Customer Reviews

Road Rock Vol. 1

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This album has received a lot of negative criticism, and unfortunately much of that (though not all of it) is warranted. Indeed, the sound is awful, and like others, I don't understand why an album has to sound this bad. We all know Young is a fantastic guitar player, and he must know that himself, so why does the guitar get drowned in a vague, hazy, echoy mist?

However, there are redeeming qualities. The version of "Cowgirl in the Sand" is good, but especially the bass (drum and guitar) sound terrible, as if they were recorded in cardboard box. Don't knock "Walk On" too quickly--it's meant to be a slightly happy tune, and I like this one. I am also very happy to now have a live version of "Peace of Mind"--it's a beautiful tune and it's well played. Crazy Horse couldn't have pulled this off: Keith and Oldham know where it's at. Neither old nor decrepit, the guys backing Young up know that there is more to rock 'n' roll than loud and fast.

Both the good and the bad on this album are evident on "All Along the Watchtower." Young pays his dues to Hendrix and Dylan on this one (he's played this before--I have a CD single at home somewhere with this song live) and his guitarplaying is brilliant. That is, I think it is, because it's hard to make out in the mix. I hope those who saw the tour heard it better; it must have been awesome.

In all, I have very mixed feelings about this album. It's by the man, so I got to buy it, and I must respect what he was trying to do, but I can't say I understand how this album came to sound the way it does. Perhaps Young can enlighten us.

Just three years after the lackluster Year Of The Horse, Neil Young released another live set, Road Rock, Vol. 1. The record is another good, but not great live set. There are some great tracks including the mammoth 18 minute opening track "Cowgirl In The Sand". The song, even at its tremendous length, does not seem drawn out or over extended. "Words" is a great old chestnut from Harvest and is a treat as is "all Along The Watchtower" which is a duet with The Pretenders leader Chrissie Hynde. The rest of the album is okay.

This DVD is great. Neil Young still rocks just like 25 years ago. Sounds a lot like the Crazy Horse years. Much better than Silver and Gold DVD. The best part is the 21 minute version of "Cowgirl in the Sand" played outside during a driving thunderstorm. It was incredible. Be careful if you order this to not order the "DVD-audio" version. That makes no sense to me at all since the DVD-video has the same songs (DTS and Dolby surround) and the incredible video to go with it at the same or cheaper price. Amazon has been confused about this since the video version was released in December so make sure they are sending you the right one.

Just because Neil isn't being backed by his legendary band, Crazy Horse, doesn't make this a bad album. Yes, it's not like it's predecessor when it comes to live albums (Rust Never Sleeps, Live Rust, Weld) but it goes in the same category as "Unplugged".

Neil has some prominent names performing with him for this tour which include Spooner Oldham on piano, Donald "Duck" Dunn on the bass, and Neil's longtime friend and musician, Ben Kieth on guitar. He is also accomponied by his wife, Pegi, and his half sister Astrid.

This isn't supposed to be a hard-rocking set. It's a toned-down yet equally impressive live album. It includes live rarities (except for Tonight's the Night) with excellent versions of "Cowgirl in the Sand" (first live appearance on an album since the acoustic version found on CSN&Y's Four Way Street), "Words" (my personal favorite) and a peaceful version of "Peace of Mind". All in all, it's a decent album filled with rarely played songs and played with "Friends and Relatives"

I would only recommend this for the "die-hard" fans - because it's not really a good introductory point, instead I'd go with Live Rust, or Weld - then weave your way into something softer, like this.

I had the chance to listen to this album at a DVD-Audio demonstration recently and I went in there with every negative pre-conception one could have towards the format. But when I heard WORDS and ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER pumping out those speakers in 5.1 and around a 190Mhz birate, I nearly melted with pleasure. I have the DVD-Video version of the concert and I would like to say I think they've spent more time on DVD-Audio perfecting it. Yes, the song list isnt crash hot, but those two songs I heard were worth the price of this DVD-Audio alone. Only problem is that we all have to buy a new player....

This is a pretty good album. Recorded live during last years Friends and Relatives tour. A 15 minute Cowgirl in the Sand opens-this song a young classic which hadn't been played in many years. Walk on, another lost Young classic appears for the first time since 1974. Other highlights include a 12 minute Jam on Words,a lovely rendition of "peace of Mind" from 1978's Comes a Time rcord and a scorching cover of All along the Watchtower with Chrisse Hyde of the Pretenders. Mainly a live album of vintage cuts from the 70's Young as always puts on an passionate performance.

