indy cd & vinyl

NEIL YOUNG—LIVE FROM MASSEY HALL                       

Ever since Neil Young promised years ago that he would be putting out a variety of unreleased material from his personal archives, fans have been patiently waiting. Last year saw the first installment, with his Live From The Fillmore album with Crazy Horse. As good as that album was, with its pedal to the metal rock-out focus, Live From Massey Hall, the second installment, is even better.  A 17-song strong all-acoustic set from 1971 drawn from two shows at the venue, this unbelievably pristine-sounding recording is everything Neil Young fans could want. Debuting a fistful of songs destined for his next album, Harvest, it also includes stunning renditions of solo and CSN&Y material. With his rich, quavering voice in full command, and switching between acoustic guitar and piano, Young sounds completely focused and seems to be revelling in the music he is creating. In addition, the between-song banter is often hilarious, always revealing, and certainly adds to the overall ambience. Young has said that his producer, David Briggs, lobbied hard for this recording to be the album that followed Young’s After The Gold Rush. Young, however, wanted to get Harvest out there, but, after listening to these tapes, he says he can see his producer’s point. But that’s not all. The deluxe edition of the album comes with a DVD of songs from the concerts, AND also includes Young’s own latter-day commentary on the material. So if you’re a Neil Young fan, this is a mandatory purchase. And if you’re not a Neil Young fan, pick this one up and get with the program.