Live At The Fillmore East

Live At The Fillmore East

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Reprise, 2006

REVIEW BY: Benjamin Ray

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/06/2007

Neil Young fans are rejoicing that the idiosyncratic artist is finally releasing his archives, something he has been talking about for a long while. But it seems as if Young is taking a different route to do so.

This concert is the first release in the archive series, the second volume of the "performance series" that focuses on Young and backing band Crazy Horse's night at the Fillmore. Actually, this is only half a concert, as Neil started it with an acoustic set, so this disc picks up after the intermission. Of the six songs that made up that show, only "Cinnamon Girl" is absent because there was no good tape for it.

The others show the band touring behind Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, and the show is a pretty good way to kick off this archive series. Had Neil released the whole show, we may have had a classic on our hands, but even these six songs are a great way to showcase the chemistry between Young and his band; and it's a more compelling listen than any of Neil's studio albums prior to 1975.

Crazy Horse was both loose and conservative in its playing, much like Creedence Clearwater Revival's rhythm section; the band can swing and they can ride a groove for 12 minutes, which is the case with "Down By The River." The epic version outstrips the studio counterpart with some great solos from Young and Danny Whitten, a display of guitar work that is never once flashy or boring. Something about the Fillmore East brings out guitar skill; the Allman Brothers' shows there a couple of years later were far better than their studio albums, and like Crazy Horse they thrived in the live setting.