Neil Young • Live at Massey Hall
Reprise Records 43328-1
Two 33-RPM 200 g LPs
Neil Percival Young came home to Toronto and performed two magical sets of acoustic delight in January 1971 during his Journey Through the Past solo tour. Massey Hall was the venue, and a guitar, a piano, and a singer/songwriter were the only offerings found on stage. What happened during the 67 or so minutes captured on this two LP set lay dormant for the next 26 years, which to me almost boggles the mind. It didn’t have to be so, but Young, despite the protestations of his producer (David Briggs), wanted his next studio album (Harvest) released first. With Harvest becoming his best-ever selling album, who’s to say if he was right or wrong?
Many songs in Young’s repertoire that night have gone on to become classics, whether first introduced that night, such as Old Man, A Man Needs a Maid/Heart of Gold (suite), and The Needle and the Damage Done; or Cowgirl in the Sand and Down by the River from his second solo release. Whether old or new, Live at Massey Hall finds the poet, storyteller, musician, and singer at his most intimate and personal, and the audience is completely engaged yet polite in that typically Canadian manner. I mean what audience would resort to a rousing chorus of foot-stomping to entice a performer back for an encore? I have to tell you that this album resonated very well with me, as I prefer Neil Young the acoustic balladeer as opposed to Neil Young the electric rock n’ roller. This is not dissimilar to my opinion of Bob Dylan either, and yes, I view Young as an equal in this regard. Add in Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and Joan Baez, and you may find yourself surrounded by five of the most influential poet/songwriters in our lifetime.
This two LP set is wonderfully mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering and presented on lusciously thick 200 g pieces of exquisite vinyl. Reprise Records has does this wonderful recording great justice and they should be commended for it. The clarity, detail and quietness is far superior to most non-audiophile recordings, and the packaging is first-rate. If it hasn’t already been established, this is definitely a pressing that should be in every vinyl lover’s collection. AMAZING!