Live at the Fillmore East (Neil Young album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Live at the Fillmore 1970
Type = Live
Longtype = on CD and DVD-Audio
Artist = Neil Young and Crazy Horse


Released = November 14 2006
Recorded = March 1970
Genre = Rock
Length = 43:15
Label = Reprise
Producer = Paul Rothchild
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:cxeq97bgkrkt link]
* CLUAS rating-10|8 [http://www.cluas.com/music/albums/Neil-young-Crazy-Horse-Live-Fillmore-East-7711.htm link]
* Okayplayer Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.okayplayer.com/reviews/index.php/weblog/more/live_at_the_filmore_east/ link]
* Rolling Stone Rating|4|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/12189046/review/12245240/live_at_the_fillmore_east link]
* "Pitchfork Media" (8.2/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/39956-live-at-the-fillmore-east]
Chronology = Neil Young
Last album = "Living with War"
(2006)
This album = "Live at the Fillmore East"
(2006)
Next album = ""
(2006)

"Live at the Fillmore East" is a live album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse with guitarist Danny Whitten. In February and March 1970, Young and Crazy Horse went on tour to support "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere". "Live at the Fillmore East", released in 2006, features performances from the tour. The tour would be the last Neil Young and Crazy Horse tour to feature guitarist Danny Whitten.

Young played four shows there on March 6 and 7, each show consisting of a solo acoustic set and a set with Crazy Horse. This release contains each song performed during the electric set, minus "Cinnamon Girl". It was released on CD and DVD. The DVD features pictures from the show, pictures of the original handwritten lyrics and reviews from the era, as well as improved sound (24bit/96kHz PCM audio) over the CD release.

The album is the first live release featuring Danny Whitten, who died in 1972. It also features Jack Nitzsche as an official member of the band, as indicated by Young in the band introductions; this four-man line-up of Crazy Horse backing Young for a short American tour in February and March 1970. [http://hyperrust.org/Chronology/The70s.html Tour info accessed 5 May 2007] A performance of Whitten's "Come on, Baby Let's Go Downtown" from the same shows was previously released on Young's 1975 album "Tonight's the Night", which explores Young's grief at the loss of friends to drugs. A studio version of this song appears on the album "Crazy Horse". While the song is credited to Young and Whitten both on that album and on "Tonight's the Night", here "Downtown" is credited to Whitten alone.

The release features two other songs from the era that wouldn't see the light of day until years after the concert. "Winterlong" was first released on the 1977 compilation "Decade" and "Wonderin'" would feature on the 1983 rockabilly album "Everybody's Rockin'", complete with doo-wop backing vocals.

It is the first release related to the "Archives" series, and labeled the second, which is chronologically correct. (The first, "The Riverboat", from a 1969 Young residency at the Toronto coffee house of the same name, has yet to be released.) [Jonathan Cohen, "Neil Young Opens Archives For Fillmore CD/DVD," 22 September 2006, at [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003155579] , last accessed 4 November 2006.]

The release is a departure of format from what fans had expected. In previous interviews, Young had expressed interest in releasing a series of multi-disc box sets of unreleased material and performances, long referred to as the "Archives". [Andy Greene, "In the Van With Neil Young: An Exclusive Interview" 28 July 2006, at [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/11035118/in_the_van_with_neil_young_an_exclusive_interview] , last accessed 4 November 2006.] Later, another installment, "Live at Massey Hall 1971" was released and fared better on the charts. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wpfyxzl5ldse~T3 allmusic ((( Live at Massey Hall 1971 > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums ))) ] ] The release date of the first of the box sets Young discussed, "The Archives Vol. 1 1963-1972", was announced in March 2007 [http://www.repriserecords.com/neilarchives Warner Bros. + Reprise Records ] ] for release in September or October of that year. [http://www.bad-news-beat.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1920 Neil Young Strikes Gold With Archival Release/ Debuts on Billboard at #6 :: Bad News Beat :: on Neil Young ] ] Soon after those months passed without the box set, a new release date was announced - February 2008 - which also passed without further Archive releases.

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart at number 55 on December 2 2006, with sales of 20,000 copies. It spent three weeks on the chart.

There is also a 200-gram vinyl LP pressing by Classic Records [http://www.classicrecs.com/] . Though originally planned to include a bonus performance of "Cinnamon Girl" as a bonus track [http://www.sidestreetrecords.com/discography/discFNnyLPs.html#74] , the final product has the same track listing as the CD and DVD.

Track listing

All tracks written by Neil Young except as indicated.

# "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere" – 3:36
# "Winterlong" – 3:40
# "Down by the River" – 12:24
# "Wonderin'" – 3:35
# "Come on Baby Let's Go Downtown" (Danny Whitten/Neil Young) – 3:51
# "Cowgirl in the Sand" – 16:09

Personnel

* Neil Young - guitar, vocals
* Danny Whitten - guitar, vocals
* Jack Nitzsche - electric piano
* Billy Talbot - bass
* Ralph Molina - drums, vocals

External links

* [http://www.neilyoung.com/archives/fillmore-east/fillmore-east.html Neil Young official site Fillmore East page featuring audio clips and a trailer]
* [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/12189046/review/12245240/live_at_the_fillmore_east Rolling Stone review with audio stream of album]

Notes