DON'T WATCH THIS VIDEO if: you don't take "visual downers" well. Van Gogh morphing Imagery... deep angst. The video may be overwhelming for some. This is not intended to be a video depicting what I think Neil meant to convey in his song. I created the video for someone I know (you know who you are) and maybe a few others will be able to relate. Life has some harsh moments. Anyone who has been on the planet for more than a (metaphoric) day knows that to be true.


Randy Krbechek's Metronews
Music Reviews:


December 7 , 1994

Sleeps With Angels

Neil Young, Sleeps with Angels (Reprise 1994) -- Sleeps with Angels, the 35th album from Neil Young, shows why he has become an enduring force on the American musical landscape. Blending his often intensely personal statements with his eclectic musical visions, Sleeps with Angeles is a solid album with many bursts of greatness.

Young, who was raised in Toronto (his father was a sportswriter for the Toronto Sun), moved to Los Angeles in the mid-60s, where he soon formed the seminal Buffalo Springfield. Following the breakup of this milestone band, Young launched his solo career in earnest, bracketed around stints with Stephen Stills, David Crosby, and Graham Nash (better known as CSNY).

Young has always been a maverick, and refuses to be pigeonholed into any single genre or idiom. Thus, his albums have ranged from techno (1981's Re-Ac-Tor) to the more countryish Hawks & Doves (1980) through full-blown metal (such as Weld from 1991).

Sleeps with Angels, which was inspired by the death last spring of Kurt Cobain, finds Young sampling a variety of styles. Though the album was recorded with Crazy Horse (consisting of Frank "Poncho" Sampedro on guitars and keyboards, Billy Talbot on bass, and vibes and Ralph Molina on drums), the 12 tracks on this disc do not all bear the signature Crazy Horse heavy-rock sound.

While the title track sounds like vintage Crazy Horse, other portions of the album have a more acoustic sound, a la 1992's Harvest Moon.

The best two cuts are "My Heart" and "Prime of Life," which present alternate viewpoints of Kurt Cobain's suicide. "My Heart" is written from Kurt's perspective, and acknowledges that "When dreams come trashing down like trees/I don't know what love can do . . . My heart, my heart/I've got to keep my heart . . . Somewhere, somewhere/I've got to get somewhere/It's not too late, it's not too late."

The companion piece, "Prime of Life," is Young's personal reaction to the death. For Kurt and his trampy wife, Courtney Love (of Hole), it should have been "the prime of life for the king and queen/Where the spirit grows/And the mirror shows both ways." But something went terribly wrong; upon learning of Kurt's death, Young says "When I first saw your face/It took my breath away."

Young's honest and real; his anger and dissatisfaction have never faded away, but only grown more channeled. Nobody really knows what made Kurt do it (though many knew he was deeply troubled), and "My Heart" captures his desperation. Having also experienced the trials and tribulations of life, Young has the true ability to understand suffering -- and to express his anger about Kurt's needless death.

Other highlights on Sleeps with Angels include "Piece of Crap," Young's anthem to every piece of consumer garbage that didn't work when you brought it home, and a lovely melody that forms two songs, "Western Hero" and "Train of Love." Young liked this tune so much that he wrote two separate sets of lyrics for it.

"Western Hero" is more cliched ("He wore a six gun on his hip/But now he doesn't carry it",) while "Train of Love" is a softer song that works better -- when Young sings, "This train will never run me down/But only take me where I'm bound/It's part of me and part of you/I'll always be a part of you," you know he means it.

Though last year's Unplugged was Young's best album in years (because of its consistency), Sleeps with Angels (which will not be supported by a tour) continues in the true Neil Young tradition -- and that's all we can ask for. (less info)