Customer Reviews

Live at the Fillmore East

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Since other reviewers have delved into specifics regarding which songs were played at the Fillmore and which should have been included, I'm not going to reiterate those details. Suffice to say that songs ranging from the classic ("The Loner," "Cinnamon Girl") to the more obscure (some Buffalo Springfield tracks), have been left off this recording. Reprise is lucky that they don't have an army of disgruntled Neil Young devotees storming their offices. But has anyone considered that their frustration could be misguided?

Actually, from what I hear, Neil Young himself is behind the release of this album, and he's planning on going through his archives personally to determine what should be released. And yes, I've heard that some songs, at least "Cinnamon Girl," no longer existed on high-quality tape. The emphasis here was clearly on giving people the best sounding material. And yes, that's admirable, but let's face it - there aren't many people out there who are going to buy this except the big fans, the ones who already have Live Rust and Weld, the ones who own all the original albums, the ones who have been begging for the release of a full show by Neil Young and Crazy Horse circa Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, while Danny Whitten was still alive. And this just doesn't cut it.

Regardless of the controversy surrounding Live at the Fillmore East, what's here is very, very good. "Down by the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" are astounding, revealing the tremendous skill of both Young and Whitten, while the shorter songs show the loose genius of Neil and the band. "Wonderin'" is an excellent version of the tune later revamped for Everybody's Rockin' in rockabilly form, and I particularly like "Winterlong." If you're a huge fan of Neil Young and Crazy Horse, by all means, pick this one up. Just know that this is going to feel like something of a missed opportunity.

By the way, I don't understand why one reviewer distinguished between Neil Young and Miles Davis on the basis of race - is that bigotry against a white musician? The two play different styles, on different instruments, with different intentions. Why in God's name does it matter which one was black and which one was white? They were/are both tremendously talented musicians, and that's why I like them both; not because of their skin color.

All of the people who have dissed the dvd in this set as not being worth it, don't understand what the intent is. it is not a bonus extra with photos on it. it is a higher resolution music version of the cd.
cd's are recorded at 16 bits resolution and at a sampling rate of 44.1khz. the dvd is recorded at 24 bits of resolution and sampling rate of 48 or 96 khz. it does sound better!!!. i understand some people wont care, but for those of us that want the utmost in fidelity will want this version (provided that you have a dvd player instead of a cd player in your "music" system.) neil has been releasing albums in this form since warner brothers dropped the "dvd-audio format"(i wont even go into what that is, suffice it to say another specialized audio format) that neil embraced as well

Make no mistake about it, the music on this disc deserves a big 5 stars in terms of sound quality, musicianship, and historical significance. It is just that for the price I think they should have included the opening solo acoustic set, and at the very least the encore performance of "Cinnamon Girl", one of Neil's pivotal songs. Charge me more, but give me that. My other gripe is the packaging: the first live release of the original line-up of Crazy Horse, and no liner notes from Neil, only an excerpt from a miniscule contemporary newspaper review of the concert. In Decade, his anthology set, Neil wrote liner notes in his own hand, but there is nothing like that here. Also, the CD doesn't come in a jewel case, but in one of those paper/cardboard retro gatefolds that are supposed to recreate the way LP covers used to be. Only problem with this in the digital world is that it is awkward to remove the CD from the sleeve, and the gatefold will NEVER LIE FLAT, which makes it difficult for storage purposes. I apologize for being so petty in regard to the above. But all of that aside , this CD absolutely rocks and is indispensable if you are a Neil Young fan.

