Neil Young - Heart Of Gold on DVD

Greebo from Perth , 04/12/2006

Just got back from seeing this film at the Cameo in Edinburgh (the only place it seems to be playing in Scotland) and I enjoyed it immensely. But then both Neil Young and Jonathan Demme have a good pedigree when it comes to concert movies. Neil Young has always had film-making aspirations and under the guise of Bernard Shakey directed a great concert film 'Rust Never Sleeps'. Jonathan Demme, most people will be aware, directed what many people regard as the greatest concert film ever 'Stop Making Sense'. He has also worked with Young before, filming a four sound stage performances from 'Sleeps with Angels' which was released as 'The Complex Sessions'. Young also provided the title song for his film 'Philadelphia', a great song that got a bit overshadowed by Springsteens the streets of Philadelphia.

This feature see's Neil Young returning to Nashville were he first recorded in the earlier 70's to debut live his recently recorded album Prairie Wind at the Grand Old Opry. The album harks back to acoustic albums like 'Harvest', 'Comes A Time', and more recently 'Harvest Moon' and 'Silver and Gold'. The recording of this album was interrupted by a dangerous operation for a potentially fatal brain anyurism and this brush with mortality obviously left Young in a reflective mood, as he is very frank both the little interviews that precede the concert and between songs during the gig.

Prairie Wind is featured almost in entirity, as far as I could tell only 'He was the King' is omited. It's an extremely assured performance, both rehearsed and sponteaneous, and the musicians backing him (stalwarts from throughout his career) are top notch. 'Only A Dream' my favourite song from the album is performed beautifully, and Demme certainly has a knack for capturing performance, laying bare Youngs vulnerabilty and yearning. Prairie Wind is also great, and is one of the only part of the film where we get to see Neil play any lead (the other being his banjo soloing on Old King), and the horn parts are amazing, this song seems to join together Harvest style Neil with Bluenotes style Neil. Even songs that I wasn't overly keen on initially, found myself warming to on film like the piano hymn 'When God Made Me', and was great to hear Emmylou Harris featured so prominently. The blend of their voices is extremely haunting and always makes the hairs on the nape of my neck stand up.

The second portion of the film has the great man revisiting moment from his career. Highlights include a version of 'One of these Days' with another great horn part and Harris on backing vocals, 'Heart of Gold', and an amazing version of 'Four Strong Winds'. The film closes with Neil playing a personal best 'Old Laughing Lady' to the empty Auditorium.

  7 out of 7 people found this review helpful

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Savage from London, England [Highly rated reviewer] , 17/04/2007

Neil Young in what he surely wouldn't mind anyone calling his golden years, just months after getting over an aneurysm, and taking his brand new 'Prairie wind' album to Nashville's Ryman Theater. With the help of a (big) band of friends, he plays nearly the whole record before setting off on a tour of some of his earlier highlights. He's in the mellowest mood possible (fans of 'Arc/Weld' won't get much out of this, perhaps), and Demme directs proceeds with a suitable conventionality, keeping the camera unobtrusive, but making sure we get the details from the playing. It's a cool, laid-back, occasionally sentimental affair, which won't challenge anyone's preconceptions of the 'old hippy', but which provides pleasant entertainment in relaxed fashion.

  4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

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thewiseone [Highly rated reviewer] , 18/07/2008

I've only got into neil young in the last 2 or 3 years,never thought id like his stuff but now i'm loving his music,this performance is awsome,even if your not a neil young fan yourself you would be lying if you did not find any part of this movie moving or uplifting!

  3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

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A customer from Hereford , 01/01/2008

I don't know why this is called a 'docu-concert' - it is just a concert. I was hoping for a biography - something like the wonderful 'Woman of Heart and Mind' about Joni Mitchell (highly recommended). The first half consists of songs from 'Prairie Wind' and it is frankly rather dull - even Neil looks miserable throughout. The second half consists of old favourites and he gets into his stride and cheers up a bit.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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Savage from London, England [Highly rated reviewer] , 17/04/2007

Neil Young in what he surely wouldn't mind anyone calling his golden years, just months after getting over an aneurysm, and taking his brand new 'Prairie wind' album to Nashville's Ryman Theater. With the help of a (big) band of friends, he plays nearly the whole record before setting off on a tour of some of his earlier highlights. He's in the mellowest mood possible (fans of 'Arc/Weld' won't get much out of this, perhaps), and Demme directs proceeds with a suitable conventionality, keeping the camera unobtrusive, but making sure we get the details from the playing. It's a cool, laid-back, occasionally sentimental affair, which won't challenge anyone's preconceptions of the 'old hippy', but which provides pleasant entertainment in relaxed fashion.

  4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

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gskid from Leicester , 31/07/2008

I don' t agreee with other comments on this film. I really enjoyed it. Fantastic performance, I defy anyone to be running around the stage after just dealing with a brain tumor!

Neil Young still has it after all the years and appears with some fantastic musicians and backing singers. Go ahead and rent it!

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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