Well Hello , Mr. Soul

Neil Young.

          Wait...let it sink in.

                    

                                More.... more

                                         

                                                    Ok.

Some have nothing good to say still others worship him as a writing/guitar demi-god. There are a few artists  that initiate such contrasting opinions. Maybe you can't get past his politics or his anti-rock star look or his being (whispered tones) Canadian! I for one really, really like most of Neil Young's stuff…most, though some I hear and wish I could un-hear! His live solos are a bit self-indulgent; his vocals can grate at times but there no denying the talent, passion and soul.

A post about Neil came about like so. As is my usual I grabbed some CDs and jumped in the Foci to drive the 52.5 miles to school. Iron Maiden, ( Powerslave and Piece of Mind) Sabbath-Sabotage, Vol.4 and my burned copy ( guess who burned it, burned copy cuz my brother managed to wonder off with my legit copy) of Young’s Decade Disc.1.  

I slipped in Maiden’s Piece, one of my favorites Harris in all his glory...Dave and Adrian exchanging licks, Bruce's voice, and Niko's mind-bending fills...and I was bored…bored I mean, I guess I know it so well that it was reading a book over and over. I haven’t heard it in while and still remembered word and every note, could it be that my mind was in neutral because I listened to that album literally for 4 months straight back in ’83! Don’t get me wrong I think it is still a masterpiece but I think maybe it is not timeless( Maiden/Maiden Killers and Number still light me up so maybe it's just Nico!!!

So as I stared at the bumper in front of me, and like robo-Tank put in Neil and everything was good. I know Neil just as well but I still found it inspiring, fresh...timeless...and most of it is older than Maiden by 10-20 Years! 

Down to the Wire

“Every time you touch her…sets your hand on fire”

Mr. Soul

“She said, you’re strange, but don't change, and I let her.”

Broken Arrow!  Sugar Mountain! The Loner! Cinnamon “fn’g” Girl! Down by the River! Helpless!

Oh shit it doesn’t let up! "Best of’s" usually suck. But Decade rules if you don’t have it buy it. An epic string of songs, everyone with a lyric that make me think “I wish I had wrote that”!  The other discs are just as loaded, Like a Hurricane, Heart of Gold…. 

Buffalo Springfield and CSN&Y are beyond reproach and Neil’s contribution is obvious. I plead that you revisit these are well.  I won’t launch into a bio, but will say the rock -n-roll landscape would be almost barren without Neil’s contributions. I mean a Les Paul w/ a tremolo!  Come on he was in a band with Rick James Bitch!!  

Here is some stuff I found…there is some Neil with J.P.J., Plant and Page on youtube but I deemed it unworthy of ESG, it's kinds cool, but when Plant picks up a guitar...I think everyone in the joint was like( in a cockney accent)

       "Bobby ummm...,perhaps you could wait on that... Pagey and Neil "bloody" Young have brought their Les Pauls and all..., we know you can play but...ok.... ummm maybe you could do "If I were a Carpenter"... you know a little acoustic thing at the after-party...NOT NOW!"

any-who here is a couple a vids I did deem worthy!

                                                  Best mutton chops ever!

This is iconic, yeah that is the word...iconic. I feel like punching a cop(even more than usual) after this!

"I wanna love you but I'm gettin' blown away"
Neil was flannel before flannel was cool...the first time flannel was cool.



Wow! The gangs all here! So much talent on one stage... a favorite of favorites, this song still blows me away!


The double an-tantra is so subtle that when I was a kid I thought this song was about killing! Now I know it is about dying.

P.s.
I played Number of the Beast front to back and it Kicks ASS!...Clive Burr rules...so it is Nico, not me!

Up the Irons! Up the Neil too!