Silver & Gold

by

Neil Young

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My title is a lyric from "Distant Camera", cut number 8 on this 10 song disk and 10 songs of love are what Neil offers here. Make no mistake this is mellow Neil; hard rocking, distorted-amp electric Neil stayed home for this one, and that's OK, we know he'll come around soon. So let's enjoy an album of love songs which flows from beginning to end almost as if it was one long ballad, exploring the topic of love and its many facets. The title track puts true love on the front burner and material things on the back. This cut in particular is outstanding with a "Harvest Moon" feel. "Daddy Went Walking" is Neil the storyteller painting a lyrical picture in the vein of "Old King" from Harvest Moon. "Buffalo Springfield Again" is naturally an auto-biographical looking back with an older and wiser perspective, and a bit of longing for times past. "Red Sun" is a stand-out song about lasting love and "Razor Love" acknowledges a hurtful side of love. The rest of the cuts are excellent with appearances by Linda Rhondstat and Emmylou Harris on harmony. For those of us who appreciate both "Evil" Neil and "Nice" Neil this is a 5-star album...For those who prefer only "Evil" Neil take a pass on this one...

I admit, the naughty Neil strikes my ears, I appreciate when he mixes his sounds in his albums, the easy listenings with the rebel tunes. He does this well in his "Harvest" album. But listening to this just reminds me that Neil is getting old. Buy "Silver and Gold" if you are in a stage of life to get all sentimental. "Good to See You" is definetley a solid song -- it is short, striking, I can continually listen to it, and the song deserves a spot on a movie soundtrack. "Razor Love" is another powerful song;it makes me a little teary-eyed. I have always felt that Neil was a man to listen to if you wanted to relate to someone, share emotions and all. Buy this CD if you feel the repose coming in your life, Neil Young will settle you down with this one. It is silver, but the gold is not polished- you'll have to rub it for a while.