Friday 14 December 2012

"Neil Young: Journeys" (The Guardian 14/12/12)


Neil Young: Journeys (PG) 87 mins ****

Jonathan Demme’s third documentary portrait of Neil Young finds the singer driving the filmmaker around his former Ontario playgrounds, pointing out abandoned mineshafts and the spot where the younger Young once offed a turtle. They’re headed for Toronto’s Massey Hall, site of Young’s summer 2011 homecoming gig. Attaching his camera to the mic stand for a couple of numbers, Demme hasn’t stopped seeking out new angles on this old warhorse, and even the odd speck of spittle on the lens cannot obscure the fact Young increasingly looks and sounds like one of the all-time greats. This particular set proves less revelatory than 2006’s comprehensive retrospective Heart of Gold, but Demme brings such perennials as “Ohio” to renewed, rumbling life by having them recorded in double-the-standard 96khz sound – the one technical advancement in this week’s releases that pays off unconditionally. These songs absolutely resonate

Neil Young: Journeys opens in selected cinemas from today.

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