DVD Review: Neil Young - Under Review 1976-2006 - Page 2

The middle of the eighties is listed as "The Lost Decade," as there was no real significant musical contribution by Young until 1988's This Note's for You, which was very well received. The next chapter is about 1989's Freedom, which re-launched Young's career after a decade of floundering with the hit "Rockin' in the Free World." This is followed up by Ragged Glory which relives the hard rock style of Zuma and Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.

In 1992, twenty years after the release of Harvest, Young created the pseudo-sequel Harvest Moon which reunited many of the original Harvest artists. In 1994 there was Sleeps With Angels, with the title track telling the story of Kurt Cobain's death. It was in Cobain's suicide note that he quoted Neil Young, by saying "it was better to burn out, than to fade away," a line from Young's "My My, Hey Hey".

Then explored are 1995's Mirror Ball, 2000's Silver and Gold, and 2002's Are You Passionate? By this point the panel is divided on their assessment of Neil Young. By the time 2003's Greendale is released - the 10-song "rock-opera/audio novel" - the viewpoints are to the extreme. Finally, Prairie Wind is discussed. There is mention of 2006's Living with War, but only in passing; no analysis.

The analysis of Neil Young and his career was in depth and as complete as one can be for this type of medium. There is plenty of video, concert segments, rare interviews, and photos. The only real bonus material is an interactive Neil Young gaming feature (it is pretty tough), and detailed contributor biographies.

Personally, I found Neil Young: Under Review 1976-2006 extremely entertaining, and can highly recommend it. As I said in the beginning, there are few musicians who are harder to put a finger on than Neil Young. He constantly reinvents himself, does not try to please the crowds, and follows his own muse. He can, in one decade, chide Nixon, in the next praise Regan, and two more later, call for the impeachment of Bush. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice; in 1995 for his solo work, and in 1997, for his work with Buffalo Springfield. It would not surprise me if there wasn't a third in his future.

Contributors:

• John Einarson – biographer
• Robert Christgau - journalist
• Barney Hoskins – Uncut Magazine editor
• Nigel Williamson – former BAM editor
• Dave Zimmer – CSNY biographer
• Johnny Rogan – music historian
• Others…

Extras include:

• The hardest Neil Young interactive quiz
• Full contributor biographies

Article Author: T. Michael Testi

T. Michael Testi is a writer and a photographer out of Edmond Oklahoma. You can see his photographic and art work at T Michael Imaging.

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