Pegi Young: Pegi Young

Elly Roberts reviews

Pegi Young: Pegi Young
Distributed by
Warner Bros.Cover

  • March 2008
  • Rating: 6/10
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Shakey’s missus steps outta the shadows. Neil’s helping out.

When you’re married to songwriting genius Neil Young, it must’ve been adaunting task making your own record. Even more impressive is that Warner’shave boldly signed her, considering her lack of recognition as a writer in herown right.

When listening to it, it’s a bit worrying that hubby is on board, but Isuppose inevitable. He plays guitars, electric sitar, harmonica and vocalsbacked by a host of luminaries like Spooner Oldham. Living next to a state ofthe art studio on their Californian ranch, it was only a matter of time beforeshe threw in her penny’s worth.

Despite her lack of experience as a lead singer (she’s been backing Neil for30 years) she makes a real fist of her debut, venturing very much into hubby’smusical landscapes adding some well done covers that ponder the tug of warbetween love and independence.

Many of the songs were written more than three decades, not that that matters,six of which appear here.


Pegi says of her efforts, “I’ve been writing songs and poetry since highschool. It was something I’d always wanted to do but could never make timefor. There were other things that took priority.”

What we get is a solid enough an album, but it’s not going to set the worldalight by any means. Neil’s distinctive harmonica opens lightweight balladFake, after which Pegi’s often deeply soulful and smokey vocalskick-in, boosted by some fine pedal steel. Its Hold On that reallystamps her writing potential, an achingly beautiful ballad, though her voicestruggles on the higher notes.

Neil’s twangy electric guitar drench the upbeat Love Like Water but itgets a bit messy on the quarter and half way points. When she hits themellower ballads such as Key To Love and Sometimes she soundslike she’s in a better comfort zone adopting a lazier tone.

One of her covers, Sometimes Like A River is a gorgeous interpretation,and predictably texturised by Neil’s subliminal harmonica, more deft pedalsteel and bluesy acoustic guitar picks. Joe Sample and Will Jennings’ fun-packedI Like The Party Life brings a great bar-room blast which she handlesreasonably well but a bluesy rasp would have sounded better, floating thevocals above the chugging shuffle and rough and ready backups. Dan Penn andSpooner Oldham’s country-gospel ballad I’m Not Through Loving You Yetis one of the album’s highlights.

File under : Getting there, but more work needed.

Weblinks:pegiyoung.com /myspace.com/pegiyoung


The full list of tracks included are :

1. Fake
2. Heterosexual Masses
3. When The Wild Life Betrays Me
4. Hold On
5. Love Like Water
6. Key To Love
7. Sometimes
8. Sometimes Like A River (Loving You)
9. I Like The Part Life
10. White Line In The Sun
11. I’m Not Through Loving You Yet
12. Hidden track: Wrestle Awhile

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