Hot on the heels of Live At Fillmore East, the second in Neil Young’s archival releases more than rectifies its predecessor’s defects. For one, this is an entire show, with a DVD providing video footage plus extra odds and ends.
Recorded at Toronto’s Massey Hall, 19 January 1971, it’s something of a homecoming for the Canadian and manna from heaven for those more taken by Young’s acoustic side. The stage patter/mumblings are of the sort that only the early 70s countryrock cognoscenti could be excused (as is, from today’s perspective, the likes of A Man Needs A Maid) but, for the most part, this is Young solo on piano and guitar. The After The Gold Rush songs have the assurance of a man who’s lived with them for a year; the Harvest tracks have a freshness sometimes buried under the later album’s busy personnel; and a handful of other new (at the time) songs see their first official release here.
It’s hard to tell quite how much steam and variety this series of releases has in it, although Time Fades Away still screams to be exhumed. If it’s a string of shows like this, they won’t all be essential, but at least they’ll be good.
