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Classic Vinyl

With John Gardiner

It's better to burn out than to fade away

Tuesday, October 29, 2002

I'm not much of a television watcher, and even after 911 tended to avoid the boob tube, knowing that the media would over hype the event as they do with nearly everything that happens in our society. So, it is a bit of a surprise that I caught some of the 911 benefit concert that featured Bruce Springsteen and Sting and a host of other well-known musicians.
Now, I didn't watch nearly the whole thing, but did catch something truly amazing – Neil Young sitting at a grand piano, pouring out his heart and soul, performing the John Lennon song "Imagine". I watched the grim determination on Young's face – tears in his eyes – jaw set tightly. I thought, he sees it like I see it – that we haven't gotten anywhere in the last 35 years.
Neil Young is my hero. He has been writing socially significant songs for my whole adult lifetime. From Buffalo Springfield, to CSNY, to a solo career that perhaps still hasn't peaked, he has really done some incredible stuff. He has re-invented himself with each successive generation and he has made a difference.
He has really lived the dream. From folksinger in the old Yorkville Village in Toronto, to loading up an old hearse and heading for LA to make it in the music business, he has typified the American musical dream. Even though a Canadian, he has won the hearts of more than a generation of American music lovers.
I remember listening to the first Crosby, Stills and Nash album at a buddy's place in Napanee, Ontario – it was great, fabulous vocals and wonderful arrangements of some truly magical songs like Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (written for Judy Collins), Marakesh Express and Wooden Ships. I loved it.
Then, the word was out that the group had added Neil Young. I wondered how they could possibly improve on the first album. But Deja Vu was simply the album of a generation – almost every song on it told a story that needed to be told. Ohio is a masterpiece that still holds much of its relevance today. The first CSNY album had an edge to it that the CSN album simply didn't. The difference was Neil Young – he gives everything an edge.
Young has had one of the most successful solo careers in the history of rock 'n' roll. His first album, Harvest, remains an album that most people want in their collection. "Heart of Gold" and "Old Man" were huge radio hits and "Needle and the Damage Done" is a heartrending tune.
He's released a host of stuff over the years. I remember picking up an album called "The Bluenotes" back in the late 1970's (I think). A tune on it called "This Note's For You", a biting satirical look at rocks stars selling out their work for commercial gain.
There was After the Gold Rush with the rock anthem "Southern Man", so powerful a tune that it prompted one of those southern rock bands to write an answer to Young's portrait of the south. Rust Never Sleeps also stands out – Hey, hey, my, my; rock and roll will never die – it's better to fade out than to burn away – my, my, hey, hey.
No matter what the genre, Young has been there. When the grunge scene was happening back in the late 1980's and early 90's, bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam looked to the aging rocker as a symbol of what the music was all about – they couldn't have picked a better one.
I could sit and write about Neil Young for several days and not even scratch the surface. He's one of the big guys in the history of rock. I love the guy. He rocks. Listen to him on classic vinyl.



John Gardiner is a 25-year-veteran of the community newspaper business, but he is also a prolific writer of moralistic short fiction he refers to as "emotional thoughtscapes" or "adult fables". Samples of his fiction can be found at:

He has also produced a noteworthy piece of humanist philosophy which can be found at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad502.htm He welcomes comments on his work.