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Home Music Journey Through the Past: The Stories Behind the Classic Songs of Neil Young

- Journey Through the Past: The Stories Behind the Classic Songs of Neil Young

Journey Through the Past: The Stories Behind the Classic Songs of Neil Young Album Cover
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Manufacturer: Backbeat Books
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Review
Neil Young's musical evolution has been as versatile as rock itself: pioneering country-rocker with Buffalo Springfield; seminal folk-rocker with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; gentle acoustic guitarist; crashing hard rock electric guitarist; grunge prototype; and good-times rock 'n' roller. This cerebral singer/songwriter has penned unforgettable melodies, harmonies, and lyrics, portraying plaintive sadness, lilting warmth, and ragged anguish with his unmistakable tenor voice. Offering detailed analyses of this idiosyncratic musician's songs and the stories behind them, this book examines all of Young's key albums from 1967 to 2000, including such milestones as After the Gold Rush, Harvest, Tonight's the Night, Rust Never SLeeps, Harvest Moon, Silver & Gold, and many others.
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Customer Reviews
Summary: Not worth reading at all!
Overall Rating: Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5
Comment: The author doesn't really know all that much about what he's writing about, and like the other reviewer commented, entire albums and songs are deemed not worthy of exploration. If I had wanted to read critiques of Neil's songs I would have bought a book of critiques. In retrospect buying this book was a mistake anyway because the songs of tell their own stories and part of what makes them so magical is that they are ambiguous. If you listen to Neil Young you know what you like or don't and derive your own meanings from the lyrics that will be much better than this author's lame explanations and ramblings. Do yourself a favor and buy Shakey: Neil Young's Biography if you want some insight. It's an excellent read if you're a fan and gives much better insight to the possible inspiration behind some of the songs.
Summary: This book is terrible...
Overall Rating: Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5
Comment: Not only is this book full of typos, its full of blatantly false information, most notable is the assertion that Neil stopped playing "Hey Hey My My" after Kurt Cobain quoted it in suicide note. I have personally seen him play that song at least 5 times since then and before this book was published. I have also read several interviews in which Neil dicounted the stories that he stopped playing it. There are numerous other errors that any serious Neil fan would clearly pick up on. Did the author do any research? Or did he just write on what he thought his personal knowledge was.

Secondly, alot of the stories or assertions behind the meanings of songs, seem to be just speculation, such as perhaps it means this or perhaps it means this. It would be better if the author actually delved into the circumstances under which the song was written.

I also don't like the clear personal bias and thoughts from the author. Instead of reading like a volume of information it reads like one mans opinions of the quality and meanings of Neil Young songs.

If it weren't for the full colour glossy photos (which someone else pointed out are sometimes reversed showing Neil playing guitar left handed!) this book wouldnt be worth the 3.99 I paid for it from the bargain bin at my local bookstore.
Summary: Just Okay
Overall Rating: Average rating of 2/5Average rating of 2/5Average rating of 2/5Average rating of 2/5Average rating of 2/5
Comment: First of all, did anyone proof read this book? There are typos on almost every page. Also, a thesaurus would have come in handy. If I had to read the words "Canon" or "Pastiche" one more time I would have had to gouge my eyes out. Also, the pictures are inverted, showing Neil and others playing guitar left handed. The information in this book is interesting, but it's all rehashed from other sources. Skip this one and buy "Shakey".
Summary: Some personal bias, but otherwise a great book
Overall Rating: Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5
Comment: I give this book four stars instead of five because the author tends to write off entire albums as [bad] not bother giving the songs adequate review space, especially "Re-Ac-Tor" and "Hawks and Doves," which I think are two of Young's best albums. In fact, the author doesn't like much of anything Young did in the 80s, except "This Note's For You," and this is largely due to his own personal biases (sp?) against the content and genres of the albums. Other than that, this is a adequately insightful book about Neil Young's songs, and I do enjoy it. Anyone who's interested in how his songs came to be written should get this book without hesitation; just be prepared for some of your favorite albums to take a beating.
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