NEIL YOUNG

Live at Massey Hall, 1971

2007-05-28

In 1971, Neil Young was four years out of Buffalo Springfield after having quit on the eve of the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and was on his way out of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young after waxing Déjà Vu and 4 Way Street. He was also three discs into a solo career that included his 1970 masterpiece After the Gold Rush. This acoustic solo show catches him dipping into his catalog with Helpless and Ohio from CSN &Y, I am a Child from Buffalo Springfield and ample doses of his solo classics. Importantly, it also catches him running through songs that would soon be released on Harvest and Journey Through the Past including Needle and the Damage Done, Old Man and Heart of Gold. Not yet reduced to obligatory performances as greatest hits the songs resonate with discovery and benefit from Young’s spoken introductions putting them into context. Imagine Heart of Gold kicking into gear without a single hint of recognition from the audience and you’ll have some sense of just how new this material was. Great stuff then. Great stuff now. Smitty

More reviews tagged #Folk

  • reviewed 09/2006

    Robert Earl Keen
    Live at the Ryman

  • reviewed 03/2016

    Andy Ferrell
    At Home And In Nashville

  • reviewed 06/2004

    The Mammals
    Rock That Babe

  • reviewed 11/2016

    Gabrielle Louise
    If The Static Clears

  • reviewed 06/2011

    PUTNAM SMITH
    We Could Be Beekeepers

  • reviewed 05/2008

    Big Leg Emma
    Gramma Don't Like That

Compiled by the WYCE Journalism Club

The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.