Neil Young

Live at Massey Hall (CD/DVD), Reprise Records. Grade: A

The best live albums drive fans crazy over the fact that they weren't there. And that's exactly how you feel when you get to the end of Neil Young's hour of near-perfect acoustic music from 1971.

Live at Massey Hall is a legendary show released from Young's vaults in stunning audio clarity and warmth. Fans finally get front-row seats for the biggest turning point in Young's career.

Young is chatty and open, talking with the crowd about his excitement about his new material, much of which would make up 1972's blockbuster Harvest. Signature songs that were unreleased at the time (Old Man, The Needle and the Damage Done and seven others) make up more than half the set. What you hear is the sound of an artist eagerly discovering a new side of his craft and a new part of himself.

Songs that Young blazed through with Crazy Horse 10 months earlier at the Fillmore (a show released just four months ago) are delivered in economical versions. The guitar work on Cowgirl in the Sand is still menacing, with Young throwing in the odd string-bend here and there to keep the song off-kilter.

Surprises abound: A Man Needs a Maid suddenly turns into a piano-based version of Heart of Gold. As Young picks the opening notes of Ohio, a song not yet a year old, a fan exclaims "Oh, right on" and you share the excitement.

After years of teasing fans with plans to empty his archive, Young is now making good on the promise at a faster pace than anyone expected. Keep it flowing.

Young's live

Some great live Neil that you might have missed:

• Time Fades Away (1973): Unavailable on CD, the album is eight live versions of otherwise-unreleased songs, including the classic Love in Mind. "The worst record I ever made," Young has said. Plenty of vinyl versions available on eBay.

• Weld (1991): The brutal metal Ragged Glory tour with Crazy Horse is on CD, but the video version has the late David Briggs' harder-edged mix that some fans prefer. The VHS is out of print but findable; no DVD yet.

• Event of the Season (1993): A widely traded double-disc bootleg from Young's tour backed by Booker T & the MGs. Taped in Belgium, it has two superb unreleased songs, Separate Ways and Live To Ride.

• Red Rocks Live (DVD, 2000): A complete concert picked from three rainy nights' worth of songs, including rare live versions of Peace of Mind, Words and World on a String.

New cds this week

Other new music this week:

Graham Parker, Don't Tell Columbus

• James Morrison, Undiscovered

• Aqualung, Memory Man

• Radio Disney Jams: 9, various artists

• NEXT WEEK: Good Charlotte, Good Morning Revival; Jesse Malin, Glitter in the Gutter; Modest Mouse, We Were Dead before the Ship Even Sank; Joss Stone, Introducing Joss Stone

Top five sounds

SINGLES

1 This Is Why I'm Hot: Mims

2 Don't Matter: Akon

3 The Sweet Escape: Gwen Stefani (featuring Akon)

4 What Goes Around . . . Comes Around: Justin Timberlake

5 Girlfriend: Avril Lavigne

ALBUMS

1 Daughtry: Daughtry

2 Not Too Late: Norah Jones

3 Konvicted: Akon

4 Infinity on High: Fall Out Boy

4 The Evolution of Robin Thicke: Robin Thicke

Back to Top