Neil Young Sneers, Eric Clapton Dozes, Robert Plant Has a Ball

Neil Young ramps up the feedback as he snarls out a solo album. Eric Clapton sits on his porch for a blues session with a few buddies. Robert Plant dismisses Led Zeppelin nostalgia and celebrates other joys of youth.

After decades of music-making, all three have different responses to the challenge of being a 60-something rock star. Yet the consensus tends to be that, in the words of Young back in 1979, “it’s better to burn out than to fade away.”