A to Z
NEIL YOUNG
These may be relatively new compositions but they sound like classics
Young Shakespeare REPRISE
7/10
A bard in fine form. By Tyler Wilcox
YOUNG SHAKESPEARE, the latest in Young’s ongoing Performance Series (this is vol 3.5 for those crazy enough to keep track), captures the songwriter at the cusp of solo superstardom. He was still best known as the Y in CSNY but he’d packed several lifetimes’ worth of activity into a very brief span of time: from the break-ups and make-ups of Buffalo Springfield to the dangerously unstable Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, from the lukewarm reception of his debut 1968 solo LP to the formation of Crazy Horse. Now, as he walked on stage at Stratford Connecticut’s Shakespeare Theatre in January of 1971, he was alone again, naturally, and rapidly emerging as a force to be reckoned with.
Both Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (his first collab with Crazy Horse) and the then-freshly released After The Gold Rush had been powerful statements of intent, unearthing a glittering vein of sonic possibilities that Young continues to mine to this day. Neil’s confidence as a performer was growing with leaps and bounds too, his distinctive, percussive acoustic guitar technique crystallising and his high, lonesome vocals becoming more bewitching.
This era is well represented in Young’s always expanding archival universe; indeed, Live At Massey Hall 1971 (released as Performance Series 3.0 in 2007) was recorded just a few days prior to the Shakespeare Theatre show, and Live At The Cellar Door (released as Performance Series 2.5 in 2013) comprises solo performances from December 1970. (There’s even more to come: Neil recently announced a Bootleg Series that will include three more late ’70/early ’71 solo shows.) With a setlist and overall mood that doesn’t deviate wildly from Massey Hall 1971, some fans might find reason to complain about Young Shakespeare. Maybe one can have too much of a good thing? But in a world where listeners can immerse themselves in every last note of Dylan and the Hawks’ 1966 tour or the Grateful Dead on their Europe ’72 trek, more examples of Neil Young at this early peak are welcome.
Young Shakespeare is differentiated by its visual accompaniment – a murky but absorbing 16mm document of the show made by Dutch filmmaker Wim van der Linden (and subsequently edited by Young’s directorial alter ego Bernard Shakey). Flannel-clad Neil is a shadowy but friendly presence as he moves from guitar to piano, at times gently ribbing his audience with a wry joke, at others earnestly seeking a connection. At this point, Young’s stage presence is the perfect mix of seductive mystique and aw-shucks bonhomie.
The performance itself? Flawless. Even at this early stage, Neil had an impressive stash of songs to draw from, and he dispatches tunes from , and with focus and precision. These may be relatively new compositions but they already sound like sturdy classics on stage, from the wistful opener, “Tell Me Why”, to the moody acoustic remakes of “Cowgirl In The Sand” and “Down By The River”. Instead of coasting on past successes, however,version in Nashville just a few weeks later. Young prefaces “The Needle And The Damage Done” with a ramble that references the recent heroin-related deaths of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix but it’s likely he had another musician in mind: guitarist Danny Whitten, whose drug habits had caused Neil’s break-up of Crazy Horse in 1970. Whitten passed away in 1972 while trying to kick heroin.
