Neil Young

Silver & Gold

Get to know Neil!

Review Score:

(10/10)
The main complaint I hear from critics of this album is that it is self-indulgent or "not the Neil we all love." Well, if you're looking for another look at some preconceived notion of Neil Young (i.e. the slashing, burning guitar maniac of "Rust Never Sleeps" and "Weld") then I would direct you to his other recent offering, "Road Rock, Vol. 1." Not that these sort of albums aren't fantastic, but when I get done listening to them I only feel like I know Neil Young the musician. After an album like "Silver and Gold," however, I feel like I have an idea of Neil Young the man. This is an incredible opus of one man's self-reflection, centered around (as is usual with a man) the idea of love and what it means to him. The guitar work is incredible and I always love Neil's harmonica. It's true, it doesn't sound as polished as perhaps "Harvest" or "After the Gold Rush," but is that so bad? It's always been my belief that you get closer to the heart of an artist when you peal away all the layers of studio editing. Yes, this work is a very personal statement. Neil Young isn't catering to anybody, and I respect that. Too many times is an artist burned for trying to explore new frontiers and let the public in on what he's really feeling. Other examples of this are the poor reception Bob Dylan got when he released "Self Portrait," his quest for musical identity, or the burning the critics gave Cat Stevens when he released "Foreigner," his own personal statement on love (though worlds apart from Neil's). Those are also two albums I love very much. If you want to stay in your hole, I would only recommend this to you because you might like the "pretty guitar." But if you really want to get a step closer to knowing Neil, this is a must have.

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