Waging Heavy Peace: Capturing The Spirit of the Artist

Neil Young
In The Redwoods
(Click photo to enlarge)
A rather definitive review of Neil Young's book Waging Heavy Peace in All About Jazz by Lloyd N. Peterson Jr.

Here's the opening and the whole review is well worth clicking through and reading in its entirety:

An argument can be made that the three greatest artists in the history of contemporary rock music are Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Neil Young, in no particular order. The most controversial amongst the three would be Young.

This of course comes from the fact that Young seems to almost purposely take the path that defies commercial success but it's also a significant part of the reason why he remains so relevant. Where as most rock musicians reflect the time they create in by focusing on making hits, they also become dated when contemporary culture moves into the future and the next generation wants their own identity, their own statement and, yes, their own music. Though rare in rock music, every now and then an artist comes along that creates from a deeper well. And that well is so deeply personal in a creative spiritual sense, that the creativity produced does not reflect a style or genre as much as it does the spirit of the artist.

Waging Heavy Peace is a shining example of just what that means.

There may be no other biography that is so closely in tune with the artist, nor an artist that is this in tune with his muse and has the ability to write about it in such a detailed and expressive way. This is not only an inside look into the life of Young but critically important, what is inside the genius of one of the greatest minds in the world of modern art. And at this level, the genre and concept of art disappears. It is the artistic mind in collaboration with the spiritual soul that becomes much greater than the styles that were more than likely identified by record business executives anyway.

More of review on All About Jazz.

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