Neil Young, Live At Massey Hall - a must-buy

Neil Young’s new release, Live At Massey Hall, the famed 1971 acoustic gig in Toronto, doesn’t ring my bell quite as much as the earlier Live At The Fillmore East, backed by a powerful, mighty Crazy Horse.

Young’s Massey Hall performances – vocals, acoustic picking and piano - of his prime early ‘70s balladry are exceptional. They remind you forcefully why Young was such massive box office in those far-off days. And the close-miked sound quality is staggeringly good.

The DVD in the Special Edition’s a beaut, too. And the packaging design, like all the recent Shakey product, is delightful.

Live At Massey Hall: a must-buy.

The sheer quality of the music means that three minor whines pale into insignificance. But let’s have them, anyway:

· Young’s sub-hippy shy boy between-song mumblings. Yeeuuugh!
· The pathetically salivating Canuck crowd, far too high in the mix, roaring over-enthusiastically at the merest mention of “Canada”, “Ontario” and the rest. Provincials!
· Dysfunctional packaging. Both CD and DVD easily fall out of the gatefold sleeve – I had to add a couple of paper disc sleeves to prevent the precious artefacts getting wrecked.



Gerry Smith