Artist: Neil Young
Title: Silver & Gold
Label: Reprise
Genre: Rock
Released: 25 April, 2000
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 320 kBit/s
Guest(s): Emmylou Harris; Linda Ronstadt; Ben Keith
Producer: Neil Young; Ben Keith
Engineer: Tim Mulligan
Size: 80.6 MB (incl. 5% Recovery record)
Personnel: Neil Young (vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano); Ben Keith (pedal steel guitar, background vocals); Spooner Oldham (piano, organ); Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass); Oscar Butterworth (drums, percussion); Jim Keltner (drums); Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt (background vocals). Recorded at Redwood Digital, Redwood City, California. Quietly introspective and sonically rich, SILVER & GOLD is the millennial successor to 1972's HARVEST. Having originally planned it as a solo project, Young spent three years hashing the album's details out before inviting into the studio legendary studio bassist "Duck" Dunn and keyboard player Spooner Oldham, as well as longtime friends Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris who provide exquisite background harmonies. Opening with the warm and simple "Good to See You," the remaining nine songs waft along on waves of contentment. Framed by Young's soft, low delivery, wheezing harmonica, and Ben Keith's softly whining pedal steel, the 10 tracks on SILVER & GOLD are very much a look back at this Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's life. The most obvious example is "Buffalo Springfield Again," an easy-going number that sees past longtime grudges towards the original fun goal of being in a band. Elsewhere, Young's inspiration comes from his (and everyone else's) father in "Daddy Went Walkin'," and the richness relationships bring to life on the title track, while with "Red Sun" he bypasses the bar life for quality time with his main squeeze. SILVER & GOLD is yet another high point in an already illustrious career.
The most personal and revelatory album of his career, originally released in 2000. Features 10 tracks including 'Silver & Gold' & 'Razor Love', which are two of the best songs on the album, (but date back to 1982 & 1987). Reprise.
Review:
Rolling Stone (1/4/01, p.118) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Top 50 Albums of 2000". Rolling Stone (5/11/00, pp.127-8) - 4.5 stars out of 5 - "…Neil Young is at his hushed, acoustic best: simple, romantic, direct….It details, with glistening realism, the peaks and valleys that make true love an eternal work in progress…" Spin (6/00, p.153) - 7 out of 10 - "…This is the homespun, acoustic Neil Young…he hasn't sounded as lucid, or as confident, in years….a precise, light-handed record that feels like warm wind on the back of your neck…" Q (1/01, p.94) - Included in Q's "50 Best Albums of 2000". Q (6/00, pp.100-1) - 4 stars out of 5 - "…A wonderfully affecting record….an album about love. Love and…nostalgia…" Mojo (5/00, pp.84-5) - "…The album has really just one mood: comfortable. An untroubled feeling of effortlessness and ease….a mellow tender, easy album…" The Wire (6/00, p.59) - "…Introverted [and] acoustic….[he] elected to don a mask of extreme mellowness…" CMJ (5/1/00, p.25) - "…[Young] wistfully gazes back at his past for inspiration….marked by faint whiffs of breezy pedal steel, organ and dobro….unabashed sentimentality and joy." NME (4/22/00, p.39) - 7 out of 10 - "…Gently acoustic, peacefully steeped in nostalgia and remembrance, it generates a warm glow of grace….a pleasant stroll in an autumn sunset…" Melody Maker (5/9/00, p.50) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "…Sees him going all acoustic again, proving it's better to fade away than burn out…" No Depression (5-6/00, p.109) - "…Swift, smooth numbers focussing on a single ambitious theme: reconnecting with the lost moments, recapturing the texture of lost loves and missed chances, and doing it well and real enough…to provide new energy. That's quintessential Young…"
Silver & Gold went through a number of incarnations before it was finally released in the spring of 2000. The endless delays raised hopes for the album, as did superstition – dedicated Neil Young fans believed he was creatively reborn at the end of each decade. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Rust Never Sleeps, and Freedom added credence to this theory, but those records were knocked out quickly, appearing a year after their predecessors. In contrast, Silver & Gold appeared four years after Broken Arrow. During those four years, all sorts of projects were in the works for Young, including a 1999 reunion with Crosby, Stills & Nash. His three songs on their comeback Looking Forward were pleasant acoustic numbers that often seemed a little slight. It was easy to assume that Young was saving the real treasures for his solo record, but Silver & Gold doesn't confirm that theory. Instead, it's a continuation of his Looking Forward contributions, performed with the warm, amiable ramble of Harvest Moon. A pleasant sound, to be sure, but not exactly what Young followers were expecting. They also may be a little dismayed to realize that two of its best songs, "Silver & Gold" and "Razor Love," date from 1982 and 1987, respectively, suggesting that Neil may not be at the top of his game. Still, there are no truly bad songs here, although the light-hearted, light-headed reminiscence "Buffalo Springfield Again" treads close to the borderline. It's a low-key, charming, comfortable record, which is hardly a bad thing at all – it just doesn't quite live up to the abnormally high expectations. Fortunately, those expectations fade upon repeated plays, and Silver & Gold reveals itself as a nice Neil Young record. Nothing particularly special, but nice all the same.Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine(allmusic.com)
Tracklist:
01 - Good To See You
02 - Silver & Gold
03 - Daddy Went Walkin'
04 - Buffalo Springfield Again
05 - The Great Divide
06 - Horseshoe Man
07 - Red Sun
08 - Distant Camera
09 - Razor Love
10 - Without Rings
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