THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT "COVER ART: THE SPLENDOR OF THE COVER SONG" - EPISODE #3 - THE ENIGMATIC NEIL YOUNG.

Neil Young’s otherworldly ability to morph between raging metalhead to the most sentimental of romantics never fails to astound. Always uncompromising, this cranky Canadian has been inflexible in his stance to be unencumbered - and, prolific - recording over 45 solo albums, not to mention those classics created with Buffalo Springfield and CSN&Y. Surviving polio as a child, and a brain aneurysm in middle age, he kept coming back stronger than ever.  I’ve seen him live twice: at the Greek Theater during the Greendale tour, then again a couple of years back when my son and I flew to Tucson to celebrate the slower, less blazing, but still mesmerizing octogenarian troubadour. His music has been a touchstone throughout my life, starting with the iconic Reprise album “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere” which contained Down by the River - a dorm room sing along. His vast catalogue makes it difficult to pick only ten covers, but the range here is evident, swinging from Pearl Jam’s live version of Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World to Emmylou Harris’s wistful floatation on Daniel Lanois’s diaphanous Wrecking Ball. Neil’s own vocal style is so distinctive that it’s tempting to disregard how beautiful some of his melodies are. I think you’ll find that this line up does them justice.HEART OF GOLD (JOHNNY CASH)MR. SOUL (THE EVERLY BROTHERS)ON THE BEACH (BOZ SCAGGS)KEEP ON ROCKING IN THE FREE WORLD (PEARL JAM)A MAN NEEDS A MAID (DALA)BIRDS (THE METERS)LOTTA LOVE (NICOLETTE LARSON)WRECKING BALL (EMMYLOU HARRIS)BROKEN ARROW (WILCO)HELPLESS (NICK CAVE)