Young is always trying to catch up with himself, to keep pace with his own prolific, quixotic imagination. His albums are often attempts to document his changing moods and perspectives, to offer his latest idea of himself to the world. Thus the fractured chronology of his output, as he constantly reassesses his stocks of material and revises the content of scheduled releases….

["Rust Never Sleeps"] deals most blatantly with Young's obsessive restlessness, the constant need to change, to remain mobile. "It's better to burn out than it is to rust"….

The general mood is reflective; the songs, however, are not all especially memorable. "Sail Away" is only vaguely realised. Young stresses the desire for escape over an ordinary melody. The lyric is bland, predictable. "Thrasher" shares the same preoccupation. The melody is again familiar. The lyric is distressingly verbose.

Young has never revealed a provocative or assured talent...