Artists pay tribute to Neil Young on new album with bold reinterpretations

The first of two volumes dedicated to music legend Neil Young was released last Friday as “Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young” to raise money for The Bridge School for children with severe speech and physical disabilities in California’s Bay Area.

The album features many famous artists, including Brandi Carlile, Fiona Apple, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and The Lumineers. 

Brandi Carlile opens the album with a cover of “Philadelphia,” which Young wrote for the 1993 film of the same name. While beautifully delivered, Carlile’s rendition did not add anything special to the song that Young had not already. The cover relies solely on Carlile’s voice and the accompanying piano, failing to give anything worth noting to the song.

Ignoring Carlile’s flat delivery, Fiona Apple brought out the best of the album’s contemporary side with an exceptional cover of the album’s namesake, “Heart of Gold.” 

Apple’s well-restrained alto sound makes it seem as though she had written the piece herself. The use of piano and heavy basslines suits the song well, giving it a much darker sound á la Apple’s 1996 album “Tidal.” 

Although the original version from “Harvest” is also a contemporary piece, the neglect of either acoustic or electric guitars in Apple’s cover changes the wistful folk feeling originally expressed by Young to an isolated, heavy feeling of boiling anger and desperation – a shocking, yet powerful shift. 

Other standouts of the album include Courtney Barnett’s groovy cover of “Lotta Love.” The balance between vibraphone, bass, guitar and percussion brings listeners back to love ballads of the mid-late 1970s. Barnett’s soft voice flows with the lilts in the instrumental, reminiscent of Minnie Ripperton’s “Lovin’ You.” 

Following Barnett’s cover is Stephen Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley, with “Old Man.” Like Barnett, Marley breathes new life into Young’s original rendition. With his and his father’s career being centered around reggae, it was only right for Marley’s piece in “Heart of Gold” to include elements of reggae in sound, like heavy bass and a hint of brass instruments and compositionally, featuring syncopated basslines, third-beat emphasis and a slower tempo. Marley’s cover sets itself apart from the rest through this change in genre. Unlike Carlile and Apple, his voice is loose and unrestricted. Marley lets the music guide his voice like a tube down a lazy river in the same way Young does with every piece he performs. 

The album’s eighth track, “Sugar Mountain,” was covered by The Lumineers. Despite retaining the contemporary sound of Young’s work, rather than shifting their delivery like Barnett and Marley, the group does an excellent job of capturing the folk element frequently used in Young’s music. “Sugar Mountain” fits lead singer Wesley Schultz’s voice better than Young’s. Schultz’s voice adds more emphasis on the lyrics, making the song easier to understand and connect with for listeners. That is not to diss the incredible abilities Young possesses, but The Lumineers’ take stands out as the perfect way to get younger listeners into the work of Neil Young. While maintaining the original folk aspects of “Sugar Mountain,” the band adds an indie element. This small yet important shift is what gives the song a modern feel. 

With each artist on the album are hints of their own musical style. In some ways it is refreshing to hear and keeps the album interesting. However, The Doobie Brothers and Allison Russell’s collaboration on “Comes A Time” failed to give anything more than the country twang Young often incorporates into his music. There is little connection to folk or folk-country in the cover, throwing its surrounding tracks out of place. This is also the case for the following song, “Long May You Run,” covered by Steve Earle. 

Earle’s take on the song is catchy and easy to dance to, but fails to find a comfortable middle ground to include the key element in any Neil Young song, folk. Different from the “Comes A Time” cover is Earle’s ability to keep the music palatable for non-country fans.

The following song is a hard right turn from its predecessors. Rodney Crowell’s take on “Mr. Soul” ignites the rock ‘n’ roll side of Young’s music, although it is a harder sound than what Young typically includes, it suits the piece well.

Crowell’s rendition brings excitement through its fast tempo and easy accompaniment (with the exception of the guitar riffs). With this, “Mr. Soul” is the best listen on the album. Despite most of the album being outstanding, Crowell’s cover takes the cake and captures the beauty of both the lyrics of the song and the composition. Similarly, Anders Osborne’s cover of “Cowgirl in the Sand” brings hard rock to the table. Osborne opens with a Young-like acoustic line, gently picking his guitar. As someone who experiments with both folk and hard rock, the transition from the delicate, singular instrument to the hard rock bridge is spectacular and smooth. For a song of Young’s, the transition may be jarring for some, but Osborne blends the two genres so well that it is difficult to fault him in the way of Earle and The Doobie Brothers’ covers. 

Charlie Greene brings power to the tender love ballad “Such A Woman” from Young’s 1992 “Harvest Moon.” Greene sets himself apart by including both piano and guitar, as opposed to the others’ covers, which exclusively use one or the other. The stunning take is the closest to Young’s own version of the song, making it a perfect tribute to the icon that is Neil Young.

Chris Pierce closes out the album with a cover of “Southern Man” — the song that inspired the famed hit by Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Sweet Home Alabama.”

Pierce’s rendition is a sensual and passionate rock ballad, one of the stand-outs of the album. However, it is too aggressive for such an album to conclude with. As incredible as Pierce’s sound is, “Such A Woman” would have been the perfect way to conclude the tribute to Young, matching the soft, sweet sound associated with his music.

The album’s second part does not have a release date, leaving the big question of the artists yet to come for continued covers of the iconic Young’s work. 

Image from Heart of Gold – The Songs of Neil Young via Youtube