Top 10 songs list approaches finish line
May 08, 2009 - 04:30 AM
By William McGuirk
NUMBER THREE
Ambulance Blues -- Neil Young
"It's hard to say the meaning of this song."
Young is the single most important artist this country has produced. He has invented and influenced entire genres. He is always of the moment. At the moment, he is at once releasing the infamous archives (box set is too small, this is a trunkful) and releasing a stripped-down Ol Shakey 2.0 blues record with home-made YouTube videos and MySpace streams.
Ambulance Blues, from On The Beach album, is among his best work. In Winnipeg, the music washing up on the radio gave rise to California Dreams. The cover of this record shows Neil finally on the beach. He's made it. But look around and the beach is strewn with debris. This is the reality of the dream writ in song. He can go no further now. He must chart a new course... inwards. On The Beach marks the point when Neil becomes Neil.
It's all here on Ambulance Blues. What he was and what he intends to be. The rough fiddle and harmonica foreshadow his later, grungier work. The autobiographical nature of the lyrics, the length and its handmade vibe have been consistent motifs. This is Neil pulled off in the ditch, taking stock. It's after the Harvest and the Gold Rush and he is relaxed and remembering...
"Back in the old folkie days, the air was magic when we played/ The Riverboat was rocking in the rain."
It was a magical time and those kids -- Mitchell, The Band, Lightfoot -- did they know who they would become? No, but they knew each other's talent and they came out and hung out.
"It's easy to get buried in the past/ when you try to make a good thing last."
Staying was creative death. The folkies knew moving on was the route to survival. Physical movement, yes, but also artistic movement. Those kids of Yorkville all sought more. Their legacy lies in their need to push, to reach, to challenge. Neil is the Monarch of Movement. "Waitresses are crying in the rain/ Will her boyfriends pass this way again."
It is not just the songs, the style, the sounds that have turned on generation after generation after generation of musicians. It's his philosophy of art. It's his non-commercial approach to the business of commercial music. It's Trans, Greendale, Weld, Re-actor, Rust, Fork In The Road even. Neil is as Neil does, and Neil does Neil no better than on Ambulance Blues.
"So all you critics sit alone/ You're no better than me from what you've shown."
William McGuirk is a freelance writer and longtime Oshawa resident. He can be contacted at
wmacg@yahoo.com.
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