Neil Young has an autobiography out, which I haven't read. I reviewed a massive biography of the rock star a decade ago for the first issue of The American Conservative (happy 10th anniversary), so I'll just repeat my diagnosis of the self-confident singer:
The secret to Young's career longevity appears to be that his health has steadily improved with age. Today, the superior physical and mental constitution he inherited from his mother Rassy, a tomboy champion amateur golfer, and his sportswriter father Scott, hard-working author of 30 books, is no longer dragged down by the polio, epilepsy, and drug abuse of his younger years. He now lifts weights, works out aerobically, and plays a lot of golf. Of course, some might argue that after hoovering up all that cocaine before his second marriage in 1978, a naturally robust individual like Young sends the wrong message about the danger of drugs to the mediocre masses simply by not being dead by now.
In short, Young is by nature a jock. But, a sickly youth diverted him into the arts at a propitious moment (the mid-1960s), where he's gotten a lot accomplished, although perhaps more by masculine force of will than by supreme talent.
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Never 'eard of 'im.
Most likely he's some sort of hybrid. His dad was an author, after all. Sounds like he was a late convert to the ideal of fitness--most likely an artistic type who saw the value of physical fitness.
It is funny how nerds (and how else shall we describe a blogger who does his own mathematical analysis of Pew Foundation data to prove his point?) either seem to worship jocks or hate them. Having been taught in my younger years to belong to the second group, I have of late begun to reconsider.
I still can't forgive him for making a fine phrase like "Let's Roll" into such a dreary song.
Last time Crosby, Stills and Nash performed in Austin, the newspaper reviewer began by noting "Neil Young was not present, as he was too busy making GOOD music!"
In fairness, it would have been more accurate to say he was busy making good NEW music. Crosby, Stills and Nash settled into being a nostalgia act nearly thirty years ago (quick- name a CSN song from after 1990!). Young stayed creative and productive far longer. Neil CAN take a walk down memory lane during concerts ("Cinnamon Girl," "Sugar Mountain," "Mr. Soul"), but it's not a chore for the audience to listen to his newest stuff.
I think you're discounting his talent too heavily. Not too many guys have as strong of a songbook as he has (and granted, there are numerous clunkers), and as a singer, while not technically strong, he is very poignant and expressive. His string of LPs in the 70s are very diverse in sound and structure, and besides Bowie, what solo artist put out a run of great LPs in that decade? "On the Beach" alone should settle any argument. Not too many people even know that one since it was out of print for years. I put him firmly in the top tier of the rock canon.
Most likely he's some sort of hybrid. His dad was an author, after all. Sounds like he was a late convert to the ideal of fitness--most likely an artistic type who saw the value of physical fitness.
His father is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was a sportswriter.
Young has one of the whiniest, most irritatingly nasal, insufferable voices - which matches his monotonously whiny, petulant, irritating, insufferably adolescent material. No amount of jock-ness can cure that. He has always sounded quite the perpetually whinging sophomore. To this day whenever I hear his grating stuff I change the station or just get as far from his ultra-adenoidal whine as fast as my feet carry me; and I have never been able to account for his popularity. I've heard his wheedle and the damage done.
'"Gram thought he had Keith’s metabolism,” explains Phil Kaufman, one-time road manager both to Parsons and the Stones. “Keith could eat nails and piss rust. Gram thought he had the same gift. He tried, and he died."'
(BTW, quoted by the same source):
“Yep,” says Kaufman, “and to think that if Mama Cass and Karen Carpenter had shared that sandwich, they’d both be alive today.”
I think you're discounting his talent too heavily.
I don't think that's what Steve was doing. In any event, I've been a huge fan for a long time.
Unfortunately, his children have some major health issues.
He wrote "Old Man" back in the early 70s so maybe he was thinking about being more prudent about his lifestyle back as early as then.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1973/1/26/bergmans-best-pbab-decade-ago-ingmar/
expecting to fly, nowadays clancy can't even sing, heart of gold, sugar mountain, pocahantas.
