Review by Paul Monkhouse for MPM
With a relentless sun beating down from the cloudless sky, the hunt for shade in the great expanse of Hyde Park was highly sought after, the multiple drinks outlets doing a roaring trade. The event has managed to capture something over the years that is doubtlessly universal but also peculiarly British, the vast audience a cross section of ages and class as families and corporate highflyers rub shoulders, albeit from a distance as gallons of beer, wire and champagne are consumed. Attracting a generally older and more attentive crowd than seen at Glastonbury a fortnight before, this was a chance for genuine fans to see not just one legend but three.
Whilst the trio of stages dotted around the park provided hours of sparkling and varied entertainment, including some truly impressive sets from HOLiDAY MYSTICS, Sarah Julia, BLUAI, Everyone Says Hi and Amble, today was about a Canadian, an Englishman and an Irishman who’d all made long and lasting impressions on not just music but culture too. Now all in the 70’s, these three statesmen bring with them a certain gravitas born from a lifetime of experience and producing music with depth and soul, all having written some of the most timeless classics of the past half century or so.
Looking dapper in a powder blue suit, Van Morrison exudes a quiet charisma that few can touch, the opening salvo of ‘Into the Mystic’ and ‘Cutting Corners’ perfect and when ‘that’ voice comes in you know you’re in good hands. With a white hot and tight band behind him, the Belfast born polymath makes everything look effortless whilst the hours that went into this all shows in every note. Flawless in his performance, there’s a timeless quality in his writing that speaks as strongly today as when he first emerged from his home city with Them in 1964, already having paid his dues the hard way on the road.
There’s a poetry present here and whilst jazz sometimes juxtaposes with blues, the joyous Gospel of ‘Whenever God Shines His Light’ and a gorgeous ‘If I Ever Needed Someone’ are as lyrically compelling as they are musically. Not known to be verbose, the chatter was kept to the barest minimum but when you’ve got a back catalogue as sparkling as this, the emphasis is to play as much is humanly possible. Closing with a triumphant ‘Gloria’, Van the Man brought enough genuine class and soul to sate the sunburnt masses and proved once again that his is such a rare talent that they totally broke the mould. Long may he continue.
Maybe it was the warmth of the day, but the effect of Yusef / Cat Stevens coming onstage brought a mix of mellowness and a certain buoyant feel to proceedings. Again, here was someone who’d built a career on crafting some of the most extraordinary material in music history, all delivered with his unmistakable vocals. It’s a perfect set, the blend of classics and newer numbers played with a gentle spirit that’s full of genuine love that never borders on the mawkish, the warmth coming from the stage equal to that coming from the blue skies above.
Whilst the general feel was upbeat, a heartbreaking ‘Where Do the Children Play’, poignantly dedicated to the fallen of the Srebrenica massacre on its 30th anniversary and the current victims of conflict, brought a moment of communal reflection and support. Equally extraordinary, the appearance of ‘The First Cut is the Deepest’ early in the set was a reminder, if any was needed, of his surefooted songwriting prowess and with a tear inducing ‘Father and Son’, along with a playful ‘Moonshadow’ and mass singalong ‘Wide World’, there was much to smile about. Certainly, live shows can thrill but few can match the experience of spending time with such a wise, caring and tender artist.
Whilst equally concerned with global matters, Neil Young’s approach was far more of the mindset to take no prisoners, the power he exerts when tearing into his set enough to light up most of the capitol. Opening with a deceptively southing and stripped back acoustic ‘Ambulance Blues’, extended workout ‘Cowgirl in the Sand’ came as a slow building rush, a fearsome ‘Be the Rain’ glistened with sweat and roared with guitars close to feeding back. This mix of the laid back and visceral typified the approach, backing band The Chrome Hearts full of their own fire and the chemistry between all onstage clearly evident, Young constantly walking over to join his compatriots as they tore into the numbers and exchanged guitar licks.
The opening riff of ‘Cinamon Girl’ was greeted like an old friend and after the bluesy, psychedelic bounce of a pounding ‘Sun Green’, a brilliant ‘The Needle and the Damage Done’ as well as the Lynyrd Skynyrd baiting ‘Southern Man’ led the way to the quiet storm of an acoustic section. Utterly sublime, ‘Harvest Moon’ and ‘After the Gold Rush’ are still virtually impossible to beat, Young’s voice joined by the many thousands there to witness the spectacle in a goosebump inducing sound that seemed to seep into the very bones of all there.
It takes a great artist to blend the passionate heights that Young reaches and whether the polemic venom of his lifelong crusade of kicking against the wrongs of the world or the incandescent yet fragile love songs performed in his careworn and cracked voice, he walks this tightrope with undoubted skill. Closing the set with a plaintive ‘Old Man’ before coming back to play the zeitgeist catching ‘Throw Your Hatred Down’ and a curfew curtailed blast through of ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ for the encore, no one could have complained that the two hour set didn’t have something for everyone.
As incendiary and charming as he’s ever been, Young feels at the top of his form right now and if this, as has been rumoured, may be his last big scale jaunt around the globe to see him tonight was a memory that no-one will ever forget. Truly magnificent.
Neil Young @ISHASHAHPHOTOGRAPHY
