Finding a new artist who has a vast catalog of music to explore is truly unforgettable. It happens often that you will listen to their discography, find something you like, and then be content to stop there. There may be other occasions when you leave a listening session confused. Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam was shocked that more of Neil Young’s songs weren’t regarded as classics when he first listened to him.
There are plenty of Pearl Jam songs that go unnoticed. Bands with many albums inevitably leave some recordings behind. Even the most popular bands have albums and tracks that fade from memory. That is precisely what has happened with a lot of Pearl Jam’s music. Many songs that have every right to be regarded as classics wind up not being adopted by fans. This happens in a manner that the artist would like. Neil Young experienced the same thing.
“When Gossard was asked to play with Neil Young on Mirrorball,” he said, “to be honest, I hadn’t listened to Neil Young until that. That had a huge impact upon us, and it was such a compliment.” And his albums simply astounded me when I listened to them all again. There are songs on even his most obscure records that are so poignant and lovely that you can’t believe they didn’t become big hits.
Proceeding to commend numerous albums by Young, Gossard listed albums such as Sleeps With Angels, Trans Am, Western Hero, and Change Your Mind. He described them as some of the greatest tracks he had ever heard. “The way it starts to climb every time for his solos is just absurd. And this is one of the records that hardly anyone ever discusses!
What is it about Young’s music that draws listeners in? Depending on who you ask, the heart lies at the core of everything he does. Young is the type of musician who prioritizes his personal preferences over those of others. This implies that while fans sometimes overlook music. When you listen to any of his albums, you hear the work of someone who truly puts all their passion into it. This strikes Gossard, who isn’t afraid to declare Young one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
He declared, “He’s in that Dylan zone; he’s the ultimate songwriter, singer, lead guitarist, and soundscaper. The way he mixes feedback and distortion with blues, folk, rock, soul, and noise is just inspirational.” He is a master at extracting solos by simply throttling his guitar.
Stone Gossard is not alone in his appraisal of Young. Musicians should take note of the adoration fans have for them and always keep their passions front and center. Just go with it; if they mean a lot to you, they probably mean a lot to someone else as well.