"I put him firmly in the top tier of the rock canon."
As personality and visionary shaman, yes. But as tunesmith, no.
Dr Sailer Young's private physician?
"In short, Young is by nature a jock. But, a sickly youth diverted him into the arts at a propitious moment (the mid-1960s), where he's gotten a lot accomplished, although perhaps more by masculine force of will than by supreme talent."
A jock maybe physically but not 'spiritually'. After all, many sick kids show interest in war planes, sports, cars, etc. That Young loved folk music shows he was born with a seer-shaman soul.
I like Neil Young, even though I shouldn't (I don't mean this in a racial way, wait for the conclusion). Harvest Moon, Down by the River, Old Man, Cinnamon Girl, Old Laughing Lady, Cortez.
He like the uncola, 7 Up of pop music. Or 7 Up is Neil Young.
But what happened? Intelligent Americans used to revere Beethoven, not 60s musicians. Beethoven>>>>Beatles. What a joke. What a stupid joke.
I could never stand his music, but god knows he's had an awe-inspiring career.
the Spirit cut loose between 1950 and 1975, neil was one of the main bene fishiaries
the outpouring was widespread, but nobody writes, performs, and plays an instrument like neil
bob's a fantasitic writer/performer/musician, kissed of heaven, but he cant play guitar like neil . . . astonishingly expressive and personalized
now we have gaga, rihanna, beyonce, p diddy, t.v. mediocrities-made-millionaires, and all those northwest whiteboy bands with too-loud guitars, all sounding like Creed ... who wasnt worth emulating to begin
when i was ten i could listen to ONE a.m. radio station, and hear the best, most diverse music the world could offer in music
now there's a zillion outlets, but it's largely copycat crapola, with target-demographics and pseudo-celebrity far more important than originality, talent, or inspiration
the inspirator is retired, and it shows
Aren't we forgetting that he was also the first man to walk on the moon?
(At least, according to NBC News earlier this year)
elections...
Who, at Neil's age, can still pull off something like this?
Nobody. Nobody:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_470040&feature=iv&src_vid=U6SSR3YY-rc&v=ZCjWa7ypZMc
ben says,
I don't think that's what Steve was doing. In any event, I've been a huge fan for a long time.
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You've just blown your cover.
I like Neil Young. I didn't understand the point of this post. Most jocks can't sing or write songs to save their lives. And he plays golf, wow, well lots of 70 years old do, it doesn't seem to me a very physically demanding sport. If he was a weightlifter or decathlon champion I'd be more impressed.
Come on Steve level with us...
Did you vote for Barack of Mitt...
More importantly, sis you vote vote for Berman(boo!!) or Sherman?
I never was a fan.
Not really a Crosby, Stills, and Nash fan either, but I liked them better without Neil Young.
I'm kind of puzzled at how different our opinions all are. I wouldn't even say Neil Young is a second rater, I'd put him as a 3rd rater at best.
It's not dislike exactly, I just never had much desire to listen to his music much.
I have no idea what brought on thoughts of Neil Young today, of all days.
But out of all the marvelous music that came out of that era, Neil Young? In the end it's all a matter of taste but I can list acts I liked a lot better from about 65 to 80 all day long: Stones, Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, the Zombies, the Doors, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, the Jefferson Airplane ...
I loved country up until 80 or so when it died.
Heck I used to get really wasted and listen to the Monkee's Greatest Hits, and Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits over and over. When I was good and ready I hit the hard stuff like Abba. When you've just had 18 beers, and a bunch of shots of Tequila, nothing "wounds your heart with a monotonous langour" like Abba.
Never had the slightest desire to put ole Neil on the turntable though. Just another Neil like Diamond and Sedaka to me.
