1980s Neil that doesn’t, you know, suck

Written by Shar on 26 November 2013

Not that anyone ever would believe that Neil Young could “suck,” but according to Nick DeRiso at Something Else! Reviews there were certainly moments, and they seemed to come in bunches, when Neil Young stumbled so badly in the 1980s that it was difficult to imagine he’d ever regain his footing.

But, not always.

“It was a period of principled stands against the record-label intrusion of the day, and — alas — of unlistenably noble experiments. Still, if you dig deeply enough, you’re likely to discover something of value even on the occasionally intolerable techno-focused Trans,” DeRiso writes.

The author lists five of Young’s works that didn’t suck during that era, leaving out the justifiably celebrated 1989 project Freedom, since by then Young was rounding back into shape, he says.

We won’t tell you which ones he picked as shining stars in a decade that some feel was less than lackluster as far as muic goes. But there were some choice moments by Young

Just as an aside, 1983 was the year Young said that being sued by his new record label for making records that were “not commercial” and “unrepresentative” was “better than a Grammy” because it cemented his ornery maverick reputation.

David Geffen, who thought Young’s quixotic early 1980s records were sabotaging his career and making Geffen look stupid, emerged as a heavy-handed fool. He quickly dropped the suit and apologised. “He’s a big man for saying he was so fuckin’ wrong,” said Young, who responded, to his manager’s horror, by insisting that his deal was slashed in half as an expensive gesture of commitment to creative freedom.

Anyway hear is one of the chosen favs.