Neil Young Shines On New Live Album With Strong Solo Acoustic Performances

Neil Young on Friday released Songs For Judy from his archives, a compelling collection of live recordings from the solo acoustic sets of his November 1976 tour with his longtime backing band Crazy Horse. It is based on recordings of the shows made at the time by photographer Joel Bernstein, who was accompanied by Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe.

After the tour, Bernstein and Crowe created the selection of 23 tracks. Initially, the mix was leaked and became available as a bootleg known as The Bernstein Tapes. While the material on the new release is almost identical to the bootleg, the quality of the sound has been improved.

“Joel and Cameron chose these songs and did a great job,” Young said on his archives website, as reported by Rock Cellar Magazine. “The album is quite unique and I think the period was very well captured in the sound and performances. It was a moment in time, and it’s easy to tell why it’s called Songs For Judy.”

Following are some clips. Here is No One Seems To Know. While according to Setlist.fm, Young first performed the song live in March 1976, the inclusion on Songs For Judy marks the first time it is being released on an album.

After The Gold Rush, the title track of Young’s third studio album from September 1970, is one of my longtime favorites. It still gives me goosebumps when listening to it.

My next pick is Mr. Soul, a tune Young wrote during his time with Buffalo Springfield, which appeared on their second studio album Buffalo Springfield Again, released in November 1967. During the announcement of the song, he alludes to his then-recent 31st birthday.

A Man Needs A Maid is a song from Harvest, Young’s fourth studio release from February 1972. While when announcing the tune Young says he has played it many times, he starts out by teasing another, then-unknown song, which would become one of his best known tunes: Like A Hurricane. Check it out!

Another gem from Harvest that beautifully shines on the new collection is The Needle And The Damage Done. The moving tune, which describes the destructive impact of heroin, was inspired by Young’s grief over the related death of his friend and former Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten.

The last song I’d like to call out is the final track of this excellent collection: Sugar Mountain. Young composed the song on his 19th birthday (November 12, 1964) at a hotel in Fort William, a town in Ontario his band at the time The Squires had visited for a local gig. The first formal release of the tune was a live version that became the B-side to Young’s debut solo single The Loner from February 1969.

I dig many of Neil Young’s crunchy live rockers with Crazy Horse. But the more I listen to solo live performances like the ones on this collection, the more I come to the conclusion that he is oftentimes most powerful when playing all by himself.

Sources: Wikipedia, Setlist.fm, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Rock Cellar Magazine, YouTube