Since his days as the wailing folksman of Buffalo Springfield and the frequent attachment of Woodstock veterans Crosby, Stills Nash, Neil Young has metamorphosed into not only the most stable and palatable bridge between country and classic rock, not only the godfather of what would become the irreplaceable '90s grunge movement, but, alongside Bob Dylan, the presiding rock 'n' roll dinosaur-hero. Much like Dylan, plans have been announced to release bootlegs, rarities and live performances of Young's, labeled as the "Archives" series, on a string of albums. The first of these is, as was made clear by Young himself, the electric half of a show at the famous Fillmore East alongside his mythic backing band, Crazy Horse.
(In yet another striking parallel to Dylan's career, Young's band eventually cut a few records of their own, much like the Hawks, or as they are better known, simply the Band.) As someone who was not alive during the golden age of classic rock, I can only wonder about the je ne sais quoi qualities of the Fillmore East. Just what was it about this mythic venue that seemed to bring to the surface the most energetic level of an artist's live stamina?
The Fillmore East was host to some of the greatest artists of the time: the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, the Who, Frank Zappa, John Mayall and Jimi Hendrix. Not least among these was Young and, arguably, the man has never done better work as a solo artist than with Crazy Horse. Crawling like an electric rattlesnake, the opening guitar progression burns its way into the ears, as Young, along with right-hand man and Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten, wails into the first verse of "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.
" Young's stoic recitation accompanied by Whitten's forlorn cry evokes the fatalistic nature of the lyrics: "I've got to get away from this day-to-day running around/Everybody knows this is nowhere." Each lyric recalls the desperation of Fitzgerald's "Great Gatsby" or Eliot's "The Waste Land."The lead-out is a blistering escape-ride, sparking the ancestral flame of desperate epics such as Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run.
" The ballad-esque "Winterlong,"melancholy but nowhere near as desperate, is made all the more beautiful by Whitten's burly howl. Here, Young trades angular muscle for a softer, more emotive chord structure, putting just a little more power into the vocals to put distance between him and his more bleak material. From the personal passions of "Winterlong," however, the listener takes the plunge into the downright destructive "Down by the River.
" The chorus is simple but evocative: "Down by the river/I shot my baby." If there was ever an example of stream-of-consciousness musicianship, Young's winding, droning 10-minute reverie is the first and probably the best. The crescendo is one of loneliness and remorse, as wave after wave of guitar comes crashing down; truly one of Young's most disturbing pieces.
A song that would not appear on any studio album until much later in Young's career, "Wonderin'" is a far more upbeat, strait-laced country-blues love song, with a catchy time signature and pop lyrics. It is also the shortest track on the album. Whitten's own track "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown,"released on Crazy Horse's solo debut and later on Young's 1975 release "Tonight's the Night," is a jaw-rattling jam, reinforced by a hurricane guitar riff.
Ironically, and tragically, Whitten's most memorable song is actually about getting busted scoring heroin, a drug that would later take his life, and elicit Young's musical backlash in the form of "Tonight," and his haunting acoustic piece "The Needle and the Damage Done." For the finale, the entire band stretches its talents across a 16-minute rendition of "Cowgirl in the Sand." More vibrant than "Down by the River" but more subdued than "Wonderin'," the monstrous and rambling wall of sound rivets the listener to the core.
Other than its brevity, there is precious little to criticize of Young's first installment of the "Archives" series. The only track that is clearly "missing" is "Cinnamon Girl." Hopefully we can look forward to live versions of songs like "Cortez the Killer,""After the Gold Rush" and other favorites.
Based on this release, "Archives" looks exceedingly promising, and even without a series to back it up, "Live at the Fillmore East" is a truly enjoyable album.
Ryan Meehan is a senior at Delbarton School.
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