jammasterjamie's review against another edition
3.0
Neil Young really likes model trains. I mean, he really likes them. Neil Young also really likes classic cars, and he's passionate about bringing the truest sound possible to music fans everywhere. Probably half of this disjointed narrative focuses on those three things. There are also a couple of brutally honest passages about wrongs against other people that Neil has perpetrated over the years. Lots of talk about a bunch of people I've never heard of, and a few nice ones about people I love. I could have easily given this book two stars, but come on! This is Neil Young in his own words,and that alone is worth the price of admission every time. Is it as comprehensive a look and. His life as Shakey is? No. But this is all about Neil, as told by Neil, and that made it an enjoyable read for me.
mschmug's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this. I enjoyed Neil Young's sense of humour, his love of his friends and family, and his art. I respect how he refers to the caregivers of his son (who is profoundly disabled) as family. I'm not sure anyone edited this book, he rambles and repeats things but he is so charming it doesn't matter. He has led such a charmed life.
Maybe I should have chosen this as my book club selection. Ha ha!
Maybe I should have chosen this as my book club selection. Ha ha!
alexsiddall's review against another edition
1.0
One weird book. Stream-of-conscience banalities from start to end crying out for an editor to give it some shape and style; yet at the same time a perfect work in its own raw honesty. Sometimes coy, mostly revealing, very repetitious - is this man a fruitcake or a genius? While I definitely did not like this book I found it strangely compelling.
deeclancy's review against another edition
5.0
It took me a long time to read this book. Some of the reasons for this were personal, as I had just started it when, completely out of nowhere, I found myself becoming part of the Great Reshuffle and changing jobs, so a lot of mental energy went into this transition. That said, I am not sure I would have read the book very quickly anyway. It is not your normal memoir. This may delight some people, and irritate others. Or, like me, you may find that you feel a combination of both sensations.
Often, I found that the very attributes in the book that deeply irritated me were also a source of enjoyment, depending on the day I had a reading session. For example, the lack of any discernible structure was difficult and confusing at times, and I found myself really wondering why such a well-known publishing house as Penguin might scrimp on the editorial process. Was there any editor for structure? It's hard to say. On the other hand, I came to enjoy making a cup of tea, sitting down, and reading for 20 minutes every so often over a few months. I began to think of it as having an occasional chat around the campfire with Uncle Neil. That is what the prose feels like, much of the time; just having a bit of a one-sided but generally enjoyable chat. I was both glad and sorry when I finished the book, for the above reasons.
You finish one paragraph, and the next may be a continuation of the previous one, or it may be an abrupt change of subject. The anecdote you are reading may be from 1974 or 2004; often this is not immediately clear. After a while, I decided to stop feeling frustrated by these traits of the writing and just let it all wash over me. So what, I thought, if I genuinely don't know for a few paragraphs at a time whether he was talking about a car or a person? His cars all have human names and tend to be held in the same regard and affection, so the tone can be the same as when he talks about family or friends. Once you get into the book, you start to realise you have an access to the thought processes of an artist with a consciousness that isn't necessarily bound by time and sequence, and this starts to feel like a privileged sort of access. You begin to appreciate the fact that he is showing you some of what makes him tick, if not all. I'd imagine most artists who are famous know that you have to hold quite a lot back also, if only to maintain your sanity.
This is a deeply eccentric book, but it does have some brilliant observations and anecdotes, and it is definitely an important book in documenting the interactions and personalities in music at a particular time in history. I would argue that the mid-60s to the mid-70s will come to be seen as something of a golden era in relation to music. The fact that Neil Young gets incredibly resistant whenever new technologies start to affect the world of music is a part of what motivates him to provide some fascinating insights into the evolution of how music was made in the '60s and '70s, versus now. He is deeply obsessed with the subject of what, in his mind, is the inferior sound quality of digital music. Significant portions of the book are dedicated to his plans to remedy this with the help of Silicon Valley key players. As far as I'm aware, has not yet come to fruition.
Admittedly, I had to let some of the detail on this wash over me, but it's an area that Young writes about with a lot of technical detail, driven by great feeling. I grew up buying vinyl, being Generation X, and I remember Young being just as vocal against the quality of CDs when they arrived as he is against that of digital music. He is an obsessive individual in terms of technology - with model railways and railway history generally, with the detailed mechanics of cars, and with music technology, obviously. In fact, I almost didn't read the book at all because it began with model railway-related prose, and nothing else, and this is something I knew I couldn't withstand for 497 pages. In a parallel universe, there is probably another Neil Young with his own thriving engineering practice.
Having been to see Young play with Dylan in 2019 in Kilkenny, I can report that he can still rock with the best of them. He practically brought the house down. The critics said the show belonged to him, but I don't agree because that's what Dylan fans do; they go to his gigs and love them regardless of whether Dylan is in good or bad form, because it's Dylan (and actually, I thought he was in good form that time). But Young is a phenomenal live performer, who really knows how to get a crowd going. It makes you think that maybe he's onto something in his obsession with technology. Being a non-expert on these matters, I have to say I've always found digital fine as long as you have a decent speaker system. If you buy cheap bluetooth speakers, it does sound tinny, but that could be said for any type of music medium and speaker quality, including vinyl.
