Neil Young jumps the shark.
Neil Young is a superstar.
And he is a wealthy man.
Because Neil Young was able to connect with fans over the years through raw and often times roughly textured musical paintings of rich emotion and contemporary social relevance.
Yet, despite all of his genuine heartfelt environmental and social concerns…and for the most part…his still relevant music making…Neil Young has fallen into the musical superstar trap of self-indulgence.
Young’s first volume of his Complete Archives Series released this week…fittingly titled “Neil Young Archives: Volume 1, 1963-1972″…appears to be exactly the kind of wretched excess he so emotionally writes and sings about regarding so many of our 21st century extremes.
The Blimp Crew will tell you right now, however…that our criticism of “Volume 1, etc” is based on Young’s analysis of his new package…rather than our purchase of it. Because to actually buy the new collection would have meant we skip essentials this month such as food, clothing and utilities…and somehow we just can’t seem to justify that.
So…we’ve mined Neil’s website for the very- latest-up-to-datest news on the project…as well as Randy Lewis’ excellent LA Times piece.
Young’s quest to satisfy his need to share every little lick of his personal musical ascent with the masses…has resulted in extraordinarily ridiculous list prices for “Archives”. His justification in part for the “Archive” series is his hatred of music downloads…versus the pristine digital reproduction quality provided on the high tech CD and Blu-Ray offerings.
So…if you absolutely can’t live without Neil’s complete pictorial and musical history dating back to his high school days in The Squires…require more copies of his Buffalo Springfield involvement and additional recordings you most likely possess of his early solo days…then we suppose you won’t think twice about shelling out up to $299.00 for the “Archives” Blu-Ray set.
Yes, we completely understand that Neil’s near death crisis a few years ago created a focused resolve within himself to catalog his life. We get it. It’s been an extraordinary journey. One we’ve all enjoyed.
But we honestly believe Neil Young’s over-the-top collection is one that could have remained on the shelves of his own personal library. Because in creating a tribute to himself…which he believes many will spend big bucks on…he’s actually succumbed to the same awkward, clueless embarrassment that other classic acts of the 70’s era like the Eagles and AC/DC created for themselves by selling CD’s only through socially wicked retailer Wal Mart.
Neil Young…like the Eagles and AC/DC…has forgotten who helped make him successfully famous…and rich.
Real people. The Woodstock Generation.
Unless there’s a realistic way for his true fans to enjoy Neil Young’s terrific life story…without having to miss meals and live without AC during the hot summer…as far as we’re concerned…he might as well skip the next few planned installments of “Archives”.
No one will be able to afford them…except rich guys like Neil Young.