When I was young I knew who Neil Young was. I heard his songs on the radio and liked them. It wasn’t till I moved in with my brother and started to pick through his (very limited) record collection that I really listened. One day I found the Rust Never Sleeps album.
Rust never Sleeps is to me a great into to Neil Young. This record covers quite a bit of ground and shows the different facets that make up the artist very well. Also the record contains some truly classic moments. The song Powderfinger is a compelling story in song – even if no one really seems to know quite what it is about. The album bracketing tracks show the acoustic and electric sides of Neil Young very well by showing versions of the same basic song. The crunch of that last song is stunning.
The album Trans is to most people like a slap in the face. I however really like this album, not only for the electronics but because it seems a very honest piece of art. I don’t get that other people hate it that much. Sure, it isn’t Harvest but why does an artist always have to sound the same? It is to Neil’s credit that he could explore new technologies and methods whilst staying true to himself.
The Weld concert is also pretty good too. It shows a mature artist doing what he is good at but pushing things just a bit, not so far as to topple himself but to make the record worth having alongside the studio versions.