Okay, if we are all supposed to say we liked the guy, sorry. I just can't see how he even had a career. Heck I'd listen to Manilow over him.
I've always liked Young's harmonica playing better than Dylan's. But Dylan's songs stand up better when played by other performers. I've never heard a good cover of a Young song.
For Diane at previous thread.
Zeke Young was originally thought to have had Cerebral Palsy but that diagnosis was changed to a Brain Aneurysm before birth.
the hard stuff like Abba
Not a bad post pal, but if you didn't get into disco, you didn't get to ball Cheryl Tiegs. Here's one long HA HA HA HA for all of you.
I don't see how anyone who considers themselves a fan of American popular music of the 1960s and beyond could not like this song.
PBS featured Young on their American Masters series a couple of years ago. The final segment - which shows Young playing "Lets Impeach The President" live in 2006 in front of a pro-Bush crowd, and their reaction - is priceless (and makes one wonder how the same crowd who who sang along with "Ohio" for 35 years would be so unprepared for hearing him slam Dubya).
the hard stuff like Abba
If you weren't into disco, you didn't get to ball Cheryl Tiegs.
I don't see how anyone who considers themselves a fan of American popular music of the 1960s and beyond could not like this song.
PBS featured Young on their American Masters series a couple of years ago. The final segment - which shows Young playing "Lets Impeach The President" live in 2006 in front of a pro-Bush crowd, and their reaction - is priceless (and makes one wonder how the same crowd who who sang along with "Ohio" for 35 years would be so unprepared for hearing him slam Dubya).
His nasal whine always gave me such a headache that I've never been able to even HEAR his music, much less the lyrics. If the music is worth hearing, surely someone with a poignant, expressive GOOD voice would have done it justice by now. Anybody know any good covers?
With that voice it's hard to picture him as a masculine force either. I supppose it's not surprising that an egomaniac would think he could make it in the music biz with a voice that intolerable.
I've been watching a few Neil Young videos since I read this topic.
The guy just doesn't appeal to me.
I don't think it is a matter of superiority in musical tastes either. I know a couple of people who are really into music that don't like Bob Dylan (I do, I like Mick Jagger's singing too, neither has a good singing voice). Both of them are really into the Grateful Dead, but I kind of get bored with them after 20 or 30 minutes (seems like that is how long it takes them to play one song).
If someone finds something they like in his music, enjoy it. Just kind of meh to me.
I have no idea what brought on thoughts of Neil Young today, of all days.
Today the focus is on Ohio, and he's the guy who wrote the song by that name.
Anyway, I'm glad this came up, as I found out that by an astonishing oversight my iTunes library does not include the first or third Buffalo Springfield album.
" although perhaps more by masculine force of will..."
LOL
If the music is worth hearing, surely someone with a poignant, expressive GOOD voice would have done it justice by now. Anybody know any good covers?
Waylon Jennings covered "Are you Ready for the Country?"
This is probably not the type of cover you're looking for, but a band called Jets Overhead did a great cover of "Mr. Soul".
"With that voice it's hard to picture him as a masculine force either. I supppose it's not surprising that an egomaniac would think he could make it in the music biz with a voice that intolerable."
It's been done before. I think George Michael had a great voice, and all his music sucked (IMHO). I also think, as I said above that Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan are hugely effective singers despite both having poor voices.
This thread got me sucked into Youtube. Wound up listening to Barry McGuire and his one hit, "Eve of Destruction," and some Man O' War. Funny the music we listen to. Think I'll listen to Diana Krall sing Danny Boy, and polish it off with that Billy Jack song by Coven. Then it will be 2525, and I'll start listening to the old stuff. Think it is time to watch Lemmy when he was an LSD freak in Hawkwind.
Incidentally I'll never understand how Nirvana got so big. Cobain made one heck of a career move with that suicide. I bet Elvis and he chortle over it every week over whoppers at Burger King.
