Rating: 
Summary: A mediocre biography at best
Review: Although I did enjoy reading a lot of Shakey, I ended up disappointed. The early chapters which describe Neil's battles with polio, his parents divorce, and epileptic seizures I found extremely interesting. Unfortunately once you get to his professional music career, Jimmy McDonough spends more time trying to psychoanalyze what Neil's intentions were instead of just focusing on how things came about. He offers up his personal reviews of albums (many of which I disagree with) that seem like they were taken from his archives as a journalist for Spin magazine. He also picks apart lyrics describing his great interpretation of the heavy symbolism in the songs. Dude, "Homegrown" isn't about man's struggle with the universe, it's about pot! I also found his constant returning to the "Tonight's The Night" album as Neil's greatest accomplishment and the measurment of everything else he's ever done annoying. Also, according to McDonough, Neil Young must be the worst performer of all time since he spends so much time ripping every live performance to shreds describing how out of tune the band was, how much feedback there was, how they couldn't keep the beat, etc. The end of the book finds McDonough complaining to Neil about how much time he's been spending on TV, at the RnR Hall of Fame, at the Academy Awards. Yeah, one thing I hate as a fan is seeing too much of a performer I like! But most of all what I felt the book accomplished was showing Neil as a very unlikeable character. Someone who has temper tantrums, is impossible to work with, doesn't care about the quality of the work he puts out, fires band members on a whim only to call them back years later when he needs to use them, then dump them again, on and on. Well, if you're a Neil fan you may want to check this out, but be aware that at times you will be annoyed.
Rating: 
Summary: GOD REST DAVID BRIGGS, He Drove Neil for years
Review: An amazing Journey through Neils life made me reflect on my own life growing up with Rock and Roll!
Rating:
Summary: One of the funniest books I have ever read.
Review: As a diehard Neil Young fan, I was surprised by just how little I actually knew about what made the guy tick and where that all fit into his music. Young is, after all, one of the most experimental rock artists ever- with each album, you never know what you're going to get, be it acoustic folk, electric grunge, country, or, god help us, synth pop. Yet he's done it all and has no apologies about it. Neil Young drips integrity, as Jimmy McDonough obviously found out the hard way while doing his research and interviews. He portrays Young as human...rarely is the book done in a "Neil Young is god" style. McDonough criticizes, praises, and, most of all, doesn't pull any punches. Of course, the best parts of the book come from Neil Young himself, as his own interjections and interview excerpts pop up all over the place, almost to the point where you could call "Shakey" an autobiography. I found the book funny because it seems like everybody Young associates with is a complete lunatic: musicians, managers, producers, roadies...except for Young himself. He comes across as being the calm in the eye of the storm, whether the storm is working with Crosby, Stills and Nash or taking Crazy Horse on the road. Yet he's had his own ups and downs, from spastic children to the deaths of some of his musical cohorts. Yet Young comes across as both humble and unrepentant: "I've left a big wake of destruction behind me," he freely admits. "Shakey" is not only a salute to Neil Young's music and general artistry, but to his survival. When reading it, you know you're reading about the life of a real human being with absolutely no superstar persona. Funny, introspective and cantakerous all at the same time, or, as Graham Nash puts it when talking about the "Better to burn out than fade away" philosophy, "You get the idea Neil is really pissed that he's survived."
Rating: 
Summary: The most insightful Neil bio
Review: As a long time fan of Neil's I have read a couple of biographies and countless interviews and articles over the years. This is by far the most revealing portrait I have ever seen of this enigmatic, fascinating artist. Even though the book is well over 700 pages, I was never bored. If you are a Neil fan I would have no reservations about recommending it to you. If you are not particularly enamored with his music, it might be a little too inside and too long, but it still tells a compelling, honest story about Young's passion for musical success and his sometimes self-destructive impulse to alienate his audience with projects which he must have known were not commercially viable, especially during the Geffen fiasco.
My primary complaint with the book is that the author injects too much of himself into it. Apparently, he spent 6 years chasing down Young for interviews and got fairly close to Young's family and friends. That makes for good reportage, but his critical analysis of all of Young's music is more than I needed to see. I will make up my own mind about what Neil Young music I like and don't like, thank you.
I thank Jimmy McDonough for writing a great book about a great artist, but next time make it more about the subject and less about yourself.
Rating:
Summary: me first
Review: Here's what I came away with after reading 'Shakey':1) the age-old lesson that wealth and fame corrupts applies to the idols of the counterculture as much as everyone else who came before them. To Young's credit, he has recognized and attempted to avoid their trappings. Unfortunately, Young apparently started life with an illusion of self-importance that, like many of the other figures in the book, was only magnified by wealth and fame. In fact, it seems to be a reality of life that wealth and fame only magnify whatever it is that you are, good and bad.
2) it is possible to believe you are superior to others because you don't overtly try to make yourself superior to others.
3) having musical talent doesn't make you in any way better than anyone else. It is what it is: musical talent. It's no different, really, than being talented on the baseball field, the battlefield, or even the kitchen.
4) Neil, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, the record producers and managers, virtually everyone in the book, has had a lot of pain dished out to them in their lives, and dished out a lot of pain on others. There's an abundance of bad parenting and selfish living that is brought to the fore here. It's interesting how fame and wealth puts a gloss over people's lives that makes the grass seem greener on the other side. I don't think many people would enjoy trading places with Neil given the hardships he's had to endure, including bouts with polio, epilepsy, introversion, and having a disabled child.
5) It's interesting how beautiful music somehow rises to the surface in the midst of such suffering and selfishness. That is the inspiring and compelling phenomenon running throughout this narrative. It is the portions of the book that detail this process, whether taking place in songwriting or performance, that truly held my interest.
