The songwriter Neil Young called “the same level as Dylan”
For all of Neil Young’s reputation as being a disgruntled and, at times, cantankerous soul who is rarely impressed by anything, he’s never been shy to share his love of Bob Dylan. In fact, the legendary artist has even declared that Dylan is often thought of when trying to write his own work.
During an interview with Time in 2005, Young said of the folk pioneer, “He’s the master. If I’d like to be anyone, it’s him. And he’s a great writer, true to his music and done what he feels is the right thing to do for years and years and years.”
Perhaps more surprising is that Dylan, who is equally singular and tough to please, was well aware of the admiration and ultimately reciprocated it, forging a surprisingly chirpy relationship between the two. What followed was a string of releases where both artists were the subject of one another’s songs.
Whether it’s Dylan singing “Well, my heart’s in The Highlands / I can only get there one step at a time / I’m listening to Neil Young, I gotta turn up the sound” in his 1997 track ‘Highlands’ or Young singing “Their bond is everlasting / Listening to Bob Dylan singin’ / In 1963 / Watchin’ the flags of freedom flying” on ‘Flags of Freedom’, the two weren’t shy to publicly declare their admiration, and flaunt their greatness in the faces of the world.
While Dylan has become the poster boy for 20th-century alternative music in general, he is ultimately a product of the Greenwich Village folk revival. In fact, he was more than just a product – he was the prince of the movement and thrust the genre into wider acclaim in the early 1960s. But as crowds packed in the seating areas of Cafe Wha? and Gaslight Cafe, hoping to catch a glimpse of his genius, the likes of Joan Baez and Phil Ochs were side of the stage, preparing to play shows that would add equal value to the legacy of the scene.
While their contribution may be lost on many, it certainly wasn’t on Neil Young, who once claimed that Ochs was “a big influence on me,” telling a radio station in 1969 that Ochs was “on the same level with Dylan in my eyes.”
An accomplished folk player in his own right, Ochs was a trailblazer for art as a form of political expression. His damning protest songs ‘Here’s to the State of Mississippi’ or ‘Talkin’ Vietnam’ showcased a courageous artist who approached topics with sensitivity and brutality in equal measures. Ochs’ work never hit the stratospheric heights of his Greenwich Village counterpart, but nevertheless, it’s woven firmly into the fabric of canonical counterculture music.
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