Dead Man (Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture)

Neil Young’s folk-rock has always hinted at dark, abstract entities lurking around the corner, but his original score for Jim Jarmusch’s psychedelic western Dead Man explores these undercurrents like never before. Recording alone in his studio, Young simply improvised while watching the film: The soundtrack drifts between crackling guitar sketches (“Guitar Solo, No. 2”), minimal pump-organ pieces (“Organ Solo”), and various snippets of dialogue from the movie, making for a fascinating, haunting snapshot of Young at his most formless.