Shakey - Jimmy McDonough

Neil Young is one of the most important musicians in the history of rock. His prolific talent has produced more than 50 albums and 400 songs, among them some of the most enduring of all time, including "Like a Hurricane," "Tonight's the Night," "Down by the River," "The Needle and the Damage Done," "Old Man," "Rockin' in the Free World," "Southern Man," "Cinnamon Girl," "Cortez the Killer," "Hey Hey, My My," "After the Gold Rush," and "Heart of Gold." Jimmy McDonough, a staunch Neil Young fan, managed to establish an extraordinary relationship with the musician, overcoming a vast number of barriers and resistence, embarking on an exhaustive, meticulous documentation process that would last nearly 10 years and create infinite headaches, including Young's unfavorable reaction upon reading the biography. Far from the customary hagiography that is music biographies, McDonough's doesn't just offer a cruel portrait of the Canadian musician-showing his erratic, brutal, and disconcerting nature in its rawness as the essence of his talent for composing songs-but it also captures in an impassioned, intense way four decades of rock that shine in their own right, aside from Young-his friends, his collaborators, and as much the musicians of his generation as those who witnessed his talent. Shakey shares an intimate portrait of Young becoming more and more hermitlike, afflicted by frequent epileptic fits, slowly finding his voice, and eventually forming the band Crazy Horse. McDonough, however, doesn't just cover the known facts and successes; he reveals the darkest parts of Young's story: failed relationships, his son's struggle with cerebral palsy, and his frequent bouts of disappearing without warning or explanation. This in-depth biography contends that Neil Young's unpredictable work is some of the most original and daring music of all time.

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Jimmy McDonough is the author of biographies of Russ Meyer and Andy Milligan and has written for publications including Variety and the Village Voice. He lives in Portland, Oregon. Elvira Asensi Monz is a translator.

"A mammoth portrait of the artist and lively exhumation of rock 'n' roll history. . . . [McDonough] traces a rich turbulent career in vivid detail." -New York Times, on the English-language edition

"Exhaustive, quarrelsome, and sometimes maddening . . . there are revelations in abundance." -New York Times Book Review, on the English-language edition

"Staggeringly thorough . . . McDonough gets it all: the chaos, the grandeur, the good times and dreary deaths, the alcohol- and drug-besotted recording sessions, the broken hearts, and the sheer unfettered joy of a seriously gifted artist." -Salon, on the English-language edition