Shakey: Neil Young's Biography

This is an amazing book—taken on its own terms. (A disclaimer: I’m a big fan of Neil Young’s music, sometimes, but by no means a superfan. So no ax to grind here, either way, re how Young is presented in the book.)What McDonough manages to do is use the occasion of writing Young’s oral biography as a vehicle for exploring larger questions—not just about himself and Young in particular, but about creativity, about what it means to be a “great” (or at least high-achieving) person, and about the human being’s search for meaning.McDonough’s exploration of all these topics is kept very much within his stated mission of trying to illuminate Neil Young’s life and inner workings, and I think he succeeds at that mission, even though he inserts himself into the narrative in a way that’s very much against the traditional biographer’s code. But here the author isn’t functioning as either a worshiper of the topic nor an iconoclast—he admits to all his own reactions to Young, pro and con (and even bares them to Young in the interviews with him that are the heart of the book), but maintains a larger journalistic objectivity. The biographer doesn’t pretend to keep his distance in this book, but in a funny way he always does, because he takes positions about Young’s motivations and values, but also gives the reader the conflicting facts and admits what he doesn’t know.At the end of the day, what makes the book worth reading is that the author knows how to tell a story—he sees where the drama is, where the entertainment is, and what the deeper meaning of an anecdote could be (whatever the details). Ultimately I think McDonough’s insight into his subject is best gauged by what happened after the book was submitted for publication: Neil Young blocked publication, then ultimately settled after the author sued, and allowed the book to see the light of day. Somehow, the Young whom McDonough paints in the book seems like someone who could do all that.I never recommend this book to friends, because from a distance it appears to be an act of narcissism by the author, but I don’t think it is. Like his subject, he is interested in trying to capture big questions and big truths. The book is worth trying on if you don’t need it to be something.

Don't get me wrong... those four stars are up there for a reason, and Neil's "very innaresting" life does not a book make on its own without the obsessively detailed research that went into "Shakey". I think that for the most part, McDonough writes a thoroughly entertaining, extremely informative tome on the life of one of the greatest creative minds of a generation. If he could have done so and witheld a little bit of the fanboy aspect of his writing style, this biography could have been improved. But it's all too appropriate that the book itself occasionally meanders or changes direction abruptly; in that aspect, it reflects the subject matter quite well.Whether you love, hate, or are indifferent toward "Shakey" in its quality as a biography, it remains the definitive book on Neil Young. For those of us like me, who have our own obsessions with Neil as an artist, "Shakey" represents the very best opportunity we've received to get to know the historical motivations, environmental influences, and ongoing inspirations that help make Neil as vibrant an artist as he is. I greatly enjoyed learning more about Neil's upbringing in Canada and his early musical endeavors.Even more enthralling was the in-depth background information on the circumstances surrounding the creation of each piece of music. Before reading "Shakey", my own perception of Neil's music was based purely on what I heard coming through my speakers and headphones; the added context provided by McDonough's book adds another angle when re-listening to Neil's albums. And despite the complaints of a few attention-challenged readers, I didn't find the length of "Shakey" to be bloated, or the end result poorly edited. The story of a life as fascinating as Neil Young's, spanning five decades, deserves the attention McDonough has given to each facet of the man's life along with each era of his creative output.As has been noted by other (and possibly better) reviewers than I, there are two aspects of "Shakey" that I felt were neither beneficial to the story nor serving any purpose beyond McDonough's own need to editorialize rather than report the facts. First and foremost in this regard is McDonough's favoritism toward certain chapters in Neil's life, and the ensuing recordings that resulted. Hey Jimmy: read your own book! Many of us would agree that "Tonight's the Night" is a terrific album, but it doesn't need to be presented in a competitive sense, held up against "Harvest" (or even "Trans") to somehow prove its merit. The anecdotal story of McDonough at age 15, obsessively arguing with fellow record store customers about why they should purchase one Young record over another, shows that the author's feelings (and maturity level) didn't change much over the years between then and the writing of "Shakey" in his adulthood.Second: would "Shakey" have been a better book had it been written by someone who was less personally affected by its subject matter? It's hard to say. Writing a biography about a living subject must be a difficult task under the best of circumstances; doing it about a man whose life has been based on morphing between personas is somewhat horrifying. But in any case, inserting one's self into the subject's life and devoting more than a small chunk of the final work to this process felt more self-serving than of genuine interest to the reader.But none of this prevents "Shakey" from being a great read, start to finish. I found I especially enjoyed the index, of all things; when I have a sudden question about a particular song or performance, it's very nice to flip to the back of "Shakey" and pull up all the details I'd want, more often than not. In any case, no self-respecting Neil Young fan should go without delving into this biography and form his or her own opinions. Much like Neil's recorded work, you probably won't like all of it, might love some of it, and might be entirely turned off by other aspects. But in any case, you'll respect the work that went into it, and at the end of the day, it's a really enjoyable read of a story that's not quite finished. I imagine that sometime in the next 20 years or so, McDonough will need to update an addendum to "Shakey". After all, Neil's not fading away just yet, so perhaps there's a burn out yet to come.

Neil Young was never going to reveal himself to the author. The result is a silly mish mash of other peoples opinions. Confused and unreadable.

The font size of this book is just ridiculously too small to allow comfortable reading, so its left unread!

GREAT BOOK

BRILLIANT

It was an exhausting read. I love Neil Young's music; but I didn't need to know about every single person involved in Mr Young's life; apparently just so the author could write a FAT book. Very disappointed. The best parts were Neil's answers to questions posed by the author here, and there. More of that would have been a blessing. VERY FRUSTRATING book.I hasten to add the chapter describing his, and his wife Pegi's, absolute love, dedication, and courage to their son Ben, made this book almost...almost... worth the read.