With this release, the first from Neil's infamous "Archives", comes a all-too brief glimpse of the original Crazy Horse sound captured at full force, with the late Danny Whitten, at the legendary NYC venue in March, 1970.
While the nearly 20 minute long rendition of "Cowgirl In The Sand" has already attained legendary status, there is also a well played extended take of "Down By The River" included in this set. The two songs together elevate the overall package "just enough" for the avid Neil collector to throw their money down, but probably don't add up to enough for the casual Neil fan to do the same this time around. The historical significance of Whitten and Young leading the Horse with such power and electricity will be lost on the less enthusiastic Neil fans out there. But make no mistake about it, this is the way these songs were meant to be played and heard by the world. So if that's important to you, then this becomes a must-have CD (especially in the nice hi-resolution stereo mix of the DVD...turn it up to 11 and enjoy a Crazy Horse show right in your own house!)
As has already been stated and commented on in abundance on this site and many others, as well as all over the rock music world, Neil's choices of what to leave in/what to leave out, ultimately leave his fans really scratching our heads and "Wonderin". But then, what's new? I'm not one to say that "Winterlong", "Wonderin" or "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown" are less deserving of inclusion than the omitted songs ("The Loner", "Cinnamon Girl", the entire acoustic set, etc etc), but those longtime fan favorites not making the cut of a 44 minute CD is baffling to say the least. Ideally, this would've been the full electric Horse set on one CD, and the entire solo acoustic set on antoher CD to make this one heck of a double-disc package and a phenomenal introduction to the vaults.
But alas, we'll take what we can get and patiently wait for more. Lord knows Neil has taught his fans a thing or two about patience (and head scratching).

After hearing about the Neil Young "archives" since the late 1970s and waiting patiently ever since, this is what we get for the first release??? Sheesh. It's only 43 minutes long! Essentially 1/2 a disc. Sure the sound is high quality, and the performance is great, but these shows opened with a solo acoustic set. Where are any of those songs? Why no renditions of "The Loner" or "Cinnamon Girl," both of which were played in the electric set during this run? Maybe there are valid reasons for this, such as old tape problems, but there are no liner notes explaining anything about how this was put together. If -- as I fervently hope -- the next "Archive" release is from the 75 Rolling Zuma tour, PLEASE make it a 2-disc, full concert set.

By the way, the music's excellent, there just isn't nearly enough of it.

Neil Young and the original Crazy Horse were on fire during the Fillmore East set. The guitar playing don't get any better than is espically on "Down by the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand". Neil was cruise'in 100MPH with "Old Black." Just listen to the middle of Cowgirl in the Sand, there is no equal to these versions. The other songs are great too, better than the album versions by a great deal. Danny's "Come on Baby Lets Go Downtown" is just a great song, with Neil's leads giving it alot of flavor. "Wonderin" a nice country-rock tune, with good backing vocals from Danny, rather short but very enjoyable. "Winterlong" great tune, guitar wise and vocally. This song is a way better than the decade version. "Everybody Knows this is Nowhere" is a great opener, gives a warm feeling of being home...the vocals are good as well. All the tracks are 10s...The album is something you can put on repeat and not get bored of.

Don't pass this up, if your a fan of Neil Young or not. If not, this will make you a Neil Young fan!

One of the best Neil Young live releases ever, it is short set, six songs, but those songs carry this release as Neil Young's masterpiece.

I tend to fall on both sides of the fence with this cd. I have the electric portion on boot and the sound isn't half bad and Cinnamon Girl sounds fine. I feel cheated that Young didn't put out the entire acoustic/electric set. The Dead have been doing wonders with board tapes for years, and I just think that Youngs hyper-perfectionism gets in the way sometimes (okay, all the time). He needs to loosen up.

That said, I bought the new cd and have to say that the sound is pretty amazing, and it certainly trumps the boot in every conceivable way soundwise. But. A few notches down in sound in order to get a full show would've been a sacrifice worth making. But they are his tapes.

If you have/don't have the boot, this is worth buying on quality alone and the performance is stellar. One more thing. Listen to this until the very end. The set ends, theres the requsite calls for more and then, over the house p.a., comes the sound of...James Taylor? God bless the old Fillmore crew and their warped sense of fun.

Finally, a recording that does justice to the awesome rhythm section of Molina and Talbot and Whitten's uncanny sense for fills, frills and punctuation. Much better,in many ways, than anything captured in the studio by this band, it is absolutely clear,like never before, why Neil loved to play with these guys--especially when he felt like cutting loose some of his unique psychotic guitar----It took a band as heavy as Crazy Horse to keep Neil's feet on the ground---or,at least, provide him with a place to land. Splendid indeed!!!!!

I can't believe the number of myopic whiners who have reviewed this CD -- the debut from Neil Young's archival releases.

