Sunday, June 19, 2011

NEIL YOUNG- ACOUSTIC EVENING IN AMSTERDAM 


Many Neil Young experts and collectors stake the claim that his December 10, 1989 Amsterdam show is his most legendary acoustic performance in his forty year career.  This hyperbole is partially due to the exceptional sound quality of the radio recording.  The most of the praise can be attributed to the time of the set.  Coming at the end of the eighties and Youngís erratic artistic experimentations, this show follows by two months the release of Freedom that many critics hailed as a return to form. Whatever the case may be, this is one of the most intense performances by Young captured in pristine sound quality.  Swingin' Pig released the show soon after on Amsterdam '89 (Swingin' Pig TSP CD 076) in 1990.  Six songs, Too Far Gone, Crime In The City, Eldorado, Hangin' On A Limb, Someday, My My, Hey Hey are found on disc five of the popular Perfect Echo set. 
The radio tapes made in Amsterdam are among the very best in the world.  They carry a richness of tone, depth and clarity that eludes many from the BBC and American stations.  Releases that use these sources are almost guaranteed to be pristine and worthy of collection.
Young was joined on this tour by Frank Sampedro on guitar and mandolin and Ben Keith on dobro, keyboards, and vocals.  it was very short with only seven shows in nine days beginning at the Teatro Smeraldo in Milan, Italy  on December 5 and ending on December 13 at the Sportpaleis Ahoy in Rotterdam.  Young joined The Alarm as a guest on Rockin' In The Free World the following evening at The Ritz in New York City, but that isn't really part of this tour.  The set list is a good mix between new material from Freedom and classics.  

Tracks
Disc 1
01 Hey Hey My My
02 Rockin' In The Free World
03 The Old Laughing Lady
04 Don't Let It Bring You Down
05 Someday
06 Crime In The City
07 Eldorado
08 Too Far Gone

Disc 2
09 This Note's For You
10 The Needle And The Damage Done
11 Fuckin' Up
12 After The Goldrush
13 Hangin' On A Limb
14 Heart Of Gold
15 Ohio
16 Rockin' In The Free World (encore) 

17 comments:

  1. Thanks for this, very much.

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  2. I'm a HUGE Niel Young fan. I actually saw him last year in Miami. Amazing show.

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  3. I saw Niel Young in his '76 when he played with Bob Dylan. It was amazing.

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  4. Thanks for the post. I always wanted to see him live. Followed.

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  5. Smooth, I never heard Neil Young until this. Thank you!

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  6. I love this guys music. It's so warming.

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  7. Neil FREAKIN YOUNG!
    thanks for the link!

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  8. very awesome. thanks! and keep up the good work man. very much appreciated

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  9. Love this blog. Love Neil.

    / Moe Gustafsson

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  10. Nice blog, bro. Seems you are really well researched.

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