the bridge : a tribute to neil young (1988)

 

the bridge : a tribute to neil young (1988)

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***1/2

I came across this through a local second hand CD seller - an album the existence of which I wasn't aware of (not sure if it can be labeled a rarity). But upon seeing the FB ad, and a little googling,( which said it was a mixed bag, AMG gave it 4.5 stars and said it was such; but with certain unique interpretations that makes it a worthy addition ), I bagged it for the equivalent of $2 and a bit ( our exchange rates are crazy these days, but that's another story).

So how is the collection ?

Some are somewhat close to the originals, which are enjoyable due to a little unique streak about them.

- Soul Asylum's barstool blues, hadn't changed much, although Pirner's rough vocal style gives a notable difference against Young's melodious singing.

- Loop's (never heard of them before this ) cover of cinnamon girl which comes close to the original, as does Pixies' version of winterlong, and psychic tv's ( another first time listen band ) version of "only love can break your heart", come across well while maintaining a clear similarity to the original.

For me, the highlight was bongwater's version of mr.soul where the art is made to give the impression that the vocals and the instrumentation has been swapped. It sure made a deep impact on me, as the vocals pushed to the background was closer to the original as I've heard in Young's Decade collection ( the other version I am most familiar with is from his unplugged album ).

Henry Kaiser medley of "the needle and the damage done" with "tonight's the night" is another highlight. His other version, words, a bonus track is a good listen too.

Nick Cave's stylized version of helpless gives it a tremor and a feel of originality.

Sonic youth's version computer age comes across as a pure Sonic Youth song, given that am yet to hear Young's version of it.

However I couldn't gel with the Flaming Lips version of "after the goldrush", where I think the improvisation ill-suits the song. Victoria William's version at best was a so-so job, and less said about Nikki Sudden and Dinosaur Jr. the better.

Overall, there's much that is interesting and enough to prove its a good buy. Note that these versions aren't available in Spotify ( although they are said to be, in youtube).