Young, Neil

Shakey: Neil Young's Biography

Cantankerous and secretive, Neil Young has banished authors from his inner sanctum--until now. In Shakey, Jimmy McDonough distills more than 300 interviews (including guarded yet revealing interrogations of Young himself) into the definitive biography: the skyrocket success, willful disasters, health horrors and triumphs, stunning comebacks, and highly colorful scuffles with equally impossible characters like Stephen Stills, David Crosby, and the incompetent yet brilliant musicians of Crazy Horse. Young is not quite the noble soul some thought--he's an astounding control freak. But he is never less than fascinating. "As ruthless as I may seem to be," Young tells McDonough, "you gotta do what ya gotta do. Just like a f-----' vampire. Heh heh heh." --Tim Appelo

Neil Young is one of rock and roll’s most important and enigmatic figures, a legend from the sixties who is still hugely influential today. He has never granted a writer access to his inner life – until now. Based on six years of interviews with more than three hundred of Young’s associates, and on more than fifty hours of interviews with Young himself, Shakey is a fascinating, prodigious account of the singer’s life and career. Jimmy McDonough follows Young from his childhood in Canada to his cofounding of Buffalo Springfield to the huge success of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to his comeback in the nineties. Filled with never-before-published words directly from the artist himself, Shakey is an essential addition to the top shelf of rock biographies.

The Words and Music of Neil Young (The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection)

Neil Young is an icon, plain and simple. The Words and Music of Neil Young follows the evolution of Young's musical work from the late 1960s to the present, with special focus on the enduring elements that have made his music successful. Neil Young cannot be simply labeled. He has recorded as a solo artist, as a member of a hard rock trio, and with numerous other musician configurations. He can move from the soft sounds of early 1970s acoustic folk to the distorted, fuzz guitar sound of Crazy Horse, while his compositions have responded to musical trends from punk rock to grunge, and to social issues like racism, the Vietnam War, and war in Iraq as well. Individual chapters cover Young's musical output album by album, and song by song--from his debut work with Buffalo Springfield, to his time with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, to his solo work within various genres and for various causes (some political, but all artistic). In his conclusion, author Ken Bielen sums up Neil Young's accomplishments and places his work in the context of contemporary culture. A discography and bibliography round out the work.

Neil Young And The Poetics Of Energy (Musical Meaning and Interpretation; Profiles in Popular Music)

As a writer in Wired magazine puts it, Neil Young is a "folk-country-grunge dinosaur [who has been] reborn (again) as an Internet-friendly, biodiesel-driven, multimedia machine." In Neil Young and the Poetics of Energy, William Echard stages an encounter between Young’s challenging and ever-changing work and current theories of musical meaning—an encounter from which both emerge transformed.

Echard roots his discussion in an extensive review of writings from the rock press as well as his own engagement as a fan and critical theorist. How is it that Neil Young is both a perpetual outsider and critic of rock culture, and also one of its most central icons? And what are the unique properties that have lent his work such expressive force? Echard delves into concepts of musical persona, space, and energy, and in the process illuminates the complex interplay between experience, musical sound, social actors, genres, styles, and traditions.

Readers interested primarily in Neil Young, or rock music in general, will find a new way to think and talk about the subject, and readers interested primarily in musical or cultural theory will find a new way to articulate and apply some of the most exciting current perspectives on meaning, music, and subjectivity.

Neil Young Guitar Anthology (Guitar Anthology Series)

Titles include: Alabama; Broken Arrow; Cinnamon Girl; Country Girl; Cowgirl in the Sand; Harvest Moon; Heart of Gold; Helpless; Like a Hurricane; Long My You Run; The Needle and the Damage Done; Old Man; On the Way Home; Only Love Can Break Your Heart; Southern Man; Sugar Mountain; Tell Me Why. Authentic Guitar Tab.

Neil Young Nation: A Quest, an Obsession (and a True Story)

While some may be forgiven for assuming that Neil Young Nation is yet another in a crowd of Neil Young biographies, this is neither among those officially sanctioned (Shakey, Don't Be Denied) nor an unauthorized facts-be-damned waste of paper. Never having met with or spoken to the man whose name forms the title (and not wanting to, for fear his role model might be a jerk on such an occasion), Kevin Chong has written a Neil Young book that is less a biography than a memoir: upon turning 29, after spending three years creating a manuscript (for a different book) that no publisher wanted, Chong decided to stop writing fiction, and looked to Neil Young--a man who has succeeded on his own terms--for inspiration on what to do next.

Chong hatched a plan to take a road trip with three friends (Geoff, Dave, and Mark), retracing the journey Young made in early 1966, when he left Canada behind to meet up with Stephen Stills in Los Angeles, where they found immediate fame with their new band Buffalo Springfield. Along the way, Chong interviewed people who had known Young at the early stages of his musical career: former band members, classmates, girlfriends, and others. While well-referenced, what makes the book most rewarding is the dry, self-deprecating humor shared by the author and his traveling companions: "It often seemed to me that Dave and Mark lived in a parallel universe where pretty female strangers, when asked for directions, offered their services as tour guides. On certain levels, I hate them." Equally refreshing is Chong's unwillingness to gloss over some of his hero's questionable attitudes and behaviour regarding relationships and politics, pointing out many contradictions throughout his career but never letting them interfere with his respect for the music and the man. --Eric Wilson

Neil Young: In His Own Words (In Their Own Words)

This unique, best-selling series features quotes gathered over the years from family, friends, and the artists themselves giving the reader a personal insight into their music and world. Fully illustrated throughout with black and white photographs.

Neil Young: The Visual Documentary

Neil Young (Kill Your Idols)

Neil and Me

Scott Young chronicles his son’s early years in and around Toronto and Winnipeg and his rise from journeyman, musician to superstar in the 1960s and 1970s. The frequent occasions when Scott and Neil’s paths have crossed – from backstage meetings and family get-togethers to a sold-out appearance at Carnegie Hall – give a fascinating portrait of an enigmatic star.

Neil Young: Unplugged (Authentic Guitar-Tab Edition)

Includes: The Old Laughing Lady * World on a String * Like a Hurricane * The Needle and the Damage Done * Helpless * Harvest Moon * Transformer Man * Unknown Legend * Look Out for My Love * Long * May you Run * From Hank to Hendrix. ?