Neil Young: About 40 Years Late for a Grammy
A damned near travesty of overdue credit it was. Neil Young’s legendary 1972 release, Harvest – including tacks like ‘Old Man‘ and ‘Heart of Gold‘ – and countless other masterpieces have gone for decades without due credit. While I’m probably overlooking several others for a self evident reason, Neil Young may well be the most under-appreciated musician in recent memory. If that was an exaggeration (which it probably isn’t), than at the very least it is true for Canadians (which he generally only refers to himself when wherein).
Young was finally awarded a Grammy, albeit not for his music, but rather the “MusiCares Person of the Year”. Whatever. Some of the reasons cited for Young winning it are laudable by any standard, but much of it was a Hollywood political statement (think Al Gore winning an Oscar, except without any artistic merit).
Young receiving an award for official Hollywood approving of his opinions (can’t we all get an award for that?) actually denigrated a man who has long since deserved honor for his music. Ironically, Young’s music is about as anti-Hollywood as one can possibly imagine, while still actually selling enough records to eat. Throwing Young a left-overs dish for the Grammy’s crew to reassure themselves that they haven’t forgotten this guitar-giant does disrespect to a man that has deserved more than one Grammy in his time.
Young has done himself a disservice at times though. His over the top anti-Bush album ‘Living With War’ was his way of bringing out his lost inner-hippy, and that alright. What wasn’t alright is when on tour after LWW’s release, that’s all he played. That’s all, he played.
As someone who would be tempted to make a little girl cry to listen to Young live for just 5 minutes, it goes without saying that I felt a little let down when he played not a single classic (minus 2 older political rants), and only visceral nonsense in his campaign against Bush’s bid for a 3rd term. Come to think of it, I’ve seen a better show from Star Wars Kid (he’s also great in 2.0). But like Young’s comeback albums – think ‘Decade’ in 72 and ‘Harvest Moon’ in 92 – he came back with me as well, playing an unforgettable concert in Kingston of last summer.
Those who have accomplished great things deserve to be recognized, but if the Grammy’s have overlooked Young for this long and only throw him a mercy prize now, he should take the award as a gentleman, but keep in mind that their vain attempts at self-appreciation aren’t needed for his fans to appreciate his work, and him as an artist.
January 30, 2010
Tags: Decade, Grammy, Grammy's, Harvest, Harvest Moon, Heart of Gold, Neil Young, Old Man Posted in: Blog Content
3 Responses
Interesting article. It is a crying shame that such an amazing artist who has been so influential in the music world and dubbed the “grandfather of grunge” has not received more recognition. I’m sure many of us can comfortably state that Neil Young has had an influence on our lives in one way or another.
I never understood the hype about Neil Young. He is a mediocre singer, a terrible lead guitarist, and many of his songs are simplistic 1,2, or 3 chord specials. Some of his songs are pleasant, and there’s a certain nostalgia factor that gives them a rosy glow, but speaking as a musician myself, the guy bores me.
I sure wish singers, actors and other entertainers would keep their mouths shut about their politics. I won’t buy music or watch movies featuring several different people already, and the list just keeps getting longer…
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