Shakey: Neil Young's Biography: Amazon.ca: Books

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Customer Reviews

23 Reviews

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4 star:		(3)
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4.3 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The angry heart, Jun 12 2003

By

Carol Schaefer (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shakey: Neil Young's Biography (Paperback)

Who would have thought it, Neil Young an adult child of an alcoholic. Neil Young, who moved so often his roots were above the ground. Neil Young, the epeleptic with seizures who didn't know it. Neil Young, the lost soul looking for his mother in his relationships. Neil the loner, Neil the loadie. Neil, the father and husband of the decade, privately, heroically and futily being there for his kids. Moving on before someone passes him over, fatalistically alienating others without knowing it, yet giving back in so many ways. Living his life thru his songs, singing his life thru his music. Driven, ambitious and perfectionistic. So open and sharing in his music.

A dark and compelling story. Difficult to take in, yet hard to let go. Hard to believe it's Neil's. Can't put it down because it is Neil. A control freak out of control.

The book makes one appreciate his musical honesty and introspection even more as we learn of his troubled solitary torment.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the funniest books I have ever read., Nov 19 2003

By

John Russell "porkchopsjar" (Edmonton, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Shakey: Neil Young's Biography (Paperback)

As a diehard Neil Young fan, I was surprised by just how little I actually knew about what made the guy tick and where that all fit into his music. Young is, after all, one of the most experimental rock artists ever- with each album, you never know what you're going to get, be it acoustic folk, electric grunge, country, or, god help us, synth pop. Yet he's done it all and has no apologies about it. Neil Young drips integrity, as Jimmy McDonough obviously found out the hard way while doing his research and interviews. He portrays Young as human...rarely is the book done in a "Neil Young is god" style. McDonough criticizes, praises, and, most of all, doesn't pull any punches. Of course, the best parts of the book come from Neil Young himself, as his own interjections and interview excerpts pop up all over the place, almost to the point where you could call "Shakey" an autobiography. I found the book funny because it seems like everybody Young associates with is a complete lunatic: musicians, managers, producers, roadies...except for Young himself. He comes across as being the calm in the eye of the storm, whether the storm is working with Crosby, Stills and Nash or taking Crazy Horse on the road. Yet he's had his own ups and downs, from spastic children to the deaths of some of his musical cohorts. Yet Young comes across as both humble and unrepentant: "I've left a big wake of destruction behind me," he freely admits. "Shakey" is not only a salute to Neil Young's music and general artistry, but to his survival. When reading it, you know you're reading about the life of a real human being with absolutely no superstar persona. Funny, introspective and cantakerous all at the same time, or, as Graham Nash puts it when talking about the "Better to burn out than fade away" philosophy, "You get the idea Neil is really pissed that he's survived."

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Well researched, but poorly edited and in the end, bombastic, Jun 8 2002

By

Dan Ryan (Cheverly, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Shakey: Neil Young's Biography (Hardcover)

For Neil Young fans only. Read with patience.

McDonough deserves credit for researching Neil Young's life, particularly his early days. His early days in Canada are particularly revealing, showing how Neil's hard-driven personality propelled into great success.

McDonough also deserves credit for getting the always obscure Neil to be about as open as he gets. The interviews are at their best when Neil is describing events in the past. Neil is at times very candid about his failings in his personal life (two divorces) and in his professional life (over-producing "Mr. Soul").

Unfortunately, the book suffers on a few fronts.

First of all, it is poorly edited. The length of the book could have easily been cut 200 pages without much loss. Several times the book will describe events, then have length quotes from Neil exactly describing the same event.

Second, McDonough's status as a hard-core Neil Young fan makes some of his prose rather silly. His exhaltations of "Tonight's the Night" just seem silly. For Pete's sake, Jimmy, it's just Rock and Roll, not the second coming of Jesus.

Finally, the last 100 pages or so are really regrettable. McDonough inserts himself into the biography. Suddenly, it's Jimmy teaching Neil about Nirvana, Jimmy trying to save Neil from the evils of being a Lionel Trains Tycoon. Most annoying is McDonough's whining about Neil giving lots of interviews. Oh, boo hoo, Jimmy's interviews with Niel aren't that exclusive.

But, for a Neil Young fan, this book is indispensible. After reading this book, I have a better understanding of the folks in Neil's sometime backup band, "Crazy Horse". I understand more what is involved with producing an album, and what impact producer David Briggs had on Neil's work. I now know that Neil's unique sound is the result of an ancient guitar dubbed "Ol' Black".

I now have an idea of who Carrie Snodgrass is, although, to be honest, I think McDonough is very unfair with her, along with Neil's first wife. Neil himself seems to be more even-handed with his ex-wives. McDonough seems to hold any woman in who didn't put up with Neil's shenanigans in contempt.

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Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Flawed but interesting nonetheless
This is McDonough's first major publication and it shows. The book meanders here, there and everywhere but never quite finds it target. Read more

Published on Jun 10 2002 by Enrico

2.0 out of 5 stars Who edited this thing?
Meredith Hunter, call home! Someone needs to tell him he wasn't killed by the Angels at Altamont afterall. Turns out it was James Meredith. Read more

Published on Jun 7 2002 by Butsudan Bill