Neil Young: Stories Behind the Songs 1966-1992

by Nigel Williamson

Iconoclast, innovator, and influence on generations of musicians, Neil Young has recorded more than 40 albums in a 35+ year career. Nigel Williamson explores Young's entire repertoire, from the early days with Buffalo Springfield to the plaintive troubadour of After the Gold Rush to his latest work. With detailed accounts of the creation of his classic songs, this is an essential companion for Young's devoted fans.

Genres: Music

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2010

Reviews

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

By no means great - or even necessary - but the timing was great for me, I'm on a massive Neil kick right now. I knew most of the stories in this worth knowing, but still...

[Neil Cake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took me a long, long, long, long time to finish this one. Because it's so boring. It doesn't help that Young released a string of terrible albums between 1980 and 1989, and that fact isn't lost on the author. It isn't the author's fault that Neil's music was so bad, but it is his fault that he chose or agreed to write a book that would have to cover that period. In all fairness, the author's impartiality stains the whole thing, since he barely seems enthusiastic about the great music, either.

Elsewhere there are grammatical, titling and factual errors - such as a claim that Nicolette Larson contributed to Young's "Time Out of Mind" album... that was a Bob Dylan album. It also misses out a whole raft of interesting stories that could have rescued this book from being the tawdry killjoy it is.

In summation; don't even bother. Just read one of the many other books about Neil Young's music and take it from there. I recommend Jimmy McDonough's Shakey, for instance.

[Robyn Obermeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big Neil Young Fan, music from him has always been on my playlists! Before playlists and pandora, I am certain Harvest was the first album I chose to buy for i think n3.99 in the star market. This book gave lite to a lot of the stories behind the songs and I am glad to have it in my personal library!

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting how the songs came about, but the text size was way too small to read with any ease.