Although there have been many developments in Young's life and art since this book was written, and despite its eccentricities, it is still more than worth a read. I respect the honesty in the book about the toll of drink and drugs in the world of music, his womanizing, and so forth; though unlike some in entertainment, he does seem to go for age-appropriate women. I love the way he writes about his children, and also the manner in which he uses the book to pay tribute to the many musicians he has worked with along the way and the contributions they have made to his music and to music generally.
Unlike Morrissey, who has descended into the far-right since I read his memoir, Neil Young resists any temptation to use memoir as a medium to settle scores (though it has to be said, Morrissey does have a more discernible structure to his book). It seems that Young feels as much passion for those of his projects that have never seen the light of day publicly as those which have been highly successful, be it music or film-related. It is difficult not to admire and be drawn in by what seems like a boyish passion and to note that, broadly speaking, he comes across as a very decent individual, who is honest about his mistakes and grateful for the simple joys of everyday life.
Frustrating and delightful, but worthwhile. I give it five stars, despite the caveats, because it's a valuable document written by an artist who is authentic, which feels rare and refreshing in the Instagram Age.
*One minor quibble is that on page 468, he implies that Dylan never went back to acoustic after famously going electric in the mid-60s. This is not exactly true. I've been at many Dylan gigs where at least a few songs were acoustic. Additionally, the underestimated album World Gone Wrong is an entire, rather haunting, acoustic blues-folk album from the early '90s.
Often, I found that the very attributes in the book that deeply irritated me were also a source of enjoyment, depending on the day I had a reading session. For example, the lack of any discernible structure was difficult and confusing at times, and I found myself really wondering why such a well-known publishing house as Penguin might scrimp on the editorial process. Was there any editor for structure? It's hard to say. On the other hand, I came to enjoy making a cup of tea, sitting down, and reading for 20 minutes every so often over a few months. I began to think of it as having an occasional chat around the campfire with Uncle Neil. That is what the prose feels like, much of the time; just having a bit of a one-sided but generally enjoyable chat. I was both glad and sorry when I finished the book, for the above reasons.
You finish one paragraph, and the next may be a continuation of the previous one, or it may be an abrupt change of subject. The anecdote you are reading may be from 1974 or 2004; often this is not immediately clear. After a while, I decided to stop feeling frustrated by these traits of the writing and just let it all wash over me. So what, I thought, if I genuinely don't know for a few paragraphs at a time whether he was talking about a car or a person? His cars all have human names and tend to be held in the same regard and affection, so the tone can be the same as when he talks about family or friends. Once you get into the book, you start to realise you have an access to the thought processes of an artist with a consciousness that isn't necessarily bound by time and sequence, and this starts to feel like a privileged sort of access. You begin to appreciate the fact that he is showing you some of what makes him tick, if not all. I'd imagine most artists who are famous know that you have to hold quite a lot back also, if only to maintain your sanity.
This is a deeply eccentric book, but it does have some brilliant observations and anecdotes, and it is definitely an important book in documenting the interactions and personalities in music at a particular time in history. I would argue that the mid-60s to the mid-70s will come to be seen as something of a golden era in relation to music. The fact that Neil Young gets incredibly resistant whenever new technologies start to affect the world of music is a part of what motivates him to provide some fascinating insights into the evolution of how music was made in the '60s and '70s, versus now. He is deeply obsessed with the subject of what, in his mind, is the inferior sound quality of digital music. Significant portions of the book are dedicated to his plans to remedy this with the help of Silicon Valley key players. As far as I'm aware, has not yet come to fruition.
Admittedly, I had to let some of the detail on this wash over me, but it's an area that Young writes about with a lot of technical detail, driven by great feeling. I grew up buying vinyl, being Generation X, and I remember Young being just as vocal against the quality of CDs when they arrived as he is against that of digital music. He is an obsessive individual in terms of technology - with model railways and railway history generally, with the detailed mechanics of cars, and with music technology, obviously. In fact, I almost didn't read the book at all because it began with model railway-related prose, and nothing else, and this is something I knew I couldn't withstand for 497 pages. In a parallel universe, there is probably another Neil Young with his own thriving engineering practice.
Having been to see Young play with Dylan in 2019 in Kilkenny, I can report that he can still rock with the best of them. He practically brought the house down. The critics said the show belonged to him, but I don't agree because that's what Dylan fans do; they go to his gigs and love them regardless of whether Dylan is in good or bad form, because it's Dylan (and actually, I thought he was in good form that time). But Young is a phenomenal live performer, who really knows how to get a crowd going. It makes you think that maybe he's onto something in his obsession with technology. Being a non-expert on these matters, I have to say I've always found digital fine as long as you have a decent speaker system. If you buy cheap bluetooth speakers, it does sound tinny, but that could be said for any type of music medium and speaker quality, including vinyl.
