why do people like neil young?
what neil has going for him is a real sense of honesty in his voice. when you hear “harvest moon”, you can feel the passion that he is trying to rekindle. “heart of gold” has him both pleading for love and coming to grips with his own human frailty.
there are several singers that i think fall into this vein. the sort of earnest and honest trampy troubadour. they don’t have the greatest voices or write the best songs, but they give it to you in a way that you can’t help but believe them, even if you can’t empathize. elvis costello, bruce springsteen, billy bragg, john darnielle of the mountain goats, jim james of my morning jacket…all these guys sort of fit this bill.
oh, and as an aside, if you’ve never heard the song “piece of crap”…you’re missing out.