Neil Young- Happy 75th! Elektra Demos 1965 & More

 

Today, November 12th is Neil Young's 75th birthday! Despite the worldwide pandemic that has shut down concert tours and most live performances, Young has had a busy 2020 so far, releasing new and "new" old music. He was also preoccupied with his displeasure with his president (he has dual Canadian and American citizenship), Donald Trump. In February, he wrote an open letter to Mr. President Donald Trump: "You Are A Disgrace To My Country". In August, he filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the Trump campaign for using his music at Trump rallies and in September he released, The Times (EP) that included a new song, Lookin' For A Leader that expressed more of his feelings towards the Trump presidency. In June, Young finally released the long unreleased album, Homegrown that was originally suppose to be come out in 1975. And just last week, a live album, Return To Greendale, recorded in 2003 in Toronto while on tour to promote the album, Greendale with his band, Crazy Horse was released. Upcoming on November 20th, the Neil Young Archives Volume II: 1972-1976 is set to release, a 10-CD box set that will consist of 131 tracks, 63 previously unreleased. These include live and alternative versions of previously released songs, plus 12 never released songs. Wow, quite the busy year indeed!

 

I thought this would be an appropriate time to post some early demos from Young from 1965, the Elektra demos which is an unofficial release, but has been widely available. Some of these songs appear on the Archives Vol. 1, but a couple don't and as a bonus there are some rare live tracks. These early demos are Neil solo acoustic and the sound quality is very good. The interesting thing is that his voice actually sounds slightly smoother and more coherent than we're used to, but it's still unmistakably Neil Young. A true gem for any Neil fan and an important recording in his early career. Happy 75th!

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Essential listen of the week: As far as Neil Young cover tributes go, this one's great! NEIL (Vol 1) from Scott The Hoople (aka: Scott McCaughey -YFF, Minus 5, Baseball Project...etc) is a 13 track digital album of Neil covers that just came out November 6th. 

Scott: "For 50+ years, his music has been a huge part of my life - a source of immense pleasure, comfort, and pleasurable discomfort...". I highly recommend giving this a listen, it's definitely worth the measly $7.00 he's asking. Get it!

 

#14yearsoftrouble

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats.

Please share!

NEIL YOUNG
Elektra Demos 1965 & More

Transfer: Original silvers -> EAC -> Flac

01 Sugar Mountain
02 Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing
03 Run Around Babe
04 Don't Pity My Baby
05 I Ain't Got The Blues - False Start 1
06 I Ain't Got The Blues - False Start 2
07 I Ain't Got The Blues - False Start 3
08 I Ain't Got The Blues - Final Take
09 The Rent Is Always Due
10 When It Falls, It Falls All Over You

The Elektra Demos Recorded at the Elektra Studios in New York City, September 1965. Engineered by Peter Siegel. All Tracks are just Neil and his acoustic guitar. First time available in stunning sound quality!

11 Everybody's Alone
Recorded during rehearsals at KQED TV, December 1970.

12 Traces (With CSNY)
13 Love Art Blues (With CSNY)
Recorded at the Coliseum, Seattle, July 9, 1974.

14 Stringman
Recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, March 31, 1976.

15 Southern Man (With Stills/Young Band)
Recorded at the Civic Center, Providence, July 7, 1976.

16 Give Me Strength
Recorded in the USA, November 1976.

17 Lady Wingshot
Recorded at the Bicentennial Park, Miami Beach, November 12, 1977.

18 Amber Jean
19 Let Your Fingers Do The Walking (a.k.a. Good Phone)
20 Helpless
21 Down By The River
Recorded at the Austin City Limits TV Show, Austin, September 25, 1984.

 

NEIL YOUNG- Elektra Demos 1965 FLAC. rar

Neil Young Tribute- Live In Winnipeg 1995

With most everyone practicing social distancing, it is an opportunity to sort your record collection and an opportunity to listen to music you have been meaning to listen to. These days, streaming is the popular form for listening and discovering music and there are endless possibilities for making playlists. Presently, a cliche playlist would be about isolation and loneliness (maybe even depression) as it has become the norm for people around the world to avoid any social gatherings or the possibility of being within a meter of an another human being. When I think of artists and songs that meet that criteria, I often turn to the "loner" himself, Neil Young. Neil isn't always anti-social and though I'm thinking he prefers to perform solo, he does have Crazy Horse as his backing band and he has played in other groups such as Crosby, Stills and Nash, Buffalo Springfield, The Squires and even made a record and toured with Pearl Jam! Though his songs have taken on an increasingly critical opinion of politics, the environment and war he has still maintained a certain reputation as a solemn loner. A perfect thing to be during these times.

