Neil Young is one of rock and roll's most important, influential and enigmatic figures, an intensely reticent artist who has granted no writer access to his inner sanctum - until now.
Shakey is the whole story of Young's incredible life and career: from his childhood in Canada to the founding of folk-rock pioneers Buffalo Springfield; the bleary conglomeration of Crazy Horse and the monstrous success of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; to the depths of the Tonight's the Night depravity and the Geffen years; and Young's unprecedented nineties 'comeback'.
Shakey (the title refers to one of Young's many aliases) is also the compelling human story of a lonely kid for whom music was the only outlet, a driven yet tortured figure who controlled his epilepsy via 'mind over matter', an oddly passionate model train mogul who, inspired by his own son's struggle with cerebral palsy, became a major activist in the quest to help those with the condition.
This long-awaited, unprecedented story of a rock 'n' roll legend is uniquely told through the interwoven voices of McDonough - biographer, critic, historian, obsessive fan - and the ever-cantankerous (but slyly funny) Young himself.
About the Author
Jimmy McDonough is a journalist who has contributed to such publications as Variety, Film Comment, Mojo, Spin and Juggs. But he is perhaps best know for his intense, definitive Village Voice profiles of such artists as Jimmy Scott, Neil Young and Hubert Selby, Jr. He is also the author of The Ghastly One: The Sex-Gore Netherworld of Filmmaker Andy Milligan. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Industry Reviews
"The raw materials of the story are sensational: burning ambition, clashing egos, onstage epileptic seizures, deranged groupies, great albums, the birth and death of Sixties idealism, and, most of all, extremes of substance abuse." - Scotland on Sunday
"Succeeds in stripping a star of his iconography - McDonough's book excels at anecdotes of music excess from a bygone era." - Observer
"It's hard to imagine anyone trying to better this book - It has an abundance of what Young values above all else - passion." - Evening Standard
"I've been reading this biography of Neil Young called Shakey and it's changed my life, man." - Liam Gallagher, NME
"One of the most penetrative studies of a rock icon ever written... Scary, bittersweet and strangely moving... One of the great tales of the rock 'n' roll era." - Sunday Times
“Jimmy McDonough’s fat, teeming, obsessive, and revelatory biography of Young is a pure shot of all-access pleasure... Hugely original.” - Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Just as unmanageable, hard-headed, overzealous, and ultimately endearing as Young himself... A maddening, beguiling portrait of an elusive maverick... A glorious mess.” - San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
“An exhilarating match-up of author and subject makes Shakey a great, gripping read.... A must-read for anyone who cares about Neil Young.” - Rolling Stone
“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
“The definitive book on the subject.” - The Washington Post
“Exhaustive, quarrelsome, and sometimes maddening... there are revelations in abundance.” - The New York Times Book Review
“Where the average rock-star biography is a tepid, toothless thing, McDonough has approached his task like a literary Terminator, steaming ahead with lethal thoroughness. One of the most penetrative studies of a rock icon ever written.” - The Times
“A mammoth portrait of the artist and lively exhumation of rock n roll history... [McDonough] traces a rich turbulent career in vivid detail.” - The New York Times
“Imaginatively written... not only is Shakey an extraordinary literary feat of research and affection and endurance, it's an insight into the art of biography itself.” - Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“Delves further into the life and motives of one of music's most private individuals than anything previously released... surprisingly comprehensive and thoroughly enjoyable... The most detailed portrait of this shrouded artist to date.” - San Jose Mercury News
“Exhaustively researched, impressively detailed... The long passages in which McDonough steps aside to let Young talk are the most revealing. ‘One day I'm a jerk,’ Young says, ‘the next day I'm a genius.’ This book argues artfully for the latter.” - People
“Like meeting Brando's Kurtz in a cave at the end of Apocalypse Now... Young comes across as a Jekyll-and-Hyde loner whose life has unfolded like a reckless chemistry experiment - a control freak on an endless quest for the uncontrolled moment.” - Macleans
“McDonough is an avid fan, music critic and impartial journalist all in one... [He] deftly weaves Young's life, actions and art together... What was known of Young's life before was akin to a series of rough demos. In Shakey, McDonough delivers a full double-album.” - Rocky Mountain News
“Does what most rock bios don’t: It fails to fawn, it delivers the juice, it subjects the hero to the scrutiny and disappointment of a fan... A page-turning good read.” - Houston Chronicle
“Fascinating reading... McDonough gives us as good a look at [Young’s] cards as we’re likely to get.” - The Tampa Tribune
“[Shakey's] unprecedented access makes for an entertaining read: McDonough, more than any music journalist since Peter Guralnick in his authoritative Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley, has succeeded in stripping a star of his iconography.” - The Observer
“Crammed with razor-sharp insights and mind-boggling detail, Shakey is a rock-solid literary triumph, as inspired and inspiring as the eccentric figure it evokes with such frustrated devotion.” - The Guardian
“McDonough... pores through Young’s life with vivid prose and blunt detail, and he is unashamed to insert some stinging opinions. In his probing conversations with Young,... he challenges the formidable artist in ways that few others would dare.”
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
