It usually doesn't get much better than last night's singer-songwriter pairing of folk-rock-country troubadours Neil Young and Lucinda Williams at the Air Canada Centre.

Unfortunately, the Toronto-born Young and the southern belle Williams were playing in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,000 in a hockey arena when their highly personal songs and political narratives deserve more intimate surroundings.

No matter.

Both the 57-year-old Young and the 50-year-old Williams, who opened for him and his backing band Crazy Horse, possess just enough eccentric charisma and boundless talent to withstand such cavernous environs, not to mention their impressive songbooks.

And then there were the major props and sets utilized by Young -- ranging from a frontporch to a car to a jail cell to a cemetery -- on which actors played out the songs from his politically minded new concept record Greendale, which isn't due until the fall with an accompanying movie.

While the cycle of new songs, about the three generations of the fictional Green family living on a ranch just outside Greendale, were original -- they weren't always riveting. But there was a general strength in the storytelling.

Especially good was the solo acoustic guitar number, Bandit, which drew the crowd in as Young hit some mighty high notes, the more jam-filled Carmichael and Grandpa's Interview and the triumphant finale, Be The Rain, which featured the entire youthful cast dancing, singing on stage with one waving a large Canadian flag to huge cheers.

On the minus side, Young took his time explaining each new song with long, rambling introductions and the audience had to wait a full hour-and-45 minutes for the production of Greendale to run its course before they were rewarded with such raging older favourites as Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black) and Like A Hurricane.

Meanwhile, Williams and her backing trio held forth mostly with material from her latest album, this year's excellent World Without Tears. She moved effortlessly from the slow, sexy song Fruits Of My Labour to the searing bitter pill Those Three Days and the more rocking Righteously and Real Live Bleeding Fingers And Broken Guitar Strings. The latter is an homage to fellow musician Paul Westerberg.

Hopefully, Williams -- who also trotted out Drunken Angel and Still I Long For Your Kiss from her heralded 1998 release, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road and the early tune Changed The Locks (which Tom Petty recorded) -- will return to play a smaller venue on her own.

For his part, Young has already scheduled a second date at the ACC with Crazy Horse on Sept. 4.

JAM! Rating: 3.5 out of 5