Neil Young

 

Randy Newman: ' Most people did their best work when they were younger. Neil Young is as good as he ever was, which is quite an accomplishment... It seems like there's no tricks to him. I don't know if you could name anyone better who came out of rock and roll.' a phony, he could. Not this guy. He chooses not to. Neil's always been real.'

 

Link Wray: 'Neil's a superstar but he don't let it get in the way. If he wanted to be.'

 

Thurston Moore: 'Neil's the real thing. He's Hank Williams.'

 

David Bowie: ' I have an incredible admiration for Neil. There's a youthful redemption in everything he does., a joyfulness about being an independent thinker in America.'

 

Peter Buck: ' I'm always surprised when I look at Neil Young and realise he's doing whatever the fuck he wants. Some of his message are positive, some are negative, some don't make any sense at all.'

 

Bryan Ferry: ' I like Neil Young. Very much.'

 

Willie Nelson: ' What can you say? The guy knows how to write a song. He's more than a writer, more than a singer, he's an entertainer. To be a triple threat like that is very rare.'

 

Emmylou Harris: ' He's timeless. He's almost mystical. Neil makes brilliant records and they're easily identifiable. You don't have to be told who it is. He's an original. I can't think of anybody who's even close to him.'

 

Townes Van Zandt: ' I can read auras - pale green is trouble boy. I know a lotta cats with green ones - most of them are dead. And there's one that's more golden, glowing approaching fulfilled - that has fulfilled other people. Neil has that. Neil's is gold. Gold.'

 

High praise indeed. From Jimmy McDonough's biography of Neil, Shakey.