Young Again

Neil Young is the sort of artist who can do almost no wrong. Whether he jumps onstage with Pearl Jam and plays "Rocking in the Free World" or sits at a piano and bashes out his more confessional, moody pieces such as "A Man Needs a Maid," Young can do it all. And despite his recent brain aneurism and brain surgery,(which he has thankfully recovered from)he still is making sweet, golden music with his latest album and documentary, "Heart of Gold."

I have to say my favorite of his is still "Harvest, which I bought a few years ago at a Sam's Club. We had a record or two of his and I was always interested in how intricate and clever this seemingly simple musician's works were. The fuzzy guitars, warm harmonica breaks, sometimes a harmonium or piano was thrown in there-all made for great music. "After the Gold Rush" is an album worth mentioning since it also is one of his best with the above mentioned instruments and characteristics of a great Neil Young album. The title itself is reflective of how Young's mind works, asking us to think of what life was like not just during the gold rush, but after.

In Harvest, Young enlists some heavy and earnest backing help.Backing vocals supplied by none other than James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, to name a few, the album speaks to me.It tells me that while "A Man Needs a Maid," he really neds someone to love and care for him, such as a wife or lover. It tells me that while some find the use of drugs to be cool, if you use the "needle,"...the "damage" is "done."

In "Old Man" he tells us that everyone gets old. He is saying we need to live our lives and be ourselves, that he(Mr. Young)is like the rest of us. "I've been first and last, look at how the time goes fast"In "Heart of Gold" he says that he's Been to Hollywood, he's been to Redwood, he's been a miner for a heart of gold. It's everythingwe all want, almost everyone in the world wants love. Neil Young knows us and I'm happy to know his music.