Rating: 
Summary: The Definitive Neil Young bio
Review: To quote a phrase Neil apparently uses often, this book was "very innaresting." Seriously, I could not put this down.
Before getting this biography, I was a casual fan and I knew less than nothing about Neil Young. From just listening to his radio hits I had put together a vague image of a patriotic hippy who dresses like a scruffy Indian. After just the first few chapters though, this image was shattered. Yet after finishing the book completely, I don't know if I'm any closer to knowing him. He is infinitely more complicated than I had thought.
Jimmy McDonough does the best possible job telling Neil's life story. And if you know anything about Neil, you know this is no easy task. The man has got to be the most elusive personality in rock and roll. You can't pin him down on a subject for long, and he's apt to up and leave any project at any time for any reason and you won't know he left till he's halfway across the country. Of course, this all makes the book just that much more of a good read.
Shakey reveals much about his life that I've never known. His childhood is covered pretty extensively and I think that's instrumental in understanding his songs. Dealings with CSNY are of course covered in detail. Interviews with David Briggs, Jack Nietzche, and others close to Neil provide great insight into life on Neil's huge ranch and into his recording process, which I think is priceless. But the best part of the book, for me, is the extensive interview with Neil that runs throughout the entire book. For someone who doesn't like to talk much about himself to the press, this is like a goldmine to a Neil Young fan.
Some reviewers have already mentioned that towards the end of the book Jimmy falters a bit. Yeah he does, there's no denying it. He gets a little too subjective, goes on for a little too long about Neil's association with trains, and basically loses focus. But really, it's no big deal. I went through this book in a week, then went back over certain parts. After being so immersed in Neil's world, I found myself not wanting to leave. Make sure you have plenty of Neil's albums around, cause you'll be wanting to hear them as they're being discussed in the book. This is a really "innaresting" read and for any fan of Neil it's a solid buy.
Rating:
Summary: Enter the Mind of a Songwriter
Review: Unbelievable, absolutely the best authorized rock bio I've ever read. If you are a songwriter, an individualist, an artist, a 60's/70's phreak, a druggie, a mystic, a musician, a roadie or groupie who knows how to read, a producer, engineer, guitar phreak...or, if you just like reading page after page of uproariously funny and crazy and sick junk, then this one's for you! The author gets in the way of himself just a little, and he's a little taken with himself, but it just goes with the territory, so all is forgiven, especially because the guy is a TOTAL fan. Man, Neil Young is the place where sensitive and ruthless just merge and explode. I can't believe that this guy made SO MANY rotten records, SO MANY records that JUST PLAIN SUCK! But - take ZUMA, HARVEST, ON THE BEACH, TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT, TIME FADES AWAY (Young's LEAST favorite record, heh heh), and GOLD RUSH, and roll into that some of the better live records, and that's all you need. That, and this amazing book.Oh, and long live Ben Keith.
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