If you'd asked me to list the top acts I'd like on the bill of my dream gig in 1991, they might well have been Sonic Youth and Neil Young. Apparently some Neil fans didn't take too kindly to SY, but I would have been in my element on the tour that produced this album. And having it take place during the first Gulf War gave it extra gravity. But 1991 was a year before my first trip to the States, and the idea of a recreational visit just for the sake of a gig or two would never even have occurred to me. Now, as with the upcoming Magnetic Fields shows, it occurs before being discarded about 45 seconds later.
Anyway, another in the catalogue of four (so far) official Neil and Crazy Horse live albums, along with multiple bootlegs, 80% of which include Like a Hurricane, Cortez the Killer and so on. Which gives us the scope, nay the necessity, to focus on the nuanced differences between them. Well, aren't the backing vocals great on this album? No, really they are: they show how seriously Crazy Horse take their rehearsals, because they can't be overdubbed, can they? Surely?! The guitar solo on Love and Only Love for about two and half minutes from 5'15" is pretty special, too.
Other distinctive things about this album: the cover of Blowin' in the Wind where Neil manages to make the lyrics count, despite being so well-worn, by slowing them right down; and of course the the third disc, Arc, comprising thirty something minutes of collated feedback. This earned Neil his only mention in a Half Man Half Biscuit song, Look Dad No Tunes, which includes lines like:
When we don't feel well, let's
Put on some Velvets
Lean our guitars up against the amp
We get feedback
When I feel that I need that
Air of "look, aren't we dangerous"
followed by
And I've seen him walk through the park a lot,
And I bet he listens to Arc a lot,
We'd better let him in, he's got a theremin…
Johnny-come-latelys have to settle for getting Arc as a separate CD, but I moved swiftly enough to have the privilege of paying a whopping £33.99 for the limited edition combined Arc-Weld package. The sad thing is that Arc isn't as good as it could or should have been. The editing is clumsy at some points (e.g. 1'54" and 20'38") and makes the whole thing feel like one rather tiresome crescendo after another; like a multiple orgasm with the orgasm taken out.
MusicBrainz entry for disc 1, disc 2, disc 3 Wikipedia entry for Weld, Arc Rate Your Music entry for this album |
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