Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recorded "live" at Massey Hall but definitely not messy at all!, 21 Mar 2007
This CD includes live material recorded by Neil Young in 1971 at Toronto's Massey Hall. At the time, Young was at one of his all-time peaks. After the 1968 demise of the Buffalo Springfield, he was now enjoying huge critical and commercial success as one of the premier singer/songwriter with:
- Crosby, Stills & Nash ("Woodstock" - # 1 LP - 1970, "Déjà Vu" - # 1 LP - 1970 and the # 14 "Ohio" single)
- His own electric group, Crazy Horse ("Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - # 34 LP - 1970)
- His second solo album ("After the Gold Rush" - # 8 LP - 1970.)
As the Mama's & Papa's would have it "[he] couldn't get much higher" - except that he did!
This collection of acoustic material includes already released songs from all the albums listed above (including two tunes from the final Buffalo Springfield's LP, "Last Time Around" - # 42 LP - 1968.) Those tunes, "On the Way Home" and "I Am a Child" begin and end this album, respectively.
Some songs were new to the public at the time of recording and would only appear later on LP. "Dance, Dance, Dance, performed by Crazy Horse (without Young), would appear on their 1971 Reprise LP. Tracks 3, 7 (medley), 10 and 12 would be heard on Harvest - # 1 LP - 1972." Tracks 4 and 6 would be released on "Journey through the Past" - # 22 LP - 1973. The dark "See the Sky About to Rain" would prove one to be of the best and more memorable tracks from "On the Beach" - # 16 LP - 1974. "Bad Fog of Loneliness" is the only tune never before released in any form on official records.
Neil Young sings this inspired set of material extremely well with the sole - but solid - accompaniment of his own guitar, piano and harmonica.
The album captures the gist of Young's sensitivity very well: pleasing, catchy and accessible melodies coloured by sensitive, melancholic (or even stark) lyrics.
It is difficult to pick favourites due to the abundance of riches on display here. In my opinion, the most interesting tracks are the airy acoustic renditions of the songs that would appear, in orchestrated form, on "Harvest" ("A Man Needs a Maid" and "There's a World".) I also enjoy very much the stripped-down versions of "Ohio", "Cowgirl in the Sand" and "Down by the River." It is also good to hear the countryish, light-hearted "Dance, Dance, Dance" performed by its composer. Moreover, "Helpless" is absolutely masterful.
The sound quality is, not surprisingly in light of Young's sonic perfectionism, very good for a live recording of this vintage.
For a long-time Neil Young aficionado - as well as a dedicated fan of the singer/songwriter genre - like me, this new release adds another worthwhile, fresh perspective to Young's oeuvre and I recommend it without reservation. I can pretty well understand why it has remained a prized item in the bootleggers' catalogue for more than three decades and a half.
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible - nothing less, 19 Mar 2007
I took delivery of this CD/DVD package this morning and it has blown me away. The quality of the production is immense so you really get a feel for the intimate atmosphere inside the venue. Neil is absolutely on it, his arrangements are so delicate in this setting and the power of his voice at times is spellbinding (especially 'A Man Needs A Maid') The setlist itself is a storybook, the foundations of Harvest a wonder to see for example as you spot tiny changes in lyrics.
When I heard the first recognisable notes of 'Helpless', I began to cry. On the DVD, the footage that has been edited in as an accompaniment is beautiful, poignant, nostalgic - but most of all, it's insightful and gives us a real sense of where Neil was at the time. I'm a big Young fan and I have been eagerly awaiting Massey Hall but I'd say that anyone who appreciates a talented artist in a live setting would get a lot out of this - I have a feeling that this could draw in a whole new load of fans who would never have heard Neil otherwise. The recording has that power within it.
I'd recommend the CD/DVD to get the most out of it, having seen the footage I can't imagine only having the CD. It's worth the extra money in my opinion. I did have the bootleg of this particular recording, minus two tracks. It's one that has been kicking around for a long time. I knew it was a very good gig. But this is truly exceptional. I mean really, it takes things to another level. Young steps up his game live, he's getting it all out in this one. There's passion and a very real depth of feeling which I haven't experienced to such a degree before. It's almost tangible. I'm just amazed at what they've done with this, you feel included.
The extras on the DVD contain critical reviews of the gig which you can read, radio spots on which Neil discusses 'A Man Needs A Maid' and 'Old Man', lyrics for every song he plays, a biography, discography, timeline and some fantastic high resolution photographs. The thing that impressed me most though were the copies of the original hand-written manuscripts for many of the songs.
Much thought has gone into this release, and it does feel very personal. I can only imagine what Archives VOL.1 will hold in store but if we're to go on the merits of this then I'm very, very excited.
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Incredible, 24 April 2007
This sounds like a ridiculous idea but when the Hammersmith Odeon film was released with the deluxe Born to Run Package, I actually felt sad that there had been Bruce Springsteen fans who loved the guy, who had died before ever seeing that locked away footage and as stupid as that notion is it seemed such a shame. In the same way there will be Neil Young fans who will never have heard this imaculate album that has been cruelly archived for over three decades.
Live at Massey park isn't a completest's indulgence,it is a key recording. For a start it captures Neil Young giving an absolutely flawless and beautifully alive live performance of songs at one of the most significant points in his career, between After the Goldrush and Harvest. As the sleevenotes say, this album was scheduled to follow After the Goldrush and you've got to wonder whether you should have heard these songs before or after Harvest was released.
It gives you goose pimples to hear the preamble to 'A man needs a maid', one of the truly enigmatic songs of the 20th century and to then hear Neil Young singing a draft of the song with an alternate chorus that we now know was refined out for the song that appeared on Harvest.
Other highlights for me are 'Down by the River' where an audience member shouts for it and he re-tunes his guitar and just plays the core of the song without the solos either side and Ohio which is warmer than the studio recording.
If you've seen/heard the BBC session, which seemed like the final statement of what was heppening with Neil young at this time, this album opens things out much further as the new songs are even newer and the set far more broad with a bigger recorded sound.
It's always a baffling question to answer which album you'd give someone to introduce them to neil young. Harvest? After the Goldrush? or even Freedom. If they don't like Live at Massey Hall, they're probably not going to get Neil Young.
Beautiful.
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