Customer Reviews

Silver & Gold

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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...

Forever moving outside the style of the week, even moving beyond his own inclinations, Young remains one of the great individuals of his generation of songwriter/musicians. Silver & Gold is more than a mellow recording in the manner of Harvest or Comes A Time, it's very nearly the completely solo album that Young first imagined it. Accompaniment is sparse and tastefully contributed to the mix. As with virtually all of his work, the songs are plainly honest and heartfelt, this time focusing on love and relationship. This is not a masterpiece on the level of After The Goldrush or Rust Never Sleeps, but it's awfully good. For the most part the songs are hopeful with the closing number mixing Young's idiosycratic humor with dark passages that suggest the old doubts that haunted his earlier work remain with the wiser man, though less disturbingly so. This is Young as quiet as we are likely to get him and no one covers the silent moments better.

With Silver & Gold, Neil Young has released his best album since Harvest Moon. A relaxed, wistful reflection on life and love, Young keeps things simple with a stripped-down sound (acoustic guitar punctuated with drums, piano, and plaintive steel guitar here and there) and lyrics that are minimalist without sinking into banality ("all i want/is a song of love/a song of love/to sing to you"). 'Good To See You' and 'Silver & Gold' are basic love songs that transcend their simplicity with their lilting melodies; 'Daddy Went Walkin'' and 'Horseshoe Man' paint ethereal pictures of simple life. The last three songs on Silver & Gold rank among the best Young has written in the past ten years: 'Distant Camera' reworks the opening riff of 'Old Man' into a reflection of the artist who feels he has become that same Old Man; 'Razor Love' is a beautiful ballad played with a full band which evokes Harvest-era Young; and 'Without Rings' serves as a darker, melancholy conclusion that surprises the listener with its frankness. This album was painstakingly assembled over a couple years, but the wait was more than worth it. Silver & Gold is one of the better albums of 2000.

The full page adds in all the music press magazines proclaim "a new harvest for the world", intimating a further installment of the Harvest(72) and Harvest Moon (92)saga. After several plays,I find Silver and Gold more of a progression of the 1978 album Comes a Time. This is Neil Young in a mellow,warm and reflective mood. The songs show a man at ease with what he's got, and what he's had and done. Surrounding himself with the "feel good" subjects such as "Daddy went walkin", "Buffalo Springfield Again" and the love that is better than "Silver and Gold" . Calling on the services of old faithfulls like Ben Keith, Spooner Oldham, Linda Rondstadt and Emmylou Harris and others ,he just gives the impression of a man at peace with his lot and celebrating along with old friends. If this is your first sampling of the softer accoustic Neil Young , then I would try Harvest Moon, but if you've already been down that road and want to venture on I'm sure you will not be dissappointed with "Silver and Gold".

This is a moving record that evokes, and adds to the legacy, of Mr. Young's best introspective, acoustic work. For those who insist on distinguishing between the electric and acoustic Neil Young, this record is the off-spring of such gems as "Harvest," "Comes A Time," "Old Ways" (to a certain extent), and "Harvest Moon." That said, it stands on its own and will likely still be well-regarded well down the line.

The people who compare this album to Harvest, Comes A Time and After the Goldrush are, I think, missing the point. (Just as, I think, the people who think "Slowpoke" sounds like "Heart of Gold" are missing the point. It really sounds like "Peace of Mind.") Some songs on Silver and Gold do indeed have spritual ancestors in the NY canon: for example the hushed and moving "Without Rings" has it's low-voiced, heart-felt roots in the duo of "Motion Pictures" and "Ambulance Blues" from On the Beach. And, as with his best acoustic albums, every song on the record is strong, delivered with the kind of conviction only Young and his one spiritual equal, Van Morrison, are still able to bring to a song well into their fifties.

But what makes Silver and Gold a uniquely brilliant album, I think, is not only the delivery of the songs, but the strength of the arrangements, specifically the drumming. Young has never allowed his drummers the latitude on his acoustic-based songs that he allows Jim Keltner (and, on two tracks, Oscar Butterworth) on Silver and Gold, and the result is that instead of the usual "thunk-thunk-THUNK" we get a rhythmic variety and delight on all eight songs that feature drumming. (Just listen to the cymbal work on "Daddy Went Walkin'," or the upbeat but understated stick work on "Buffalo Springfield Again.")

This really is a wonderful and subtle piece of work, and it will speak volumes about the sophistication of the listening public if it becomes a hit record.

Young continues to get better with age. the ten songs on Silver and Gold can stand with any of the 300 or so songs he's released throughout his entire career. A beautiful record-take 40 minutes into this world and you'll feel moved. The last two songs on the disc,Razor Love and Without Rings are standouts for me. Anybody who liked Harvest,After the Goldrush,Comes a time and Harvest Moon will like this record. Another GREAT one from one of the Greats!

To the disappointed listener, the reason that it's difficult to figure out where Young went wrong on this one is because he didn't.....Neil Young is the only guy in the world who could sit on a stage, by himself with his guitar, harmonica and piano and play for hours with the audience in silent awe. NO ONE ELSE could do that. And these songs illustrate that perfectly. Another advantage is that the CD sound actually sounds great on a high end audio sytem. Normally, today's pop CDs only sound good in a car or through a head set. So sit back, pour yourself some wine, lower the lights and laugh, cry, tap your feet, bob your head, whatever......I hope Neil is around forever.

I grew up with Buffalo Springfield playing in life's background. CSN&Y thrilled me with DejaVu. Neil's Harvest was just about the best laid-back LP I ever had. I was disappointed with Neil's grunge period LP's and cds (just not my style of music?). I was very glad to listen to this CD and enjoy that more mellow Neil Young sound again. He may not have the most mellow, the easiest on the ears kind of voice, but he spoke to us then and continues to speak to us, over all these many years. I recommend this CD to anyone who liked Neil in his "Harvest" years. For us in the over 50 crowd, this may be a pleasant trip back to a gentler sound. To my 26 year old son, it's a good sounding CD that he now wants for his collection. Well done Neil!

This is a beautiful peice of work. Every song is honest, introspective and delivered with a purity that only Neil Young can reproduce. Neil is wearing his heart on his sleave and sounds great. Lyrics and music are both fabulous.

Buy this, you wont be disappointed.