Although there have been many developments in Young's life and art since this book was written, and despite its eccentricities, it is still more than worth a read. I respect the honesty in the book about the toll of drink and drugs in the world of music, his womanizing, and so forth; though unlike some in entertainment, he does seem to go for age-appropriate women. I love the way he writes about his children, and also the manner in which he uses the book to pay tribute to the many musicians he has worked with along the way and the contributions they have made to his music and to music generally.
Unlike Morrissey, who has descended into the far-right since I read his memoir, Neil Young resists any temptation to use memoir as a medium to settle scores (though it has to be said, Morrissey does have a more discernible structure to his book). It seems that Young feels as much passion for those of his projects that have never seen the light of day publicly as those which have been highly successful, be it music or film-related. It is difficult not to admire and be drawn in by what seems like a boyish passion and to note that, broadly speaking, he comes across as a very decent individual, who is honest about his mistakes and grateful for the simple joys of everyday life.
Frustrating and delightful, but worthwhile. I give it five stars, despite the caveats, because it's a valuable document written by an artist who is authentic, which feels rare and refreshing in the Instagram Age.
*One minor quibble is that on page 468, he implies that Dylan never went back to acoustic after famously going electric in the mid-60s. This is not exactly true. I've been at many Dylan gigs where at least a few songs were acoustic. Additionally, the underestimated album World Gone Wrong is an entire, rather haunting, acoustic blues-folk album from the early '90s.
tjr's review against another edition
3.0
To paraphrase my Dad, "I don't think Neil Young is that good of a writer."
Imagine: my Dad and I were at hunt camp, in the Fall of 2012. Young's autobiography had just come out not long before, and as a long-time fan, I bought the book the day it came out. I was mid-way through the book by the time hunting season came around, and so Waging Heavy Peace was the book I brought with me to camp, to read when I had moments to spare.
After dinner one evening, my Dad picked up the book and started thumbing through, probably reading for about an hour or so, at which point he summed up his sentiment that kicked off this post: Neil wasn't that great at writing prose.
I could not disagree.
I suspect it may have something to do with Neil being, first and foremost, a terrific songwriter and musician. His talent lies in painting pictures with words that listeners may glimpse when delivered according to the rhythm of music. Strip away the song, the timbre and beat, and Neil's prose loses a lot of the magic that makes his music so great.
If you are a fan of Young, you will no doubt enjoy reading his own interpretation of the past; your interpretation of the book will no doubt be skewed more favourably. If you're not a fan, this book may be a more challenging read. A professional editor would have helped tremendously.
Imagine: my Dad and I were at hunt camp, in the Fall of 2012. Young's autobiography had just come out not long before, and as a long-time fan, I bought the book the day it came out. I was mid-way through the book by the time hunting season came around, and so Waging Heavy Peace was the book I brought with me to camp, to read when I had moments to spare.
After dinner one evening, my Dad picked up the book and started thumbing through, probably reading for about an hour or so, at which point he summed up his sentiment that kicked off this post: Neil wasn't that great at writing prose.
I could not disagree.
I suspect it may have something to do with Neil being, first and foremost, a terrific songwriter and musician. His talent lies in painting pictures with words that listeners may glimpse when delivered according to the rhythm of music. Strip away the song, the timbre and beat, and Neil's prose loses a lot of the magic that makes his music so great.
If you are a fan of Young, you will no doubt enjoy reading his own interpretation of the past; your interpretation of the book will no doubt be skewed more favourably. If you're not a fan, this book may be a more challenging read. A professional editor would have helped tremendously.
digitalgypsy66's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this book, add it was much like a long conversation with Neil Young. Meandering would be a kind way of describing it, but the stream of consciousness style worked really well.
Long May You Run, Neil!
Long May You Run, Neil!
shoemaker's review against another edition
2.0
Even for someone who loves Neil Young's music, this book is rambling and disjointed, sometimes almost painfully so. But, at times it manages, also like his music, to be unpolished and heartfelt. As Neil says: "Do not doubt me in my sincerity, for it is that which has brought us to each other now" (137).
rodhunt's review against another edition
4.0
A fantastic read. If you don't like the style you probably don't like the breadth and variety of his art
lildebbie57's review
5.0
I felt like I just took a road trip with Neil Young. I loved the random stream of consciousness and thoughtful chaos of it all. Everything about this book is genuine. His gratefulness and appreciation for so many parts of his life and general attitude are heartwarming and inspiring. I cannot wait to go back and listen to some of my favorite albums with this extra knowledge and perspective I have gained.
timhoiland's review against another edition
2.0
Neil Young is a masterful songwriter. Unfortunately, he's a very bad book writer, and it took a great deal of perseverance to get through this one.