Instead of a playlist, how about a tribute to Neil Young in the form of a concert. There have been many albums and concerts that have paid tribute to Neil Young (despite being very alive!) so there are many to choose from with many popular artists participating. Today's post is unique to me because this was recorded in my hometown (and Neil's) with local bands all performing the music of Neil Young. This concert was to celebrate Neil Young's 50th birthday on the eve of his birthday, and yes, they sing Happy birthday at the beginning. The strange thing is the radio announcer says the date of the concert is September 27th, but Neil's real birthday is November 12th...??

• The recording: Recorded in 1995 and was aired nationally on CBC-FM "Real Time" broadcast. Thanks to Stevemtl who recorded it off the radio and posted the show to Dime. Each band performs a short set of Young covers each, but I'm assuming there were other songs that weren't aired on the broadcast.
• The bands: All Winnipeg bands, mainly indie and I'm slightly familiar with most of these bands though I have to admit haven't seen any of them live. The Blue Meanies, who became the New Meanies shortly after due to another band with the same name, gained modest success and even had airplay. Buick Six, I remember because Mike Koop also played in the band, The Bonaduces and they had a violin player, Julie Penner that was really good that went on to perform and record with many well known Canadian musicians. Zen Bungalow had Rod Slaughter in the band who went on to form Duotang and plays in Novillero. Grand Theft Canoe had a cool psychedelic sound I like a lot and all I know about Not Going To Vegas is that Phil Deschambault in the band co-formed the duo, Ash Koley with Ash Koley.
• The sound: The sound quality is excellent, FM broadcasts always sound great. All the bands do a commendable job in their own way and style. Very enjoyable!

Though this concert and the bands may only have only regional interest, Neil Young's music is celebrated and appreciated world-wide and the fact he spent many of his formative years in Winnipeg is something to be proud of. The concert is from almost 25 years ago and at the time I believe Young was touring with Pearl Jam. Most of the bands that performed on this night are no longer together (New Meanies still perform occasionally), but Young continues to record new music and tour. If your wondering what Young is doing to keep busy during these grim times, Young has shared his Fireside Session show on his archives site. He has filmed (with the help of his wife, Daryl Hannah) two sessions consisting of some deep tracks and some classic tunes. “Because we are all at home and not venturing out, we will try to do a stream from my fireplace with my lovely wife filming. It will be a down-home production, a few songs, a little time together,”says Young. The sessions have been filmed from Young and Hannah’s home in snowy Telluride, Colorado. Indeed!
Enjoy!!

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!
Do NOT convert to lossy formats (except for personal use)
Please share!

NEIL YOUNG TRIBUTE
West End Cultural Centre
Winnipeg, MB 
September 27, 1995

Recorded by stevemtl: at a later date - CBC 'Real Time' broadcast > analogue cable FM > Yamaha RX586 > Fostex D5 or Sony R500 (DAT @ 16/48)
Transferred by stevemtl: DAT > Sony R500 > Roland R44 (16/48 wav) > SD chip > HD
Mastered by stevemtl: wav > Soundforge (L2 dither > 24/48: L2 level adjust, trim, edit) > r8brain (vhq downsample > 24/44.1) > Soundforge (L2 dither > 16/44.1) > CDwave (track cut) > TLH (flac level 8, ffp, md5) > TLH (torrent marker)
Posted to DIME by stevemtl on 2019-12-15.

01.  -radio host intro-
02.  -Happy Birthday, talk-
03.  Southern Man
04.  -talk-
05.  No More   >>>
06.  Cortez the Killer
07.  -radio host talk-
08.  Albuquerque
09.  -talk-
10.  Walk On
11.  -radio host talk, talk-
12.  The Sultan
13.  -talk-
14.  Burned
15.  -talk-
16.  Expecting to Fly
17.  -talk-
18.  Harvest
19.  -radio host talk-
20.  Mr. Soul
21.  -talk-
22.  The Loner  >>>
23.  Tonight's the Night
24.  -radio host talk-
25.  Look Out for My Love
26.  -talk-
27.  Cinnamon Girl
28.  -radio host outro-

[57:10 m.]
note:
Leora Kornfeld - radio host
t03>06: Blue Meanies (now called New Meanies)
t08>10: Buick Six
t12>18: Grand Theft Canoe
t20>23: Zen Bungalow
T25>27: Not Going to Vegas

NEIL YOUNG TRIBUTE- 1995-09-27 WECC, Winnipeg, MB FLAC. rar

Neil Young & Crazy Horse- Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg Feb. 4, 2019

Since there was a policy of no photography during the show, this is the best I have.

