Neil Young

Silver & Gold

It takes hold slowly

Review Score:

(10/10)
I have loved Neil Young since the mid 70s, when the music first started to filter down to me from older brothers and sisters. My first impression on hearing this album was that Neil wasn't trying very hard. The songs were very simple, the rhymes frequently too easy, and some of the songs seemed hokey compared to the raw, powerful stuff I know he can write.

As I kept listening, though, I started to feel more like the songs were simple in a pure way. What had seemed "hokey" now strikes me as very personal. I particularly like "Razor Love."

If you only have a passing interest in Neil Young based on the recent grunge fascination with him, this might not be for you. If, however, you appreciate everything he's capable of, you will learn to love this when you slow down enough to really hear it. It's pure Neil--the opening to Distant Camera could just as easily lead into "Old Man." If this were the only album he'd ever put out, I might not like it so much, but in the context of everything he's done and who he is, I'm loving it now.

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