A lot of people have covered Neil's music, but it's mostly the indie rock crowd. They aren't exactly known for their singing, so if his voice turns you off I can't imagine the Pixies sounding much better.
Nicolette Larson had a pretty big hit with her cover of Neil's "Lotta Love" in the late 70's. A bunch of other people covered him in the 70s: Jackie DeShannon, Waylon Jennings, John Entwistle.
Covers in general fell out of fashion in the 70s, though, at least compared to the 60s and earlier.
out of all the marvelous music that came out of that era, Neil Young? In the end it's all a matter of taste but I can list acts I liked a lot better from about 65 to 80 all day long: Stones, Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, the Zombies, the Doors, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, the Jefferson Airplane.
You named a lot of great bads, and I'm sure I'm the biggest Airplane fan in these parts. However, I think Neil
's ouevre holds its own. By the way, if you want an amusing, check out Yuya Uchida & The Flowers' cover of Cream's "White Room".
Ha, the Carpenters even covered Neil. Can't ask for a much better voice than Karen's, but she doesn't sing lead here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLH_UWVhwm4
This is a recent neo-soul cover, pretty nice arrangement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_37kdxtw8wY
expecting to fly, nowadays clancy can't even sing, heart of gold, sugar mountain, pocahantas.
Wow - I never realized Clancy was a Young tune. I always assumed Furay had written it since he sings lead. In retrospect, Young's ouevre clearly surpasses Stills's, but it's hard to find songs better than Rock & Roll Woman and FWIW.
As for Young, there are so many more:
Mr Soul, Down to the Wire, If I Could Have Her Tonight, I've Been Waiting for You, What Did You Do to My Life?, The Loner, etc., etc., and above all for personal reasons After the Gold Rush and Country Girl.
UFC's heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos, likes to listen to Adel.
So maybe Sailer is rigt about jocks having artistic tendencies, and vice-versa.
Or maybe Junior dos Santos is just a nerd.
Okay, I like music which is why I'm posting on this thread so much.
I forgot to mention my all time favorite band previously, The Kinks.
I've just got through alternating Neil Young songs, and The Kinks.
Neil isn't doing too good. It's like the difference between the ocean and a pond.
If The Kinks ever made a bad song, I'm not sure what it was. Even their crap songs were groudbreaking. I mean All Day and All of the Night and You Really Got Me might have been the first metal songs.
Think it is time to watch Lemmy when he was an LSD freak in Hawkwind.
I'm not a big Hawkwind fan, but it's hard to find many songs that are more fun then "Quark, Strangeness, and Charm".
Well, Sunbeam, it's hard to beat the Kinks, especially for "conservative" songs. Living on a Thin Line? 20th Century Man? Muswell Hillbilly? Wow! Goosebump music!
Other great stuff: Victoria. I'm Not Like Anybody Else. Celluloid Heroes. Do It Again.
And Lola Versus Powerman and The Moneygoround is one of the greatest albums ever.
Sunbeam .. Mr. Tillman glad to see other Kink's fans posting on this blog.
Muswell Hillbillies by the Kinks is one of my favorite albums of all time.
No question there is a conservative edge to some of their material...anti-statist, anti-corporatocracy, anti-conformist, etc... tons of cynicism and irony packed into their lyrics
while at other times their lyrics can be very poignant.
I agree with you Sunbeam that musical tastes can be idiosyncratic and difficult to explain and sometimes not have anthing to do with the superiority of the music or the artist.
I was never a big Young fan or Dylan or Dead fan even though I recognize they are talented and appeal to people.
I was just always more into the Kinks, the Doors, and the Stones (Sticky Fingers is another masterpiece I think).
To me these groups had a certain edginess that appealed to me that I found missing from other groups.
I cant put my finger on what it is, but I love neil young. To me his music truly is individual. He separated himself amongst the vast amount of folk rock talent. The new album is awesome. Great post keep up the hard work. Check these out IStillGotMyGuitar.
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