A Dreamer Of Pictures: Neil Young: The Man And His Music [Paperback]

David Downing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 1995

Neil Young is arguably the only rock performer and songwriter whose work has retained the respect of a large following while gaining the allegiance of new generations. He has demonstrated a unique ability to combine commercial success with a willful experimentation. His music has encompassed almost every American popular style, from folk to metal, from rockabilly to punk, from rhythm and blues to country; and it is his restless pursuit of new challenges that has led on the one hand to his recognition as one of the few stars who refuses to "sell out," and on the other hand to his being sued by his record company for making albums that were not "characteristic of Neil Young." In A Dreamer of Pictures, David Downing paints an illuminating and entertaining portrait of this contradictory and enigmatic figure. Here we see his childhood in Canada and his first forays into musicmaking; his ups and downs with Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and Crazy Horse; the privations and excesses of life on the road; his unconventional filmmaking and fundraising ventures; his often absurd political pronouncements; his two marriages; his involvement with his younger son's therapy to combat cerebral palsy; and his continuing musical evolution.Neil Young has taken rock beyond generational boundaries and has helped to establish it as a unique art form; A Dreamer of Pictures is thus a portrait not only of Young, but of rock itself.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Downing has been writing about rock music for more than twenty years. He has contributed innumerable features and reviews to various magazines and written four books on rock music. He is also the author of numerous film biographies, military histories, and works of fiction. He currently divides his time between Britain and the United States.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 22, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306806118
• ISBN-13: 978-0306806117
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,100,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( Y ) > Young, Neil

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A straightforward and well-written if not definitive bio, January 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Dreamer Of Pictures: Neil Young: The Man And His Music (Paperback)

Downing has provided Neil Young fans with a valuable and entertaining biography of the notoriously enigmatic Young. The book is straightforward and well-written, but the author's lack of access to Neil himself prevents Downing from providing a definitive account of Neil's career and life. The book follows Neil from his childhood in Ontario and Manitoba through his early career in Canada and then the first success with Buffalo Springfield and on through to the 90's. The interviews with those who knew Neil in the Springfield days and even earlier are very interesting even to those of us who have followed Neil's career for decade's. Downing recognizes the limitations imposed upon his work and wisely sticks to the facts and keeps the speculation as to Young's thinking and motivation to a minimum and does not presume to put forth an explication of Neil's many hard to fathom moves and feints. The writing is solid and unpretentious, particularly when contrasted to the usual work in this genre and Mr. Downing has clearly researched his subject as thoroughly as Neil's refusal to be interviewed would allow. A must read for Rusties and others who love Neil's music, and also interesting reading for more casual fans or just those interested in the 60's and 70's rock world.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I'd say skip it, but what else is there????, April 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Dreamer Of Pictures: Neil Young: The Man And His Music (Paperback)

Strange, but somehow appropriate, that no one has yet to write a definitive bio on Neil Young. There were some elements in here worth reading, but only if you're the most rabid of Young fans. Otherwise, stick with the The Rolling Stone Files, a comprehensive collection of articles and interviews with the man from the pages of that magazine.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, not good, but not much else available!, January 5, 1999

By 

troy "Troy" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dreamer Of Pictures: Neil Young: The Man And His Music (Paperback)

Although Young is very difficult to pin-down, both musically and philisophically, I expected Downing to provide more insight into the man and his music. Besides providing info on Young's ill children and marital history and how they influenzed his music, the author spends most of his effort providing a personal review of each album to include an inordiniate amount of time discussing bootleg or foreign release recordings that most fans have never heard. In addition, I am under the impression that Downing did little or no interviews of Young associates, rather he gathered info from printed interviews with the subject, etc. Not much insight there!