6) I excuse the writer for falling into self-excess. Just proves he's no different than anyone else he's writing about. No surprise that in illuminating everyone elses run for the spotlight, some of the photons fell on himself.
7) If there's a Neil Young lyric you've always thought was deep and mystical, forget about it... even Neil can't tell you what it means.
Rating:
Summary: Biographer or Critic?
Review: If you want the facts of Neil's life, they're here. But McDonough reaches a point in the latter part of the book where he seems to think that HE is Neil Young's ultimate creative foil, criticizing and challenging Neil in a no-punches-pulled kind of way that serves the reader and the songwriter equally. He becomes increasingly more of a critic and less of a storyteller of Young's life. I disliked this approach. It still irritates me. McDonough seems to think that much of Neil's work is either slight or pure crap, with few exceptions. So, while it was interesting to me to find out how truly disasterous the "Time Fades Away" tour was, the recorded document of that tour probably doesn't need McDonough's critique. And you know what? The record still stands up. Even if McDonough or even Neil himself doesn't like it. So does the bar band side of "American Stars and Bars." So does the recorded version of "Like an Inca." Or "Old Ways." Readers like me have enjoyed following the musical journey, even when it has run into dead ends. McDonough wants to tell us why it should have been a different journey. Well, too bad, Jimmy. It's a human highway, and Neil is flawed just like the rest of us. So tell us his story, not how he should have done what you wanted him to.
Rating:
Summary: Long May You Run
Review: Jimmy McDonough, who obviously has a penchant for rubbing people the wrong way, crawled uphill in a hail storm to get this monster biography published. The struggle was well worth it. Young's formative years in Canada with his irascible mother Rassy make for an "innaresting" story of a frail, sickly boy who latches onto the sounds drifting north over the plains. This exhaustive study of his eventual career, though it celebrates the prodigious output of an insanely talented songwriter, never descends to idol worship. McDonough maintains a sharp critical eye throughout, and his unaffected prose is loose, often biting. When covering the Buffalo Springfield era, the author justifiably savages the pastiche excesses of "Broken Arrow" while praising the majestic "Expecting to Fly," a song that took Young and Jack Nitzsche a whole month to get right. And boy did they ever get it right. The book fleshes out a large supporting cast and literally drips with atmosphere. You can smell the hippie idyll of Topanga Canyon slowly sour and feel the chemical depravity of sessions dragged down to stupor by honey slides, tequila, and the memory of fallen comrades. Interviews with Young, interspersed throughout the biography, reveal a self-absorbed artist enslaved by his quixotic muse. Changing musicians like they were flannel shirts or guitar strings, Shakey Deal admits to leaving a considerable wake in his tenacious pursuit of the perfect vibe.
Rating:
Summary: Glad Author Wasn't Star-Dazzled
Review: So what if he gave alot of his own opinions? He's the one who went to the trouble to assemble all this material.
I think he draws a truthful portrait of the elusive singer-songwriter. We see Neil as a guy who should launder his language, is baffling, driven, one-of-a-kind--and so much more.
I was surprised by Neil's interest in Carrie Snodgress. Also, by his comment he never listened to other people's music tapes.
Receiving some scarce background on this standout artist was welcome, and added to my understanding of his indefinable persona and inimitable music.
Rating: 
Summary: The best Neil book
Review: The detail and obsession that went into this is evident - this is no usual ham-fisted bio-cash-in. Even the fall out with Neil adds perspective to McDonough's writing. My problem is that while it is flawless in terms of care and detail, McDonough comes accross as rather dislikeable. Fair enough he is a critic a lot of the time, but does he have to sound so preachy and knowing? Dare you have any respect for any of the more 'pretty' Young albums, or CS&N he will shred you to pieces. Furthermore, he's incredibly egotistic. The book is just as much about McDonough as it is Neil and with this I have a problem. Generally an excellent labour of love, but can the guy get off his high horse?
Rating:
Summary: Flawed but fascinating
Review: This book seems to polarize readers--they usually love it or hate it. I lean toward the former, but it's far from a perfect book. But as a lifelong Neil Young fan, I couldn't put it down, even when it annoyed me. The depth of McDonough's research is impressive, and he comes up with scores of fascinating facts and quotes about Neil's past. I've read books on Young before, and was surprised by how much I *didn't* know about him before reading this book. The accounts of recording sessions--often from David Briggs, engineers, and musicians--provide important insight into the finished products. And they helped me understand why Neil never releases "perfect" albums. But it's hard to ignore the shift in the tone of the book when the story gets to the point where McDonough entered the picture (late '80s). While earlier in the book the author revealed his opinions on the music, CSNY, Neil's treatment of people in his life, etc., he kept the narrative moving in a relatively objective way. But that gets thrown out the window later, making the book read like two different manuscripts merged awkwardly. The latter part of the book isn't necessarily bad (though I could live without some of the author's more ignorant rants, like saying Pearl Jam is Jethro Tull without the flute), and it's often fun to read his attempts to antagonize Neil by playing devil's advocate, but the more objective biographical account of the first three-quarters of the book is better. As for Neil the human being--he's an artist, not necessarily a nice person. We already knew that, but this book captures it in much more detail. I came away thinking no less of him (but also no more), but understanding his artistry better. And, his frankness about how the creative muse is not always there is a significant admission that explains some of the weaker periods of his career. For example, though the book was written before their release, I now understand why "Silver and Gold" and "Are You Passionate?" are so tepid compared to his great work--the songwriting well is dry at the moment. Before reading this book, I was positive it was over for Neil...his creative muse was gone for good. Now I'm not so sure. I think it'll come back. Overall, a worthy book. If you're interested in Neil Young at all, you must read it. You won't love all of it, but it's well worth the time and money.
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