 | |
List Price: $13.95 | | Publisher: Da Capo Press
Salesrank: 991736
|
| Our Price: $4.00 |
| Used Price: $2.28 |
|
| Media: Paperback |
|
Editorial Review:
For more than 30 years, Neil Young's fans have appreciated his individualistic stance, his unique sound, and his determination never to take the easy route. Neil Young provides a concise, well-researched view into the career of this rock and roll giant. Alexis Petridis includes full biographical information and a complete discography as he explores the influence of Young on everybody from Sonic Youth and Ron Sexsmith to Nirvana.
Neil Young (Kill Your Idols) Reviews:
Short yet worthwhile 
2004-12-15 - The book is kind of thin - much of it is taken up with photos and discography. That being said, I quite enjoyed the
opening section where Neil's start in the music biz is laid out.
It's very clear that Neil wasn't an instant success and that
early on a willingness to hang in there despite setbacks as well as a happenchance intro to a future CSNY member were key.
One humorous error is the reference to an Honorary Music Doctorate awarded to Neil by Lockheed University in Thunder Bay.
Sounds like a good school to study aerospace engineering at, but
if there is a Lockheed University I don't think it's located in Thunder Bay. The author must be refering to Lakehead University which is in Thunder Bay - the name is apropos
because the city is located at the head of Lake Superior.
Should be used more as a Neil Young Companion 
2002-01-15 - This book is, as has been already stated by the other reviews, concise and to the point. The part that really interested me is the disassembly of each track and each album, not so much giving an interpretation (which is inevitable sometimes) but rather information about the song, and the situation from which the album was birthed. I take this book everywhere I go because of its small size and an easy reference if I'm listening to a song and want to know more about it (even if, at times, it is a biased account). The author and I don't always agree but he often provides a thoughtful, and sometimes unexpected, platform to approach this mans' art.
The story and legacy sections are quick and have been stewed together with quirky trivia that could drive you into obsessive fandom. It gets through his life at a brisk pace and the pictures provided are fun to look at and are reproduced at a high quality, keeping in tune with the rest of the book. This book is an excellent purchase that every Neil fan should have stuffed into their glove compartment on those long, song-driven road trips.
concise, very readable 
2001-11-09 - This is a concise book, but I mean that as a compliment - it does an excellent job of covering the key aspects of Young's life and career, without getting lost in the writerly junk that weighs down so many bios ("It was a bright and sunny day when Johnny entered the studio . . ." - ugh). The arcane details about the recordings are mostly covered in a separate annotated and critical discography - itself very readable, with many interesting insights and surprises. A nice approach that I'd love to see used in other music bios. Definitely recommended for Neil fans.
FWIW, it's also a very sharp-looking book. A nice job all-around.
Achieves what it sets out to do
2000-12-13 - This small book (small in size and only 138 pages, by the way, not 152) is apparently part of a series called "Kill Your Idols". Divided into three sections, ("The Story" fills only 51 pages; "The Music" 71 pages and it finishes with "The Legacy") it provides a neat encapsulation of Young's life and recorded output. Petridis' mini-reviews of Young's albums are fair and sensible. Accuracy is good, although there are errors in the small photo section.
To someone like me who buys every Young bio, there is, unsurprisingly, nothing new here. It would serve as a good primer, however, for someone trying to find out if the one singing "Heart Of Gold" and the one cooking up a storm playing with Pearl Jam on TV really are the same guy!
Mediocre
2000-10-29 - Unfortunately now that Neil has apparently scuttled the authorized bio supposedly due this year (he's actually being sued by the author!)we have to make due with plodding efforts like this which is obviosly compiled from other sources and contains no first hand info from Neil and maybe none from people who actually know Neil. The book is well researched though and the writing is passable, which is better than a lot of rock bios
