Rating: 
Summary: A mediocre biography at best
Review: Although I did enjoy reading a lot of Shakey, I ended up disappointed. The early chapters which describe Neil's battles with polio, his parents divorce, and epileptic seizures I found extremely interesting. Unfortunately once you get to his professional music career, Jimmy McDonough spends more time trying to psychoanalyze what Neil's intentions were instead of just focusing on how things came about. He offers up his personal reviews of albums (many of which I disagree with) that seem like they were taken from his archives as a journalist for Spin magazine. He also picks apart lyrics describing his great interpretation of the heavy symbolism in the songs. Dude, "Homegrown" isn't about man's struggle with the universe, it's about pot! I also found his constant returning to the "Tonight's The Night" album as Neil's greatest accomplishment and the measurment of everything else he's ever done annoying. Also, according to McDonough, Neil Young must be the worst performer of all time since he spends so much time ripping every live performance to shreds describing how out of tune the band was, how much feedback there was, how they couldn't keep the beat, etc. The end of the book finds McDonough complaining to Neil about how much time he's been spending on TV, at the RnR Hall of Fame, at the Academy Awards. Yeah, one thing I hate as a fan is seeing too much of a performer I like! But most of all what I felt the book accomplished was showing Neil as a very unlikeable character. Someone who has temper tantrums, is impossible to work with, doesn't care about the quality of the work he puts out, fires band members on a whim only to call them back years later when he needs to use them, then dump them again, on and on. Well, if you're a Neil fan you may want to check this out, but be aware that at times you will be annoyed.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Read For All Manner Of Neil Fans ...
Review: If you're a Neil Young fan (whether rabid or just a sometime fan) this 700+ page book may be intimidating, but it's well worth the effort. It's very much a "life and times" book and the cultural landscape of the '50s-'70s, particularly, is well told. And, while the story is obviously the music, Neil's non-musical pursuits -- including his filmmaking efforts and business venture with Lionel Trains -- are addressed in detail. The interviews with a wide array of Neil's family, friends, and musical colleagues, as well as an ample helping of Neil's own words, help dig deep into a complicated, funny -- and often cranky -- musical genius. And, while Neil gave his blessings to the bio (more or less), it's far from sugar-coated. In fact, it seems almost gleefully harsh in places. My only criticism is that for many pages, the book seems less a biography of Neil Young, than an autobiography of author Jimmy McDonough. Initially it adds a bit of color, but eventually, it's as though a painfully talkative "hey, I'm important, too" fella invades the pages, and you can't get him to leave. I was mostly struck that McDonough seems to have harsh criticism for nearly every Neil Young album and a good number of his live performances. As I read, I began to feel guilty for liking many of the albums that were callously written off and I wondered why McDonough would write about someone whose body of work was ultimately so disappointing to him. But, that's a minor annoyance. Music. Love. Drugs. Polio. Epilepsy. Politics. Cars. Trains. Crabby diatribes. And, the overarching influence of mom. They're all here. "Shakey" is a compelling, deeply researched, and well-told story -- the best Neil Young bio available.
Rating: 
Summary: Flawed but interesting nonetheless
Review: This is McDonough's first major publication and it shows. The book meanders here, there and everywhere but never quite finds it target. Hardcore Neil Young fans will love its wealth of information, but more casual fans will wish that the editor[s] had done their job. Despite nearly 800 pages of text, the author never really seems to understand Young and many of the stories are but endless variations on the same themes. As rock music biographies go, its not bad )this is not a genre known for good writing) but unless you are fascinated by those around Neil Young (about whom the book more revealing than about Young), boredom will set in early.
Rating: 
Summary: Well researched, but poorly edited and in the end, bombastic
Review: For Neil Young fans only. Read with patience. McDonough deserves credit for researching Neil Young's life, particularly his early days. His early days in Canada are particularly revealing, showing how Neil's hard-driven personality propelled into great success. McDonough also deserves credit for getting the always obscure Neil to be about as open as he gets. The interviews are at their best when Neil is describing events in the past. Neil is at times very candid about his failings in his personal life (two divorces) and in his professional life (over-producing "Mr. Soul"). Unfortunately, the book suffers on a few fronts. First of all, it is poorly edited. The length of the book could have easily been cut 200 pages without much loss. Several times the book will describe events, then have length quotes from Neil exactly describing the same event. Second, McDonough's status as a hard-core Neil Young fan makes some of his prose rather silly. His exhaltations of "Tonight's the Night" just seem silly. For Pete's sake, Jimmy, it's just Rock and Roll, not the second coming of Jesus. Finally, the last 100 pages or so are really regrettable. McDonough inserts himself into the biography. Suddenly, it's Jimmy teaching Neil about Nirvana, Jimmy trying to save Neil from the evils of being a Lionel Trains Tycoon. Most annoying is McDonough's whining about Neil giving lots of interviews. Oh, boo hoo, Jimmy's interviews with Niel aren't that exclusive. But, for a Neil Young fan, this book is indispensible. After reading this book, I have a better understanding of the folks in Neil's sometime backup band, "Crazy Horse". I understand more what is involved with producing an album, and what impact producer David Briggs had on Neil's work. I now know that Neil's unique sound is the result of an ancient guitar dubbed "Ol' Black". I now have an idea of who Carrie Snodgrass is, although, to be honest, I think McDonough is very unfair with her, along with Neil's first wife. Neil himself seems to be more even-handed with his ex-wives. McDonough seems to hold any woman in who didn't put up with Neil's shenanigans in contempt.
Rating:
Summary: Who edited this thing?
Review: Meredith Hunter, call home! Someone needs to tell him he wasn't killed by the Angels at Altamont afterall. Turns out it was James Meredith. At least, that's what the author of "Shakey" would have us believe. He's also occasionally unsure of his dates,particularly in the area of album releases, saying it could be one year, or possibly another, depending on who you talk to. Checking with the record company or simply looking on the back of CD re-releases might have helped clear up any ambiguities. Finally, the book is stocked with an uncomfortable amount of "I's", particularly in the final chapters. Mr. McDonough's accounts of challenging his subject ("getting in his face" in common parlance) for failing to meet the author's expectations and criteria for maintaining artistic credibility are tiresome, to say the least. Did Mr.McDonough do a bit of double-dipping and serve as his own editor? One can't help but wonder. Though the book is not without its moments, Young and his fans deserve better.
Rating: 
Summary: Gettin' Somewhere
Review: This book is a fantastic insight into an enigmatic man. Neil Young provides quite a lot of replies to his own story through extensive interviews conducted by the author. This alone makes the book necessary for anyone "innarested" with Neil Young.
However, my beef is the author injecting his definitions of what is rock'n'roll. Far as I can tell Mr. Young is a multi-faceted musician first and a rock'n'roller second, much to the apparent distaste of McDonough as evidence by his awe of Young's backing band Crazy Horse and long time producer David Briggs.
Both Crazy Horse and Briggs live(d) on the edge of death through massive drug binging and the author's tone seems to be that perhaps Neil Young should have joined them instead of making the many varied songs that comprise a long lived career.
Hey Jimmy, I saw Neil on Leno a few weeks back..too bad for you, great for me!
Rating:
Summary: Shakey--A very grim,dark trip
Review: To say that I enjoyed this "biography"of Neil Young would be sadly untruthful. While it held my interest, in a morbid way, I have come away from the subject matter wishing I had remained happily ignorant of. This is not a happy person we're dealing with. From self-doubt,to self-torture, a complete disregard for practically anyone that happens to cross his path,one can better understand Stephen Stills comment to his no-show at the RRHOF, "Neil did it to us--again."
Rating:
Summary: A Major Biography
Review: Knowing Neil Young was loathe to have his story told, this is a book I never thought I would see. I was not able to put it down until I completed reading it. As a biographer myself, I know what McDonough went through to unearth the facts, interview people who would rather he hadn't, and most of all, get the cooperation of Neil himself. This has to be the first biography I have read where I thought to myself there was more information than I wanted. McDonough has written the most fascinating biography I have ever read. Yes, I could have done without some of the author's assessments, but hey - he earned the right. This book is so good and Neil Young's story so compelling, it's scary.
Rating:
Summary: Phenominal
Review: I've only read 2 books in my life, that I was completely unable to put down. Shakey and Helter Skelter. Though the 2 books are completely different, they were both totally fascinating. Ironically, Neil Young comes in contact with Charles Manson in his life time and the impact of Neil's visit with Manson is also interesting. Anyway, not only does the book show what an incredibly talented individual that Neil is, it also explains the extreme hardships that Neil had to endure in his lifetime. From his bout with polio as a child, his continual stuggles with epilipsy (ironically this condition seemed to add to some on Neil's great lyical works), and his children's stuggles with celebral palsey. What a wonderful individual. Even though I own most of Neil Young's works, I had to go out and purchase every CD that I did not have once I finished reading this book. I sure hope that he comes out with the "Archives" very soon. It appears to me that he has a tremendous amount of unreleased works that NEED to be heard. Pick up this book. You will not be disappointed! It's phenominal!
Rating:
Summary: Shakey - A Must for any Neil Young Fan
Review: Shakey is a great read for anyone who is a die-hard Neil fan like me. It takes you through the years starting with Neil's childhood, how he got involved in R&R, and every band and collaboration along the way. Great quotes from the man himself throughout. My only issue with it, as a die-hard, is that there wasn't much info that was unknown..but that would be true only if you're a real Neil fan. Some great stories and just a great look at the man, the myth, the legend. Long live the "Rusties".
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