Neil Young Trunk Show (2010)

Jonathan Demme gives us some Neil Young musical and spiritual soul. Young on a stage full of personal icons: alone in the center of a circle of his beloved acoustic guitars; in the midst of stellar musicians Ben Keith, Ralph Molina, Rick Rosas, Pegi Young and Anthony "Sweet Pea" Crawford, plus an onstage painter portrayed by Eric Johnson. There are delicately offered acoustic numbers like "Sad Movies" and "Mexico"; mesmerizing electric travelogues into the artist's psyche ("No Hidden Path"); searing, chaotic anthems including "Like a Hurricane" and "Cinnamon Girl"; and rarely performed pieces like "Kansas" and "Ambulance Blues" that provide glimpses of Young's less public persona. In addition to his distinctively blistering and plaintive guitar, Neil draws deep melancholy from an old piano and pats it on the side after like a beloved old dog. He sings his heart out again and again. It is a collection for the ages.