Back in December, when pre-sale tickets for a pair of Neil Young & Crazy Horse shows in early February went on sale I had no idea he was even coming to town. My brother asked if I was a member of the Neil Young Archives because being a member meant first dibs for tickets. I wasn't, so he joined and snagged tickets in the sixth row for the first show on February 3rd at the Burton Cummings Theatre. I used his password for the second show at the Centennial Concert Hall the following night. Before I bought the tickets I agonized whether I should "invest", I hadn't seen Young live before and he was on my imaginary list of bands I should see before I (or they) die, but tickets weren't cheap and the cheapskate that I am hasn't paid that much for concert tickets ever. What pushed my decision towards going was the fact his band Crazy Horse would be performing as well as Neil solo and I figured this might be one of the last opportunities to see the electric Neil. My theory is he can play the solo musician-thing for longer than the full-on band. I opted for the third most expensive price level which meant I was back to row 22 on the floor, but dead centre. This could be good!

I must admit I'm not a big fan of opening acts. I get the reason why they have them, it extends the actual performance time for your evening so you're not there for only an hour and a half to see the actual reason why you're there as opposed to two and a half hours with the opening act and the intermission before the headliner. No offensive to the opener (William Prince was fine), but I'm paying the big bucks to see Neil Young. In this case, a quick run to the bathroom during intermission turned into an overly long lineup and without warning (that I know of), the concert resumed as I was walking down the row to my seat. Without announcement, the lights go out, pitch black dark as Neil wanders onto the stage and launches into the first song. I scramble for my recording equipment, setup and hit record, trying the best I can to set the volume levels. Because it's so dark I use my small flashlight to see which shines "like headlights" according to the people beside me as I struggle to level on the fly. The woman beside me tells me, "could you please stop that" and I don't look at the levels again, this isn't a good thing!

Neil played seven songs for his solo mini set, meandering between guitar, piano and banjo which was mellow and cool, not overwhelmingly exciting, but probably satisfied the older folk festival going fans the most. Things got cooking more once Crazy Horse joined Young for the electric band set. Rockin' In The Free World was the perfect set opener, I think Neil is at his best when he plays with Crazy Horse. Songs like, The Losing End, Roll Another Number and Winterlong are great underrated songs from his extensive catalog and Cortez The Killer is truly a Neil Young & Crazy Horse classic! For me, the guitar interplay on that song was worth the price of admission and seeing Neil shred with the great Nils Lofgren was a thrill. The main set closed with Fuckin' Up, which of course led to a two song encore with another classic, Like A Hurricane and ended the evening with Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black), which also closed the show the prior evening. Overall, a solid show, but wish there was a longer set from Neil with Crazy Horse, but I'm glad I was there.

The sound on the live recording is really good, not much nearby crowd noise or talking, so the sound is clear thanks also to the supreme acoustics of the concert hall, which is made specifically for concerts. There are though some imperfections on this recording I should mention before you listen:

• The recording joins the first song (Out On The Weekend) a verse or so into the song. I missed the start before I got to my seat. There was no introduction before the song so you don't miss much. 
• After the first song when I was adjusting the sound levels, the sound is stabilized and the rest of the solo set is fine. Thanks again to the lady beside me for talking in my ear, I didn't take any photos because I was worried she would freak out with the light from my phone if I dared.
• During the beginning of Rockin' In The Free World the volume shoots up (Warning, you might want to turn it down a bit) for a moment, as I blindly turn the levels down almost too low for the rest of the song. By Danger Bird, the sound levels are up more evenly and stays that way to the end.

I originally was going to post this show to Dime (you have to be a member), but since I took my sweet time preparing the files and writing this, someone beat me to it. There is another recording from this show posted, I haven't listened to it, but it probably didn't have the issues I mentioned above. Also, on Dime there is a recording of the first night at the Burt. If you are not a member and you are interested, I might re-post the show here with the permission of the taper (please let me know). Since I don't want to post another version on Dime, this recording is exclusive to TDIT and is available for all to enjoy.
Enjoy!!

