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| Neil Young - Heart of Gold |
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List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $19.50
You Save: $10.49 (35%)
Buy New/Used from $19.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 26 reviews)
Sales Rank: 9
Category: DVD
Director: Jonathan Demme
Publisher: Paramount Home Video
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Brand: Paramount
Label: Paramount Home Video
Format: Color, Dolby, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), English (Dubbed)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 103 minutes
Number Of Items: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 097363466949
EAN: 0097363466949
ASIN: B000F48D00
Release Date: June 13, 2006 (New: Last 30 Days)
Theatrical Release Date: November 30, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
"I just want to play well, share the stage with my friends, give the best I can," says Neil Young before the concert that is the centerpiece of Heart of Gold. No problem, dude. Working with filmmaker Jonathan Demme, Young has come up with a gem--not all flash and bling-bling, but as understated as a single pearl, musically restrained yet emotionally open. Of course, neither Demme (an Oscar winner for The Silence of the Lambs; he also helmed Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense) nor Young would call it "a concert film"; the director describes it as "a dream concert, something that's literally being dreamt by Neil," while the singer-songwriter himself calls it "a multi-level story." Whatever, the project came together in 2005, as Young was finishing his Prairie Wind album (the latest in a string of lovely, country-flavored acoustic recordings dating back to 1972's Harvest) and preparing to debut the music at Nashville's fabled Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry. The fact that Young had also recently experienced a brain aneurysm might or might not have influenced his decision to film the show, but it certainly seems to have had an effect on the music. He and his band (which, with the addition of horns, strings, and backup singers, including Emmylou Harris, occasionally numbers forty or more musicians) perform Prairie Wind in its entirety, and there is some deeply moving, highly personal material here; in addition to the gospel-tinged "When God Made Me" and the dirge-like "No Wonder," Young sings about his recently-deceased father (the title song), his newly adult daughter ("Here for You"), the guitar he plays that once belonged to Hank Williams ("This Old Guitar"), and even his dog ("He Was the King"). Demme's direction is ideal for conveying the music's restrained acoustic textures, rich backing vocals, and simple, elegant melodies. Shots are held much longer than is usual in such films, and while there are lots of close-ups, there are no gimmicks. This superb DVD package is filled out by a second disc of bonus features, including a variety of featurettes and a solo performance of "The Needle and the Damage Done" from The Johnny Cash Show in 1971. --Sam Graham
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Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...
Another Great DVD From Neil Young June 26, 2006
The good thing about Neil Young's DVDs is that they are way more than a music DVD. It shows so much more than the actual concert. The behind the scene footage is wonderful. What I probably love most about this DVD is the interviews with band members, especially Ben Keith. Ben has played with Neil off and on for over thirty years. Ben is famous for his steel guitar on Harvest, ie "Heart of Gold". I love these perspectives from these band members because a person is only as successful because of who he has around him. Now the show. What better place to shoot a DVD than the ORIGINAL Grand Ole Opry. His choice of music is outstanding, especially the live performance of Heart of Gold. A live performance of Heart of Gold is rare, unless you are fortunate enough to have a copy of Austin City Limits, or the BBC performance. Neil will be forever associated with that song and for some reason he doesn't like that. So I am very glad to see HOG available for purchase on DVD. The only problem I had with the DVD was the bonus live performance. The Needle and The Damage Done is abundantly available on video. The Johnny Cash show version might night be, but it is available on just about every Neil concert video, plus Live Aid, SNL, among others. I just believe for a "Archive Release" they could have come up with something better. Even though it doesn't stop the video from getting 5 stars.
 My heart was broken June 26, 2006
Heart of Gold from 1972's Harvest is Neil Young's only number one hit single in his long musical career. The song, on the surface, seems to be a plea for the redemption of all-conquering love. With James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt singing backup, the song was a made for radio hit waiting to happen. And amazingly, the song continues to be among the most requested and performed in concert.Heart of Gold' is a song anyone can relate to, and maybe that's why it went to number one on the US charts. Neil's simple acoustic playing and piercing harmonica give it a feeling of utmost importance.
It just might make you a fan June 26, 2006
To be perfectly honest: I'm not THAT much of a Neil Young fan. Yeah he's got some good songs and records but for me they tend to be few and far-between. For every great record like Zuma or Harvest he's got tons that simply don't work like Trans, This Note's For You or Are You Passionate. His latest record, Prairie Wind has been hailed as his return-to-form, a classic Neil Young record. He debuted it at the Grand Ole Opry and it's certainly a breath of fresh air from the other concerts available on DVD.
Performing his Prairie Wind album live in its entirety as well as some hits, Neil Young takes the stage with his band as well as some guests. No stage trickery like pyrotechnics and laser shows, it's just straight Neil Young and he's quite captivating. Even if certain songs don't gel, there's a aura he is where he's like a calmer kind of intense, he's not energetic or dynamic like most but you almost can't keep your eyes of him. Again, his voice is one of those love-it-or-hate-it deals and while I do like Megadeth and Rush who don't have the most range-y singers, Neil's I can tolerate too.
One nice thing about the show is that the editing has finally been given a shot of morphine. Unlike the hyperkinetic cameras of other DVD concerts, this often has loooong shots on Neil or the band and there's a more relaxed feeling about the show and it works because of it. As for the music itself, I don't mind Neil Young but he's not really an artist where every single song he does I'm a fan of, it's more like "I like this one and that and that but all this? No".
Should you buy this? If you're a Neil Young fan yes. If you're not and want to get into him? Hm, maybe buy Harvest first and if you like what you hear, get this but since this concert is the full Prairie Wind album with only a handful of hits, it may not be the best "cherry popper" so to speak.
Great performance June 23, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have more CDs than I can listen to in a year, but what I see on DVD has a chance to stick in my mind after seeing it a few times. I have so many Neil Young songs I love that I never convinced myself to buy `Prairie Wind' in 2005. The concert on this DVD was filmed before the CD was available, and people like me were right to wait for the DVD. Instead of just hearing the music, you get to see who is playing and singing. Comments by Neil Young about his father having dementia are as touching as the Bridge School Concerts on a 1997 CD that had notes thanking "the audiences who have made the Bridge School Concerts possible." People who get the DVD `Heart of Gold' have the opportunity to observe first performances of songs that were written as the recording was underway in a public performance that was prepared in the ten days before the musicians took the stage of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Even if the music is not going to be your favorite song ever, because your mind is now too old to be captured by the complexity of new musical creations, the opportunity to see an old master and his henchmen turning out new songs, remembering all the words, and playing them for an audience which has a sense of the history of the music that has been played on some of the same guitars that are right there on stage, for the first time since 1951, for instance, ought to be appreciated.
Just fabulous! June 21, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This concert film will touch you like only a Great Artist and Great Director can do it. This is Neil at his emotional folk finest.
His tribute to Nashville and it's history, by playing at the Grand Old Oprey, is perfect. His Daddy would have been proud again.
Neil vaulted into my top artist of all time with this concert.
Personal favorite moments:
Old King, Harvest Moon (the broom), Comes A Time, Heart of Gold, Needle and The Damage Done, Old Man,,,a closing unlike any others.
Demme's set shots and anti concert video pace make watching this film a pleasure...dreamlike as they say in the documentary shorts on disc 2.
I wish he's do another one with his harder Rock Songs at some historic rock place...it could be great too.
Don't miss this....
It's "Concert For George", "The Last Waltz", "Hell Freezes Over", "Stop Making Sense", kind of greatness.
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Copyright Runningonkarma.com 2006
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