Neil Young - Young Shakespeare

Neil Young - Young Shakespeare

LP Edition of live Shakespeare Theater show!

Just two months after the release of his seminal album After The Gold Rush, Neil Young played a solo show at The Shakespeare Theater, Stratford, Connecticut on January 22 1971. The show was filmed and recorded, and the concert shown on German TV later in 1971.

In 2020, while Neil and his team were reviewing his archive for future projects, Neil revisited the 16mm film and audio recording of this show that had been preserved in the archive for almost 50 years. Piecing together the tapes and footage, Neil realized that he had the full concert — the film of which is the earliest live footage of Neil performing that is known to exist.

Neil has written on NYA that this show is "superior to our beloved 'Massey Hall.' A more calm performance, without the celebratory atmosphere of Massey Hall, captured live on 16mm, Young Shakespeare is a very special event. To my fans, I say this is the best ever."

As an insight into Neil's prolific song writing at the time, the concert features two songs from the recently released After The Gold Rush but four songs from the classic Harvest album that was still over a year away from being released. The wonderful set list also includes acoustic renditions of favorites such as "Ohio," "Cowgirl In the Sand," "Helpless," "Down By The River" and "Sugar Mountain."

The ancient analog tapes have been lovingly restored — resulting in (as Neil says on NYA) "one of the most pure sounding acoustic performances we have in the archive."

This beautiful concert is being released here as a deluxe boxed edition that includes both LP and CD and, for the first time ever, a DVD of the concert.

Young Shakespeare is being released almost exactly 50 years after the original performance.

Side A

1. Tell Me Why

2. Old Man

3. The Needle and the Damage Done

4. Ohio

5. Dance Dance Dance

6. Cowgirl in the Sand

7. A Man Needs A Maid/Heart of Gold medley

Side B

1. Journey Through The Past

2. Don’t Let It Bring You Down

3. Helpless

4. Down By The River

5. Sugar Mountain

Customer Reviews (5.00 Stars) 2 person(s) rated this product.

High Quality Product posted on 04/24/2021 5 Stars This is a terrific and intimate listening experience. This is a recording of a still young man in the process of refining his craft in a conversation with a receptive audience. Like being witness to an event from the past. It's hard to believe that the tapes of this show are 50 years old. Considering when and how this concert was recorded the quality is outstanding. As is usual of older live recordings the piano sounds less than stellar, probably recorded through a single mic to the soundboard. But that is truly the only negative thing I can say about any part of this album. A true snapshot in time and a joy to listen to with the lights down and no one to interupt.

Fantastic posted on 04/09/2021 5 Stars Reviewer: Matthew Just Neil and his guitar. Loved every minute of it. It feels like you are there with him in the crowd.

Write a review and let people know what you think of this product OR just rate it.