Here are the silly criticisms I've read so far:

* It's too short -- a truncated version of the actual show.
Well, maybe. Who knows why it was edited and release this way. Neil's very picky about such things and perhaps he didn't care for the way the rest of the show was recorded. Or maybe we'll see the rest of it in a subsequent release. The bottom line is, what is here on this disc is absolutely wonderful.

* It's too expensive for such a short CD (only six songs). Maybe. I supposed that depends on your income and your level of fandom. I got it as a gift. But either way, this is a silly, irrelevent criticism.

* Miles Davis was a supporting act, as mentioned on the marquee on the CD jacket photo, and he's a better artist, so you should listen to him instead. Yes... this was the point of an actual review; it's in here somewhere. While I think it was absolutely amazing that Miles and Neil shared the same stage together, once again, I'm not sure this is a relevent criticism. This is a Neil Young CD... why would we want to discuss Miles Davis?

* The paper nature of the CD jacket makes it difficult to remove the disc. Again, I'm not making this up -- someone actually criticized the release because of this. The only advice I can offer this reviewer is have the same person who dresses you help you remove the CD.

Now, let's talk about the music. What makes this so great is that it's a live recording of the Danny Whitten-version of Crazy Horse. For me, a 35-yearlong Neil fan, this is a real treat. The interplay between Young and Whitten on those extended jams ("Down by the River," "Cowgirl in the Sand") just sends goose bumps up and down my spine. The sound is great, the band is ragged, but tight (wouldn't want them any other way -- this isn't Journey or Boston) and the vocals are raw and bold.

I love the other songs too. Till now, "Winterlong" was only available on Decade where it had quickly became of of my favorite 'obscure' Neil tunes. Now, here we have a great live version. It's also nice to have a new version of "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown," to compliment the one from Tonight's the Night. (No, it's not the same version -- listen closely to the lyrics!) This CD is simply a great historic document of a wonderful period in American rock 'n' roll.

So let's recap: If you're broke, too cheap, a jazz fan, or just plain uncoordinated, you may want to skip this. But if you're a Neil Young fan, or just like jam music with smokin' guitars ('70s style), then pony up. And then turn it up.

And so it finally begins and it's not encouraging. After 10+ years of waiting we get Neil Young and Crazy Horse Live At Fillmore East; a partial rendering of the electric set from March 1970. For the casual Neil Young fan this probably seems like a cool release. I have to admit I felt a rush of excitement and anticipation when I saw the article in the Friday Weekend Section of The Wall Street Journal - until further reading revealed what we were really getting.

Any Neil Young fan worth his salt already has this show (with the missing Cinnamon Girl) plus many of the other key live shows from this period of Neil's career. It's been too long. We've taken matter into our own hands with the tape traders and boot sellers. Rock and Roll Cowboy (4 CD 1995 release of live material from 1966 - 1994) filled the Archives void in a big way. We've even found some of the much promised unreleased studio stuff in bootlegs like Chrome Dreams (unreleased album from 1975).

The other thing that's getting under my skin about this release is the so called DVD that we are being asked to pay extra for. Back in the vinyl days this photo collage with music would have been a booklet included with the record. [You've got love the love the trailer on Neil's web site with him looking at the pictures that are to be used for the DVD. Check the date: 1997!]

So how is this any different from what Dylan has been doing? Well first of all Dylan didn't announce his Bootleg Series and then not release anything for 10 years. His stuff just starting coming with little advance warning. Second, when he released live material he gave the entire show in the actual order; not some edited version (e.g., the legendary 1966 show with The Band).

So what's next? We hear there will be another live release in February 2007. I'm betting something from the Tonight's The Night tour from late summer 1973 (London or Long Island). But who knows, we might get one of the acoustic shows from the pre-Harvest tour. Then a multi CD set late in 2007 that will supposedly chronicle Neil's first ten years. What are we in for; The Squires and Buffalo Springfield outtakes? I say let's get on with the 70's, the most productive period of his career. Live shows from the 1973 Time Fades Away tour, the 1974 CSNY tour and the 1976 tours with Crazy Horse would get things back on track.

Anyway Neil has missed a big opportunity to make up for lost time. The first NYA release out of the gate should have rocked us back on our heels. Instead we get this very tentative first step. Too little too late.