Neil Young has always gone his own way. Whether it be the electronic influenced “Trans” to the rockabilly “Everyone’s Rockin’” Young has followed his muse for good and bad whichever way it has taken him without questioning it. “Heart of Gold” directed by Jonathan Demme (“Stop Making Sense”, “Store Front Hitchcock” and, of course, “The Silence of the Lambs”) is no stranger to filming rock concerts and keeping them visceral and vital. Although the staging for “Heart of Gold” isn’t as radical or unusual as some of Demme’s other filmed performances he still manages to select the perfect shot to compliment a performance which is, surprisingly, a gift not everyone has. Yo ung is in terrific form in “Heart of Gold” (which borrows its title from one of Young’s biggest and best hits). Shot during the tour to promote “Prairie Wind” Young plays a number of tracks from that fine album. Young continues to be a fine storyteller relating the tales behind some of his best songs.

Image & Sound:

Colors are bold and bright with solid blacks. Digital artifacts are few and far between in this fine presentation. The 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround, DTS and 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo mixes all sound great with the DTS having a slight edge sounding slightly warmer and with better depth.

The first disc has a performance of “He Was the King” a song that Young wrote and performs about Elvis but that’s it. The special features occupy the bulk of disc two. “Fellow Travelers” features director Demme discussing why he elected to shoot Young’s show and why he choose Nashville for the shooting itself vs. multiple locations. “Cruising with Neil” is consists of an interview conducted by Demme and runs about 10 minutes. “There Old Guitars” allows music fans to see the gear that Young uses. “Cruising with the Players” allows Demme to interview Young’s backing band. “Finishing Touches” focuses on how the sound mixes were done for the film. The last featurette “Warming Up with Neil and The Jubilee Singers” is more of an instructional video. Young gives advice on how to warm up for performances to a music class.

*** Demme narrates the three part documentary “The Rehearsal Diaries” which focuses on practice sessions, the venue where the concert takes place, the band setting up and practicing on the day of the shows. It’s a fascinating glimpse backstage into all of the prep work that musicians do to prepare for a tour and while it only gives us a glimpse it’s a pretty accurate one. Finally we get an appearance that Young made on “The Johnny Cash Show” from 1971 in “Blast from the Past”. Young performs “The Needle and the Damage Done” from his classic album “Harvest”. ---

Final Words: