Neil Young and Fiona Apple come from different generations, but they're both part of a long and important lineage -- artists who make big hits early in their career and who then spend the rest of their lives as major-label iconoclasts who get to do whatever they want. It's not surprising that Apple would be a Young fan. It is a little surprising, however, that Apple has never covered Neil Young until this very moment. Granted, that's not entirely true. In 2017, Apple took part in an all-star grand-finale version of "Rockin' In The Free World" at Eddie Vedder's Ohana Festival. As far as I can tell, though, that was the only time she's done it. So it's cool to hear what Apple does when she gets into the studio and takes on Young's 1972 classic "Heart Of Gold," his only #1 hit.
Apple's take on "Heart Of Gold" is relatively straightforward. She doesn't do anything experimental with its arrangement, but the song sounds very different just because she's the one singing it. Her voice is raw and quavery, and she puts a lot into it. Her version is out now as part of the new tribute album Heart Of Gold: The Songs Of Neil Young Volume I. That's right: She got the title track. The album raises money for Young's Bridge School, and we already posted the contributions from Eddie Vedder and Courtney Barnett. Heart Of Gold also has contributions from people like Brandi Carlile, Sharon Van Etten, and Steve Earle, as well as the double-shot of Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers.
Fiona Apple has been a little bit busy lately! She recently covered Don Heffington's "Lately" for a different tribute LP, and she recorded but did not write "Letter From An Unknown Girlfriend" for the Waterboys' new tribute album about Dennis Hopper. She didn't record that one with the Waterboys. It's just a Waterboys-written Fiona Apple song on a Waterboys album. Listen to Apple's version of "Heart Of Gold" and the Neil Young original below.
Heart Of Gold: The Songs Of Neil Young Volume I is out now on Killphonic Records.
