I like the reverb because that's exactly what you'd expect to hear in a 10,000-15,000 seat arena, like the ones most of the songs on that tour were played in. That's also the sound the band would have heard coming back at them as they were playing. The reverb is essentially the same, if you listen on the audience tapes.
That album is such a missed opportunity. I saw 6 shows on that tour and heard practically every other show via boots, and THAT’S the live album they came up with??
Nah, they mostly hear what’s in the monitors and amps on the stage. It’s the sound the audience hears if they are in the cheap seats.
Crazy horse traditionally just have side-fill monitors pumping the vocal onto the stage. The amps on stage aren't nearly as loud as the PA house speakers. (Not since Neil killed his ears in 1991, anyway.) Ralph Molina's nickname is "Arena Molina" because he prefers to hear the reverb-laden sound from the arena bouncing back at him while he plays. He's spoken about this a few times.
I skimmed through Shakey last night. I haven't touched it since I read it when it first was published. I had kind of forgotten how much Jimmy dislikes quite a bit of Neil's music.
Here's the apparently over-rated version of Dangerbird from Cal Expo 1996: I think it's a classic. It has that dreamy sound where you can just let your imagination float away on the guitar solos. It's another one you must listen to from start to finish; because the beauty is in the escalation of intensity as it progresses. When Neil says "Ralph (for me) is the best drummer in the world", this is the sort of sympathetic performance he's talking about. PS The next song was a seriously muscular version of Rockin' In The Free World that I expect to be released, some day.
Someone ought to do a Like A Hurricane “best version” poll. You have the studio version, Rust Never Sleeps movie version, Live Rust, Berlin, Year of the Horse movie, Unplugged, Weld, Rust Bucket...missing any officially released? I’m partial to the studio, the RNS movie version and Rust Bucket myself. If we ever get a 1976 live release of Hurricane, it might usurp all of these.
Serious question...are you Thrasher? I only ask because you really seem to be personally offended when someone questions your Neil Young related preferences, as shown by the passive aggressive intro to this post.
The Rust film version is a cracker (and about 3000 times better than the Live Rust take that just fizzles out). (Ignore polls. They rely on averages, which is a good way of judging innocuous breakfast cereals, but not much else). (Yes, I know that's a generalisation - no angry letters please everyone etc etc etc). If you think I am being at all aggressive, passively or otherwise, then you are mistaken.
It may be that this has already been beaten to death, but I wish the amazing version of Cowgirl in the Sand from this show (and the video) had been included with one of the audio versions, even if it was just on the NYA audio version of Rust Bucket. Maybe a digital single? Anything so we can play it with the rest of the show instead of having to cue up the DVD to hear it?
It would save me the trouble of ripping the one song off the dvd so I can tack it onto the end of the album as a bonus cut anyway.
I haven't bought any Neil Young vinyl since Hitchhiker, just CD. In fact I haven't bought much vinyl at all due to lack of space. This damn album has got me trawling through everything I've missed since... I hope to move home this year so hopefully have more space...
For that purpose the best version to get of Cowgirl would be the "vintage" original stream from last year, which had the stereo John Hanlon mix. It had the heavy-handed audience tape splice for the missing parts, though. Somebody here will be generous enough to send you a PM with it, if they don't then get back to me next week and I will endeavour to track it down.
I just finished watching the DVD and this was probably the first and last time I did so. Imho, it would have been a perfect online exclusive for NYA (unlike all the outtakes for which I'd like to have at least a download/buy option), but that film has no place on a commercial release that isn't openly marketed as 'bootleg quality'. By contrast, the rest of the box is nearly perfect (Despite the 16/44.1 source, Mr. Young!).
I know Jimmy won't mind me saying this: he doesn't consider that book to be one of his one. I helped with that, and he told me, "It's autobiography, and I was going make damn sure it was a real one. Not one word in there is my own. It all came out of John...and Julie. It's John's version of his life, not a biography. I was just driving the Uber."
Bummer. Interesting that they saved Cowgirl for it alone then... But I can imagine a concert video from 1990 Neil Young approved not being all that awesome footage wise...
Yes, I like this better than the Year of the Horse version, which was fine, but this is superior. When I saw Neil in 1996 with Crazy Horse, it was a pretty user-friendly setlist. I mean, he played what an average fan would want to hear; "Cinnamon Girl" (twice), "Sedan Delivery", "Cortez", "Like A Hurricane". It was a great show. But then at the very end of the show everything had devolved into a giant cloud of feedback. And this seemed to go on for many minutes. I thought maybe the show was coming to an end. But then, out of this sonic cloud, three distinct bass notes emerge. I tell myself this is a mistake, this is too good to be true, but then they appear again, and the shapeless blob of feedback begins to slowly take shape, and the shape is that of a giant bird, like a Phoenix, rising up out of the stage, through the roof of the amphitheater, into the star-filled night sky, and by God, the Horse played "Dangerbird" in all it's ragged glory for over 15 minutes to close the show and it was the highlight of the whole damn night for me!
I've been listening to this all weekend. It's easily one of my favorite of the archives that Neil has released thus far... Superb quality and a fun fresh energetic take on these tunes. Band just sounds so good... And the guitars sound like they should... Just real, raw and full.. Neil's electric sound is such a unique thing. It's easy to mess it up if not properly recorded and mixed... I can feel the notes in my chest when I crank this up.. Not just the bass or drums, but Neil's playing.. It's pretty cool.
Billy's bass sure is making my subwoofer work its ass off. It's a vast improvement over the DVD version that's for sure, even if the picture is grainy.
The problem with the Live Rust Hurricane is the abrupt editing at the very end. Just when Neil is going into orbit with his flanger echo solo thing he did in the movie (and for the duration of the tour), they decided to snip away, probably for vinyl time purposes. You can hear it clear as day. Too bad.
