The guitarist and “musical guru” that Neil Young called one of the best ever
Does anyone ever really know the secret ingredient to a great band? If, like Neil Young, you’ve been around long enough to know that this usually revolves around a mutual vision, then you’d also know that sometimes, it’s just not going to work (even “frenemies” have thorns, just ask him about David Crosby). If that’s the case, then you would also know that sometimes, all it takes is the magic of one person to make the whole thing come to life.
Recently, Young launched into a pointed tirade about Donald Trump on social media. “I’m not scared of you,” he wrote, supporting the current target, Bruce Springsteen. This isn’t the first time Young has lashed out against something he hates; the star has routinely shared his views and condemned what he believes deserves to be condemned. But it certainly adds a taste of vehemence to his streak, the kind that’s constantly waving its fist and wondering where everyone’s brain cells have jetted off to.
For anyone familiar with Young’s outspokenness, there’s usually a scorned undertone to it, though with a sprinkling of resignation, like he could be on the verge of breaking, we just don’t know when. It’s the typical egg-shells situation, when it’s impossible to decipher whether he’s actually as angry as he seems or whether this has become his default after years of lack of resolve.
And, while some of these gripes might be more difficult to get behind than others, they mostly stem from years and years of having seen the best and the worst of people, not just existentially but musically, too. There’s likely a strange frustration that Young constantly feels in any project, whether he respects his collaborators or not. It’s probably a lot like the never meet your heroes mantra, or anything else that usually means disappointment is only a stone’s throw away.
However, this also usually means that it’s easier to decipher which ones feel the complete opposite; magic in their ability to appease without even trying. For Young, there’s one name that encompasses that inexplicable sparkle: Bruce Palmer. A somewhat aloof figure whose mystery became the subject of several Reddit threads, the details of Palmer’s legacy exist almost solely through Young’s praise, which means something, considering that Young rarely gives away snippets of appreciation unless he really, truly means it.
While Palmer was to many what Young described as “one of the best guitar players I’ve ever heard in my life”, he also lit Buffalo Springfield like a match to a flame. “He made the music move,” explained Richie Furay, adding that he was “truly a musician’s musician” who was “the focus that balanced Neil and me.” Atlantic Records’ Ahmet Ertegun also echoed this, saying that Palmer was “a musical guru” who was “idolised” by the rest of the band.
For Young, Palmer provided something that’s rarely easy to describe, making everything work seamlessly without any real challenges. On top of this, he was also an incredible player, which pulled everything else together nicely. In a strange way, Palmer also probably changed the game in more ways than one for Young and the rest of the band members, not just in a way that made everything run smoothly, but that also set a completely new standard for future collaborations.
So, when Young reflects on certain projects or situations now, the disgruntled attitude can only be pinned down to someone who knows what it means to experience the good, enough to understand when something feels inherently off, whether politically or musically.
