Release Date: 1/01/1991
Recording Date: 1/1991
Tracks: 20
Length: 00:11:41 Hrs
Label: Silver Shadow
Type: CD
- Genre/Styles
- Country-Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Hard Rock, Psychedelic, Folk-Rock, Contemporary Pop/Rock, Album Rock
Album Tracks (20)
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What the Critics Say
There are a bunch of bootlegs of Neil Young performances from early 1971, when he took the stage solo with just an acoustic guitar and piano. While it's true that these are the sources of arguably the most interesting live Young boots, it's also true that unless you worship at his altar, you might not need more than one or two of them. This isn't the absolute best of them, but it's pretty good, as Young presents 20 songs at a February 27, 1971, performance at London's Royal Festival Hall. (Note that this is not the same material as the songs he recorded for a BBC show just four days earlier, which have also circulated on bootleg, and which are in better sound quality.) The fidelity on this 71-minute disc isn't quite up to official release standard -- it's a little thin and brittle. But it's pretty good -- very good for a bootleg -- and easy to listen to without any discomfort. Young had yet to release about half of the songs at the time of this concert, giving his interpretations of numbers like "Journey Through the Past," "The Bridge," "The Needle and the Damage Done," "Love in Mind," "See the Sky About to Rain," and "Heart of Gold" a freshness. There are also, naturally, many other slightly earlier highlights of his early catalog, including "Cowgirl in the Sand," "Don't Let It Bring You Down," "Ohio," "I Am a Child," "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing," and "Only Love Can Break Your Heart." As for differences between these versions and those on other live bootlegs from the era, they're frankly extremely minimal. You do get to hear some interesting banter between Young and the audience, as he brushes off requests for "Oh Lonesome Me" and "Sugar Mountain," mentions Captain Beefheart's prolific body of original compositions, and introduces "Harvest" as a song he'd just written the night before, explaining that he doesn't remember all the words as he'd forgotten to bring the paper on which they were written. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
