Set Lists

Live at Massey Hall 1971

January 19, 1971
Toronto, Canada

Neil Young release Live at Massey Hall 1971 is a stunning performance. He delights the crowd with 17 tracks of just his voice and guitar or piano. He is a much better guitar player than pianist. The sound quality is very, very good. The inflections in his voice come through with clarity, as does the tone of his guitar with Neil's bass notes resonates with warm and richness.

The song selection is excellent. This is my favorite period of Neil Young's career. Highlights? The whole performance is great, it'd depend upon your favorite songs. I thought the section with  "Cowgirl In The Sand," and "Don't Let It Bring You Down" is a real high point.

Neil includes some of his compositions from Déjà Vu from CSN&Y. These are excellent versions, but not better than the originals. It is delightful to hear “Helpless” and how Neil sings it without the vocal harmonies. Also, "Ohio," without the electric guitar complements, is giving a nice treatment. 

The last song "I Am A Child" was a real treat, I haven't played that one for a while which added to the listening experience.  

The bad. Neil tells too many stories. They’re fine for the first listen, but upon repeated listens they can be annoying. They are too often at the beginning of the song. If they were at the end of the previous song it would be much easier to skip it. The story I most enjoyed hearing was about the Johnny Cash show. There are some videos of the best Johnny’s show and they are outstanding, highly recommended. I've linked them, there's a single disc or more expansive double disc, Neil's performance is included on both. Also, use of the audience clapping is more of distraction than a benefit.

There was show on VH1 that I think was from England that shows Neil from this era in high quality video. I’m not sure if it is available, but if you like this, you’ll want to keep an eye out for that. 

Great songs, excellent sound, Neil Young in his prime, is the bottom line. 

By
Barry Small

Amazon has a video clip of "The Needle and the Damage Done to view free.

Amazon.com 
"I'm gonna sing mostly new songs tonight," Neil Young tells the rapt Massey Hall audience, "...I've written so many new ones that I can't think of anything else to do with them other than sing 'em." He steps to the mic unadorned, distant from CSNY's rippled harmonies or Crazy Horse's yowl, hypnotically nailing 17 tracks on this unreleased 1971 solo set. You hear him tower at vocal heights on the chorus for "Old Man" (then a debuted, brand-new song) and name-check Canada on "Journey to the Past" and North Ontario on "Helpless," much to the Toronto crowd's delight. The sound is impeccable, and the closeness to Young in this spare setting exhilarates--especially his vocal quavering in the high registers, his intricate guitar work, and an overall vibe that exceeds description. And the DVD: Here you catch Young in tightly framed, starkly-lit shots, flourishing in the early years of an unparalleled rock career. Not only that, you get commentary from 1997, a rare window on how Young thinks, how he speaks, his humor. --Andrew Bartlett

Product Description
One of the greatest singer-songwriters of the rock era. Solo. Acoustic. January 19, 1971. Live At Massey Hall, the legendary concert from Neil Young, is finally officially released, and in high resolution stereo, in this CD+DVD package (also as a solo CD). The acclaimed Toronto performance features classics "Old Man" and, in a suite, "A Man Needs A Maid" and "Heart Of Gold" (before they were recorded for Harvest) along with some of his most popular songs ("Cowgirl In The Sand," "Ohio") as well as the most obscure ("Bad Fog Of Loneliness"). Live At Massey Hall is a newly mined rock gem.

Track Listings

CD
1. On The Way Home
2. Tell Me Why
3. Old Man
4. Journey Through The Past
5. Helpless
6. Love In Mind
7. A Man Needs A Maid/Heart of Gold Suite
8. Cowgirl In The Sand
9. Don't Let It Bring You Down
10. There's a World
11. Bad Fog Of Loneliness
12. The Needle And The Damage Done
13. Ohio
14. See The Sky About To Rain
15. Down By The River
16. Dance Dance Dance
17. I Am A Child

This release is available as a CD or CD/DVD

DVD 
1. On The Way Home
2. Tell Me Why
3. Old Man
4. Journey Through The Past
5. Helpless
6. Love In Mind
7. A Man Needs A Maid/Heart of Gold Suite
8. Cowgirl In The Sand
9. Don't Let It Bring You Down
10. There's a World
11. Bad Fog Of Loneliness
12. The Needle And The Damage Done
13. Ohio
14. See The Sky About To Rain
15. Down By The River
16. Dance Dance Dance
17. I Am A Child

2007 release
Produced by Neil Young and David Briggs

The second release of Neil Young's archive performance series.