Review: ‘Heart Of Gold, The Songs Of Neil Young, Vol 1’ – A Nice Tribute LP Benefiting The Bridge School (feat. Eddie Vedder, Fiona Apple & Others)

I don’t know what rock I was living under lately – I have been listening to late period Doors and a lot of single-LP live albums of late and was rather immersed in that, I guess – but I was completely unaware that in late April there was a wonderful Neil Young tribute album released with a host of different artists (14 in total), each one doing a different cover of one of Neil’s songs. And best of all, the album benefits Neil’s main philanthropy, the Bridge School which was founded (by Neil & his ex-wife Pegi) to assist people with severe physical and verbal impairments… and good on them for doing so! Neil hosts an acoustic concert every year to raise money for the school (The Bridge School Benefit concerts) and has released several live performances from those shows from “various artists.” I’ve seen that everybody from Springsteen to a reunited Jefferson Airplane played the show at one time…the Airplane started with just Grace Slick and Paul Kantner on stage but then the other members appeared from the shadows… very cool. Oh, to be able to attend one of these shows (#BucketList)! I think Metallica even showed up one year? However, I think this is the first time an actual studio tribute album has been put together to help the school. It’s one thing to show up and play a show, it’s quite another to go into the studio. Kudos to all the artists involved in this project.

We do so love good cover songs at B&V. I especially enjoy cover albums, where an artist does an entire album worth of covers. A cover song is like a two-fer down at the local bar. If you’re already familiar with the original version, a cover song will not only conjure up that memory but it also gives you something new to hang your hat on in terms of that song. Like, say, three different versions of “Pinball Wizard,” or “Really Got A Hold On Me,” everybody brings something different to the song. Cover songs can go different ways – the new artist can try to completely reinvent the song or they end up doing a slavishly similar version of the original. It’s our hope that each artists bring something new or special to the track and I think over most of these 14 tracks, the artist actually do that here. And what a wide variety of choices, from Neil’s time in Buffalo Springfield all the way up to Harvest Moon. 

Whenever you see one of these tribute albums and the credit to “various artists,” you can expect a mixed bag of music. The wonderful tribute album for Fats Domino springs to mind. And in this case, you really do get a grab bag in terms of the artists. It’s split between artists who I’m familiar with (Steve Earle, Brandi Carlile) and even some who rank amongst my favorites (Eddie Vedder, Fiona Apple) all the way through to artists I’ve never even heard of (Chris Pierce, Charlie Greene). However, in this particular case, despite the wide array of artists, the actual music hangs together pretty well as an album. Neil Young has always had two sides to his music – a rock n roll yin and yang, if you will – one acoustic and one side raucously loud, electric squall (think Crazy Horse). Most of the artist’s here cleave to Neil’s acoustic side and that makes for a rather surprisingly consistent album. I’ll admit, as I told my best bud Doug over beers this weekend, when I found out about this and saw that Eddie Vedder was singing “Needle And The Damage Done,” I couldn’t wait to hear this thing. Whether Eddie is covering Tom Petty’s “Room At The Top” for a TV show or the Beatles’ “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away,” I’m gonna show up for it… the guy can sing the phone book and make it compelling.

I’ve heard complaints over the years, mostly from the Rock Chick, about how she’s not crazy about Neil’s voice. And this despite my repeated efforts to turn her on to Neil’s music which always fails. I strongly disagree and feel that Neil’s ability to bring such raw, naked emotion to his vocals is more thrilling to me than hearing say, Steve Perry, belt out “Faithfully.” Not that I have any issues with Steve Perry. If he rejoined Journey, I’d give it a listen… I was raised in the American Midwest and we were all weened on Arena Rock and Bob Seger, so sue me. Anyway, this choice record of covers is the perfect way to enjoy Neil’s wonderful, if sometimes idiosyncratic, songwriting with a different singer if you’re not into him. You can set aside your complaints about his shaky vocals and just enjoy the tunes. And believe me, there’s plenty to enjoy here.

