If a man needs a maid, then a maid certainly needs Neil Young. The Young Neils, made up of five harmonizing young musicians, some of whom played with Nomo earlier this summer, are a cover band. Yes, I know…I can just tell what you’re thinking. A cover band? Who would want to go out and see that? Well, people, we’re in the age when everything has been done before in one way or another. Every song starts to feel like one small (or sometimes large) theft of another. And The Young Neils, Ida’s personal choice to have open for them, have a way of rectifying that, which is to celebrate a musician they love.
Consider a cover of a song in it’s essence. There are some musicians and bands that change the original song so completely rendering it unrecognizable. There are others that stick very closely to the first recording almost to a fault. The Young Neils walk the line between these two extremes, though stay closer to the latter option. The one thing about covering Neil Young is that it’s a rather daunting task given the nature of his compositions and distinctiveness. I don’t think it’s something that anyone can just pick up a guitar and do. It takes a great deal of talent and skill and people who grew up loving the songs and learning them by heart. It takes these people to carry them around like invisible baggage through life constantly realizing different insights while Neil’s lyrics run through their heads.
That in mind, Neil’s vocal style is what would be most difficult to emulate and The Young Neils don’t even try, which is probably for the better. Instead there is lovely female and male harmonizing and a much more accessible vocal presence overall. I’m actually a huge fan of Neil’s vocals personally. They’ve always revealed to me an emotional neediness and made his lyrics mean something. It’s the sort of emotional vulnerability when he sings “Oh Lonesome Me,” for instance, and let’s not forget that Neil most definitely paved the way for many others without classically trained voices to find an outlet and be able to make a living writing and singing songs (Wayne Coyne for example).
Emulating these vocals, however, would have sounded forced and the at times four vocals at once made for a rich flavor. The guitar parts were also played very well and stuck to the originals without noticeable diversion. The drumming was spot on. Though they didn’t play any of my very favorite Neil Young songs, they proved adept at delving into both tracks that have more popular acclaim: “Cinnamon Girl,” which they opened with and “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.” Perhaps my favorites of the night and of Neil’s in general were “Tell Me Why,” “Old Man,” and “Helpless.” The end of their too short set found me literally begging them to play again. They don’t have any shows scheduled at this time but I sure hope they rectify that.
If you’re still skeptical, I’ll leave you with one last point. Here it is: let’s bring something to light here. None of us are ever going to get a chance to see Neil Young at Schubas. It would be a fantastic dream but it’s not realistic. To experience Neil’s songs in an intimate live setting performed that well and attentively is something to cherish. And…if anyone out there reading is a musician, how about maybe a cover band of Leonard Cohen’s later material where the lyrics are brilliant but the music is destroyed by synths and the modern world? (Just think: Anthem, Democracy, or Everybody Knows with an acoustic guitar.) Just a suggestion… Please someone make that happen!
I thought this was Rory for a second
Posted by: Carlo Garcia | 09/07/2007 at 10:24 AM