NEIL YOUNG TURNS THE TIMELY INTO THE TIMELESS.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic A SENSE of mortality and nostalgia hangs over ``Neil Young: Heart of Gold,'' and it's certainly easy to understand why. Last spring, Young was diagnosed with a possibly fatal brain aneurysm brain aneurysm Cerebral aneurysm Neurology A dilated and weak segment of a cerebral artery, often located in the circle of Willis at the base of the brain, which is susceptible to rupture; BAs may be caused by birth defects or follow poorly controlled HTN Clinical . The news set him into motion, and he quickly wrote a new batch of songs, took them to Nashville and recorded them in four days with a group of musician friends just before his scheduled surgery. Young survived and last August called director Jonathan Demme to ask if he'd be interested in making a concert film with him. ``Heart of Gold'' is that movie, a stirring and profoundly moving record of Young's first public performance of this batch of new songs. But it's more than that. It's a testament to Young's poetic lifetime of survival and a heartfelt public acknowledgment of the family and friends who have helped him along the way. The movie, shot at Nashville's cathedral-like Ryman Auditorium The Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live performance venue located at 116 Fifth Avenue North in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., and is best-known as the one-time home of the Grand Ole Opry. , both captures and illuminates Young's music, which isn't surprising given Demme's background. Demme has already made one brilliant concert documentary (The Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band that formed in the early 1970s and was based out of New York City. The group consisted of David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison. film ``Stop Making Sense''), and his movies' soundtracks have always been filled with surprising, knowing choices. His love for music is clear and certain, and here he keeps his battery of cameras focused on the musicians and the affection they have for each other and the songs. It's there in the first song where we see Young's warm smile of pleasure as he plays the lovely ``The Painter.'' It's there in the adoring a·dore v. a·dored, a·dor·ing, a·dores v.tr. 1. To worship as God or a god. 2. To regard with deep, often rapturous love. See Synonyms at revere1. 3. way he looks at wife Pegi (who's on stage as a backing singer along with the amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (b. April 2, 1947, Birmingham, Alabama) is a country, folk and alternative rock musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and ) during ``Comes a Time,'' one of the many Nashville-recorded songs that Young plays from his catalog in the film's second half. It's there when Young raises his arm and looks heavenward in tribute to Hank Williams Noun 1. Hank Williams - United States country singer and songwriter (1923-1953) Hiram King Williams, Hiram Williams, Williams before playing the same guitar the country legend used a half-century ago at the Ryman. In that song, ``This Old Guitar,'' Young acknowledges our transitory TRANSITORY. That which lasts but a short time, as transitory facts that which may be laid in different places, as a transitory action. place in the world. ``This old guitar ain't mine to keep, it's only mine for awhile.'' Elsewhere, he dedicates ``Prairie Wind'' to his late father, who was hit with dementia before he died (``Trying to remember what my daddy said/ before too much time took away his head'') and he sings the lovely ``Here for You'' for his 21-year-old daughter. Of the latter, Young labels it an ``empty-nester song - a new genre.'' Young may be still searching for a heart of gold. He has certainly gotten old - at 60, he has lost the wiriness wir·y adj. wir·i·er, wir·i·est 1. Of or relating to wire. 2. Resembling wire in form or quality, especially in stiffness: wiry red hair. 3. of his youth. But judging from this film and his recent songs, he seems to have found contentment, which is no small thing. For a guy who once famously sang that ``it's better to burn out than to fade away Verb 1. fade away - become weaker; "The sound faded out" dissolve, fade out change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the ,'' Young's sustained brightness remains an inspiration. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD - Four stars (PG: drug-related lyrics) Starring: Neil Young. Director: Jonathan Demme. Running time: 1 hr. 43 min. Playing: ArcLight in Hollywood. In a nutshell: Stirring, profoundly moving document of Neil Young's recent songs as well as his core values as an artist. Superb. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Neil Young sings with Emmylou Harris in a concert film of songs he wrote after learning he had a brain aneurysm. |
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