The sound quality is excellent, but why did Neil put this album on DVD-audio? He should have put the music from the video onto DVD-audio or maybe put one of the "missing six" onto this format. This is a good album, which all Neil Young albums are, but the choices for the songs could have been better. I would only recommend this one for the true Neil Young fan.

I don't understand the negative tone many of these reviews have taken. This is PRIME Neil Young here! In fact, I am absolutely amazed that Crazy Horse was not present - this sounds very much like a NY and Crazy Horse album. Which means: wild, thrashing guitars, notes out of place, voice out of pitch...but always in tune. This live CD exemplifies the raw, wild, almost naive soul of the very best NY recordings. I saw Neil Young on this tour, and though it was great, this live CD makes you feel like you're in the 1st row...as opposed to the 56th row where I was sitting. This is the kind of album where the individual songs build up, getting better and better as the majority of them reach the 10+ minute mark. All the while, you are turning up your volume knob from 6...to 8...to 10...to 11, baby. As far as official live recordings go, Live Rust is incredible, and YOTH is absolutely amazing, but I would have to say Road Rock Vol.1 is better than either one. Not quite as good as Weld, but then again, what is? Road Rock features the upteenth version of "Tonight's The Night," but it's also the best version I've heard. It features an incendiary "Cowgirl In The Sand." But the true show-stopper here is Neil Young & Chrissie Hynde's cover of "All Along The Watchtower." The fact that their duet isn't in sync with each other only adds to the immediacy of it. Yes, Road Rock is at times shambling, flawed, and uneven. But isn't that exactly what makes Neil Young so great? Road Rock is not for Neil Young fans who only prefer his lighter, acoustic material (Silver & Gold, for instance). This is the Neil Young of Rust Never Sleeps, back in all his ragged glory.

Seems as if the top 500 "reviewers' here have little to no concept of what's going on, which probably means their top 500 "reviewer" status feeds their ego for personal reasons adding little to zero value to an actual opinion. `Road Rock Vol.1" contains the first time Young has released "Cowgirl in the Sand" live with Reprise. The song itself is one of the many staples on his first 1969 Crazy Horse release, `Everybody Knows this is Nowhere,' and throughout the years he has played it with many different people, in many different settings, and many times the song's feel varies. The 18 plus minute version contained here is just one take of wonderful arrangements and sounds. It starts the album and is worth the price of admission alone. `Words,' another past gem, gets a tasteful treatment from Young, Keith Dunn, Oldham, Keltner, Pegi and Astrid. Is this Young's most solid live Reprise release? No. But it is definitely worth having around in the collection as Young's sound over the years changes from live release to album to who he plays with. It captures the magic of a rock n roll moment many years after it was supposed to rust, a bright evolution, a statement few are unable to quite hear.

Any live Neil Young release is worthy of attention and this one is no different. However "Road Rock Vol 1" doesn't quite match up to previous live NY albums such as Live Rust, Weld or even Year of the Horse, which itself was patchy in places. Of course the obvious difference is the absence of Crazy Horse on "Road Rock". For the most part though, that's not the problem here and that's not the reason I have accorded this release a measly three stars. The problem lies squarely with the material. When Road Rock is good it is awesome. The 18 minute opener "Cowgirl..." is superb and worth the price of admission alone. Also mighty impressive are "Words" and "Tonight's the Night" which seems to have metamorphised into a bluesy, swampy jam of epic proportions. It's one of the album's true surprises. "All Along The Watchtower" is pretty good and seems to benefit from the presence of Chrissy Hynde. However the rest of the material here (another 4 tracks) is well below par and basically spoils what could have been an utterly brilliant live set. Pity. Performance wise, Young is outstanding. His guitar work is the central focus of the best tracks and one would at times imagine Crazy Horse was present! The rest of the band including some long time Young cohorts put in excellent performances also. The sound on the album is impressive - the bass and bass drums are huge and of course Young's guitar dominates the mix at times. It comes across as a little heavy handed occasionally, but the rockers amongst us will find no fault with this. To conclude, "Road Rock Vol 1" is worth purchasing for those tracks highlighted, but overall it could have and should have been so much better with the inclusion of some more strong material.