Neil Young [ tickets ]'s first new album since undergoing surgery for a near-fatal brain aneurysm is, understandably, a very reflective batch of songs.

He cozies up to his acoustic six-stringer, which he pays tribute to on the new album's winning "This Old Guitar," and he coaxes out some of his most warm and honest music in years.

Doing a near 180-degree turn from his last record, 2003's adventurous concept album "Greendale," Young returns to the intimate acoustic vibe that has colored some of his most-beloved works. That's basically been Young's pattern over the years: He releases an experimental record, which--at least initially--confounds as many people as it charms, and then follows it with a more straightforward effort. And there's little doubt that "Prairie Wind" will receive a warmer reception from the general public than the one that greeted "Greendale" did.

Arguably, however, Young plays it too safe on this record as he recycles bits of just about every folk-rock album he's ever done on songs such as "The Painter," "Fallin' Off the Face of the Earth" and "It's a Dream." The few up-tempo tracks, especially the Elvis Presley tribute "He was the King," sound like they could have been outtakes from the Bluenotes' sessions. Plus, Young, as he is known to occasionally do, uses a sledgehammer to drive home messages that might have benefited from a more subtle approach on "Far from Home" and the nearly un-listenable "When God Made Me."