Search - Neil Young :: Silver & Gold

"All I want is a song of love"

Mark Slocum | Michigan | 05/31/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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..."

Quiet Neil

Jake Berry | Florence, AL | 05/04/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Neil Young's best album in years

Adrien Begrand | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | 07/26/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."