There is a pretty good argument to be made that Fred Neil is
the quintessential, mysterious, cult
figure in modern music history. Gifted with a most memorable and resonant
voice, the ability to toss off masterpieces casually and a magnetic, yet
unattainable poet’s soul, he was a profound influence on countless other
musicians (Dylan, Stills, Tim Buckley, Airplane, Spoonful, etc.), and most
amazingly, he only made four albums before taking his life into his own hands and
backing away from stardom. He wrote a handful of standards: one, “Everybody’s Talkin’,” among the 10
most played songs on modern radio - a classic by anyone’s measure. His first
three albums Bleecker and MacDougal, Fred Neil and Sessions are all out of
print on CD, thus making The Other
Side Of This Life the de
facto choice for review. I highly recommend the first two albums as they
represent Neil’s best work and some of the best American folk/rock ever
recorded. Sessions shows
Neil succumbing to the excess of the day, and while interesting, is just too
scattered and stoned to be of much use. Which leaves us with The Other Side Of This Life. 
Side one is a live set comprised of his three biggest hits
(“The Other Side Of This Life,” “The
Dolphins” and “Everybody's Talkin'”) his hippest song (“That's The Bag I'm In”) and two blues
covers all delivered in his laconic, yet authoritative manner. That is the
secret to Fred Neil, he is always laid back in his delivery, but just below the
surface are brilliant songs, an incredible voice and a jazzy twelve-string
technique that put many of his peers to shame. Neil can be heard giggling to
himself between songs and fooling around with the audience, but make no
mistake, when he lets loose on “The Other
Side Of This Life” or “The Dolphins”
his vocal delivery still pins your ears back in awe. Neil is in relaxed
mode, but the tunes and vocal delivery are life changing. Side two is more of a
hodgepodge, gathering together a handful of interesting tracks highlighted by two
incredible ballads. The first, “Ya
Don’t Miss Your Water,” is a
well-known gospel/soul standard, here played as a duet with another quixotic
1960’s figure, Gram Parsons. The combination of these two woozy voices wrapping
around this great tune is irresistible. Parsons is the perfect tenor
counterpoint to Neil’s elongated baritone, and they deliver it somewhere
between St. Peter and Bacchus. The album ends with a stripped down version of
another of Neil’s greatest songs, “Felicity,”
which is both uplifting and
heartbreaking; the very essence of the singer/songwriter tradition, and it
embodies the duality that Fred Neil excelled at like nobody else.
If you haven’t yet, discovering Fred Neil is one of the
great pleasures left in collecting 1960’s music. I was aware of Nilsson’s hit
version of “Everybody’s Talkin’” and The Jefferson Airplane’s version of
“The Other Side Of This Life” and of course Tim Buckley's haunted “The Dolphins,” but discovering the real item was one of the most thrilling
revelations ever. Here was what seemed to be the Rosetta Stone of folk/rock
music. Seemingly, every cool musician of the early 60’s either crossed paths
with or was influenced by Fred Neil. He remained mysterious, staying out of the
public eye for the last 30 years of his life, never succumbing to the siren
call of comeback or tribute or tour, instead quietly living his life and
letting his incredible legacy of song and performance speak for itself. How
could there be no whiff of sellout whatsoever? How could such an important
figure come through the 70’s 80’s and 90’s (he died in 2001) with his
reputation completely untarnished and his public awareness so under the radar?
I honestly don’t have an answer, but listen to him, love him, and then keep it
to yourself. Some things are better kept just between you and me.
- Paul Epstein
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