Please do NOT sell or convert to lossy format
Please share!

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE
Centennial Concert Hall
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
February 4, 2019
AUD Master

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> SD card > 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar file

Neil Solo
01. Out On The Weekend (in progress)
02. Distant Camera
03. War Of Man
04. Old King
05. Green Is Blue
06. Don't Let It Bring You Down
07. Journey Through The Past

with Crazy Horse
08. Rockin' In The Free World
09. Danger Bird
10. Wonderin'
11. The Losing End
12. Roll Another Number (For The Road)
13. Winterlong
14. Cortez The Killer
15. Fuckin' Up

Encore
16. Like A Hurricane
17. Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)

Crazy Horse
Neil Young- vocals, guitar
Nils Lofgren- guitar
Billy Talbot- bass
Ralph Molina- drums

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE- 2019-02-04 Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master. rar

Happy Canada Day!! Neil Young- Omemee 2017

Nothing says Canada more than Neil Young! Well actually, maybe not. He doesn't even live in Canada, not for decades and he's been seen at San Jose hockey games wearing a Sharks cap and cheering for his "hometown" team. Conveniently, former Canadians (and Winnipeggers) such as Young and Burton Cummings make a timely appearance or comment on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube that reminds us they are still in touch with their Canadian past. This past NHL playoffs, Burton Cummings said he wanted to sing the anthem at a Winnipeg Jets playoff game, but unfortunately he was involved in a car accident in California that (thankfully!) prevented him from returning to his old hometown to sing. Young made a strange YouTube video a few years ago to express his love for the Jets. All kidding aside, Young has retained his Canadian citizenship, is an officer of the Order of Canada and was awarded the Order of Manitoba so he truly is proud of his achievements and his love for Canada is still very evident today.

On December 1st last year, Neil returned to his childhood hometown of Omemee, Ontario and performed a solo acoustic concert attended by invited guests and live streamed to fans around the world. I recall that the weeks leading up to the concert there was talk about where the concert would take place. Allegedly it would be a secret location somewhere in Canada and it would be some sort of homecoming to pay tribute to his Canadian roots. Of course, in my hometown there was a buzz that it would be Winnipeg because he spent a lot of his formative years here. He attended Kelvin High School and formed and performed with his first bands here. Most people assume he was born in Winnipeg, but in fact he was born in Toronto and shortly after he was born the family moved to Omemee. Later, he moved to Winnipeg, then Toronto and then back to Winnipeg with his mother after she divorced.

The concert was called "Home Town" for obvious reasons, but it was a look back to the past both musically and emotionally. The live stream began with a video with scenes of Omemee and photos of Neil from the years he lived there (he was 4-8 years old). Neil played almost two hours, just him on stage alternating between guitar, piano, harmonica, banjo, ukelele and pump organ. The setlist spanned his entire career and the intimacy of the setting and with the stripped down versions of the songs, this truly was an amazing unique moment. Neil had come full circle, coming home to Canada and treating fans from all across Canada and the rest of the world with his incredible talent. Happy (belated) Canada Day!!
Enjoy!

Please do NOT trade this in lossy format. 
Convert to lossy for personal use only.
Please DO NOT SELL!

Neil Young
Coronation Hall
Omemee,ON Canada
2017-12-01

This is the SBD audio from the CTV webcast video recently uploaded by schwinn: http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=607888

Audio source data: AAC 256 Kbps 48.0 KHz stereo

Lineage: Audio extracted from the video source using MAGIX Movie Edit Pro 17 > WAV > Audacity (amplify, tracking) > TLH > FLAC > foobar2000 (FLAC tags)
Length: 1:44:35

Setlist:
01 intro [prerecorded]
02 crowd noise
03 stage entrance
04 Comes a Time
05 Love is a Rose
06 Journey Through the Past
07 Long May You Run
08 I'm Glad I Found You
09 Tumbleweed
10 banter
11 Old Man
12 Old King
13 Someday
14 There's a World
15 Stand Tall
16 War of Man
17 Don't Be Denied
18 Helpless
19 Heart of Gold

Encore:
20 One of these Days
21 Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)
22 Sugar Mountain

NEIL YOUNG- 2017-12-01 Omemee, ON FLAC. rar