Search - Various Artists :: This Note's for You Too: Tribute to Neil Young

Some Worthy Neil Covers, And Plenty Of Forgettable Ones Too

06/14/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Pop Kulcher Review: The tribute albums which have been cropping up like smallpox since the mid-'80's have been a mixed blessing. Sure, it's nice to hear other bands interpret music from your favorite artists, but many of these consist largely of lame unsigned bands, and the covers are usually either unimaginatively loyal to the original, or so over-the-top in their efforts to reinterpret the original as to be unrecognizable. One of the better discs in the genre (and one of the first) was 1989's The Bridge, a tribute to Neil Young. Now, a decade later, comes a second Neil Young tribute. It's a mixed bag, but, given it's relatively low price for a 2-cd set, undeniably worth it for Neil fans. Unlike The Bridge, which had some heavy-hitters of the alternative rock scene (Sonic Youth, Pixies, Soul Asylum, Nick Cave, Dinosaur Jr.), This Note has very few recognizable names. There are a few members of the mid-80's Paisley Underground (Steve Wynn of Dream Syndicate, Steven Roback of Rain Parade); other stand-outs include Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Bevis Frond, Richard Lloyd of Television, and alt.country act (and Long Ryders spin-off) the Coal Porters. Because this collection was put together by Neil's Dutch fanclub, there are also a lot of unknown Dutch bands (who, surprisingly, do a pretty good job with the material). Of the two discs, the first is far better -- the songs are arranged chronologically, so the second disc is weighed down by Young's substantially weaker 80's & 90's material. Most of the stand-outs lean primarily towards a folky, alt.country/rootsy feel. Nothing terribly innovative or interesting, but the songs themselves are wonderful, so even the modest, unpretentious cover versions sound quite nice. The second disc offers some looser takes on the Young catalog, but most of the experimentation fares poorly -- certainly nothing which holds up to the reinterpretations of Young's work on The Bridge. All in all, some great music which could easily be culled down to a single, throroughly enjoyable disc or tape."

This cd traces alternative music back to one of its creators

05/14/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Buy this CD if you a)Love Neil Young. b)Love the earliest of alternative/grunge music. c)Refuse to follow the herds of sheepish FM listeners into the path of "overhyped hit oblivion". Friends, even the pitifully overplayed "Heart of Gold" JAMS on this CD. This is a fine collection which loses the 5TH star only because of some CLASSIC OBSCURE Neil was left off. If people listen to this classic more than once, they will search the archives for more Neil Young that will never be found on any FM station. All of the artists, except one or two, do great interpetations of Youngs work. Try it you'll like it! Remember that some of these gems were written over 33 years ago-mindblowing music for the adventurous. Finally, proceeds go to Youngs' Bridge School, a notable cause, indeed!"