Neil Young - Acoustic Afternoon

There are few musical artists who need the old canonization speech less than Neil Young. With his reputation preserved amongst us youngsters as the Godfather of Grunge (apparently based on little more than a predilection towards flannel), he's already known by all as the hip great-uncle amidst the Woodstock era's senile grandparents. Few have been able to maintain lyrical relevance for such an extended period, and none that I know of have grown in scope and melody to the degree Mr. Young has over his prolific career.

Acoustic Afternoon is a remarkable set of songs that focuses primarily on the popular classics in Young’s catalog (with wry humor, he refers to these as both “golden oldies” and “radio-whored”), but doesn’t ignore latter-day gems such as “Slowpoke” and “Pocahontas”. While the song selection is stellar, more fascinating is the engaging rapport between the artist and his audience. He readily takes requests, encourages crowd participation, explains (at length) the inspiration behind “Long may You Run”, and even asks someone to join him onstage and harmonize on “Too Far Gone”. Often quiet and always sweetly melodic, Neil Young's brief but immaculate performance feels like the perfect Sunday morning serenade.

Acoustic Afternoon - Part 1


Acoustic Afternoon - Part 2