Let me start with the artists I was familiar with. As I foreshadowed earlier, I just love Eddie Vedder doing “Needle And The Damage Done.” He brings his singular intensity to the vocals. It’s a simple song but so majestic in it’s beauty. Speaking of majestic, Brandi Carlile, whose recent work with Elton sadly left me slightly cold, steps up and does a spectacular version of “Philadelphia,” a song Neil wrote for the Tom Hanks’ movie Philadelphia. Director Jonathan Demme approached Neil for a raucous theme song and after seeing the movie, Neil gave him the stark “Philadelphia.” So Demme approached Springsteen for something more upbeat… Bruce saw the movie and gave him “Streets Of Philadelphia.” Clearly Demme was wrong about the vibe he was looking for in terms of music. Asking two artists for a theme song reminds me of the animated movie Heavy Metal whose director asked both Sammy Hagar and Don Felder for title songs and got two very different tracks both named “Heavy Metal,” but I digress. Anyway, with just her voice and piano Brandi manages to crush this tune. Goosebumps on the arms, folks.

The song here, by an artist I love but wasn’t expecting to be so moved by, is “Heart Of Gold” laid down by Fiona Apple. She does a great version of this song, driven by her wonderful piano. It was such a great surprise, I hadn’t known she was involved and we haven’t heard anything new from her since the genius of Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Mumford & Sons tackle “Harvest,” and the first time I listened to the album was on headphones and the instrumentation was so quiet it gave me a cappella vibes. Neil’s original sort of gallops and this one strolls. Stephen Marley, son of Bob, shows up with perhaps the most “re-imagined” version of a song, “Old Man,” and turns it into a laid back reggae tune. Who’d have thought that would work? But it does. Although I do like Beck’s version of “Old Man,” which is much more traditional albeit wasted on that Tom Brady NFL commercial.

The Lumineers nail the teen angst of “Sugar Mountain” and add a lovely piano to the acoustic guitar driven track. Steve Earle, who I should pay more attention to, lays down a great country rock version of the Stills-Young Band‘s “Long May You Ride.” The only track from an artist I know and like that left me a bit… bewildered… was the Doobie Brothers with Michael McDonald on lead vocals doing “Comes A Time” with a wonderful harmony vocal from someone called Alison Russell, who I don’t know. Alison’s harmony vocal kind of makes the tune. McDonald’s voice has dropped a bit lower of late (surprising for the Admiral of Yacht Rock). I don’t hate it… it was a big surprise. I’d have liked to hear Patrick Simmons who sang “Black Water” maybe take a crack on this one…but then I’m more of a Tom Johnston Doobie fan.

From the artists I don’t know, and that covers almost half the album, we still get some great performances. Courtney Barnett brings real Nicolette Larson energy to the “Lotta Love.” It’s a nice cover. Sharon Van Etton, who again, I don’t know, picked a wonderful track from Young’s solo debut album, “Here We Are In The Years,” and I think she crushes it. I really like the song and her version is quite good. Country stalwart Rodney Crowell does a less Stonesy version of the Buffalo Springfield’s “Mr. Soul.” He’s one of the few artists who chose to do a Neil rocker instead of an acoustic track. Someone called Anders Osbourne, an Americana artist, does a deconstructed version of “Cowgirl In The Sand,” a brave choice. Rather than match the fire of the original version Neil did with Crazy Horse, he does the first half acoustically and then lets the electric guitars explode for the end. Charlie Green does a faithful version of “Such A Woman” from Neil’s Harvest Moon. He strips away the big dramatic strings and just boils it down to the essence of the emotion. Chris Pierce, who I’d never heard of, takes Neil’s Civil Rights anthem “Southern Man” to church. It’s much more mellow and I’m getting real gospel vibes here. It works but hey, the original is one of my all time favorite tracks.

I think this is an album that everybody should own, if just for the fact that it benefits the Bridge School. The best news about this whole thing is the part of the album title that reads, Volume 1. I do hope there are Volumes 2 and even 3. This is, for a tribute album, a coherent whole and makes for a great listen. Since most of this is Neil’s acoustic side, you’re probably not going to hear this at a protest march any time soon, like say, “Ohio,” but damn this is a good little listen with a tumbler of sour mash.

Put the headphones on, pour something strong and enjoy! And you can do so knowing that you’re doing it for charity! Guilt free!

Cheers!