every chance he gets.

Did you know? The chief engineer on Young’s LincVolt project, Jonathan Goodwin, has also converted one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s trucks into a plug-in hybrid.

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