Customer Reviews

Road Rock Vol. 1 (DVD Audio)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Seems as if the top 500 "reviewers' here have little to no concept of what's going on, which probably means their top 500 "reviewer" status feeds their ego for personal reasons adding little to zero value to an actual opinion. 'Road Rock Vol.1" contains the first time Young has released "Cowgirl in the Sand" live with Reprise. The song itself is one of the many staples on his first 1969 Crazy Horse release, 'Everybody Knows this is Nowhere,' and throughout the years he has played it with many different people, in many different settings, and many times the song's feel varies. The 18 plus minute version contained here is just one take of wonderful arrangements and sounds. It starts the album and is worth the price of admission alone. 'Words,' another past gem, gets a tasteful treatment from Young, Keith Dunn, Oldham, Keltner, Pegi and Astrid. Is this Young's most solid live Reprise release? No. But it is definitely worth having around in the collection as Young's sound over the years changes from live release to album to who he plays with. It captures the magic of a rock n roll moment many years after it was supposed to rust, a bright evolution, a statement few are unable to quite hear.

Wow. The opening track will blow the roof off your skull! Hello Cowgirls in the Sand? Cowgirls, can you hear me? What a consummate Rock entertainer! I became an ardent fan of his in the late sixties, having been priviledged to witness many of his shows live in San Francisco. He is one aging artist whom I can honestly say hasn't ever taken a misstep, musically. The guy will no doubt be rockin the ears off of fellow ghosts in the grave.

This live CD his best concert version yet. He was so "on" that evening, and his band was so tight, I can honestly say there are very few live albums to equal this. Little Feet comes close, but for sheer rock power, this man has no equal. This CD conjures up visions of Neil circa 1972, Winterland, fuzz-box, Bo-Diddely, looking, square guitar blaring at warp speed, dancers in the audience, including yours truly, gyrating frenziedly on the floorbaords. Light show, Stobes, Glitter Ball...oh those were the days!!
BEK

It seems one of the best ways to hear Neil's later work like this is to turn up. Shall we say "Crank it up". This live recording is very loose. Not perfect but if you want real rock and roll that takes a chance, this is one of those. It's not a plastic, smooth album. I'm Diggin' this record at a very high volume in the headphone right now. A very good way to appreciate it I might add. Neil's voice and guitar are stellar. It is true that "Cowgirl In The Sand" and "Words" will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up at a high volume but "Peace Of Mind" is a beautiful song not to be overlooked. Play this album a few times and it does grow on you. That's what good music does.

Desperately seeking to become as irrelevant as Graham Nash, Neil released a live CD featuring friends and family. I've 2 words for Shakey: Linda McCartney, or if that doesn't do it: Yoko Ono. Leave the wife at home, the kid sister aint Nicollete Larsen.
It's all very competently executed, but there's no sense that any of this really matters to him anymore. It is a better record than Year of the Horse and the soundtrack to Dead Man, but the fire is out, and that's a shame. It's better to burn out than....

Come on Neil! This is awful. Another terrible live recording shown in all it's misery on DVD-A. This is surround? GAG ME!!

I had the chance to listen to this album at a DVD-Audio demonstration recently and I went in there with every negative pre-conception one could have towards the format. But when I heard WORDS and ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER pumping out those speakers in 5.1 and around a 190Mhz birate, I nearly melted with pleasure. I have the DVD-Video version of the concert and I would like to say I think they've spent more time on DVD-Audio perfecting it. Yes, the song list isnt crash hot, but those two songs I heard were worth the price of this DVD-Audio alone. Only problem is that we all have to buy a new player....

This is a pretty good album. Recorded live during last years Friends and Relatives tour. A 15 minute Cowgirl in the Sand opens-this song a young classic which hadn't been played in many years. Walk on, another lost Young classic appears for the first time since 1974. Other highlights include a 12 minute Jam on Words,a lovely rendition of "peace of Mind" from 1978's Comes a Time rcord and a scorching cover of All along the Watchtower with Chrisse Hyde of the Pretenders. Mainly a live album of vintage cuts from the 70's Young as always puts on an passionate performance.

Just three years after the lackluster Year Of The Horse, Neil Young released another live set, Road Rock, Vol. 1. The record is another good, but not great live set. There are some great tracks including the mammoth 18 minute opening track "Cowgirl In The Sand". The song, even at its tremendous length, does not seem drawn out or over extended. "Words" is a great old chestnut from Harvest and is a treat as is "all Along The Watchtower" which is a duet with The Pretenders leader Chrissie Hynde. The rest of the album is okay.

Any live Neil Young release is worthy of attention and this one is no different. However "Road Rock Vol 1" doesn't quite match up to previous live NY albums such as Live Rust, Weld or even Year of the Horse, which itself was patchy in places. Of course the obvious difference is the absence of Crazy Horse on "Road Rock". For the most part though, that's not the problem here and that's not the reason I have accorded this release a measly three stars. The problem lies squarely with the material. When Road Rock is good it is awesome. The 18 minute opener "Cowgirl..." is superb and worth the price of admission alone. Also mighty impressive are "Words" and "Tonight's the Night" which seems to have metamorphised into a bluesy, swampy jam of epic proportions. It's one of the album's true surprises. "All Along The Watchtower" is pretty good and seems to benefit from the presence of Chrissy Hynde. However the rest of the material here (another 4 tracks) is well below par and basically spoils what could have been an utterly brilliant live set. Pity. Performance wise, Young is outstanding. His guitar work is the central focus of the best tracks and one would at times imagine Crazy Horse was present! The rest of the band including some long time Young cohorts put in excellent performances also. The sound on the album is impressive - the bass and bass drums are huge and of course Young's guitar dominates the mix at times. It comes across as a little heavy handed occasionally, but the rockers amongst us will find no fault with this. To conclude, "Road Rock Vol 1" is worth purchasing for those tracks highlighted, but overall it could have and should have been so much better with the inclusion of some more strong material.

I don't understand the negative tone many of these reviews have taken. This is PRIME Neil Young here! In fact, I am absolutely amazed that Crazy Horse was not present - this sounds very much like a NY and Crazy Horse album. Which means: wild, thrashing guitars, notes out of place, voice out of pitch...but always in tune. This live CD exemplifies the raw, wild, almost naive soul of the very best NY recordings. I saw Neil Young on this tour, and though it was great, this live CD makes you feel like you're in the 1st row...as opposed to the 56th row where I was sitting. This is the kind of album where the individual songs build up, getting better and better as the majority of them reach the 10+ minute mark. All the while, you are turning up your volume knob from 6...to 8...to 10...to 11, baby. As far as official live recordings go, Live Rust is incredible, and YOTH is absolutely amazing, but I would have to say Road Rock Vol.1 is better than either one. Not quite as good as Weld, but then again, what is? Road Rock features the upteenth version of "Tonight's The Night," but it's also the best version I've heard. It features an incendiary "Cowgirl In The Sand." But the true show-stopper here is Neil Young & Chrissie Hynde's cover of "All Along The Watchtower." The fact that their duet isn't in sync with each other only adds to the immediacy of it. Yes, Road Rock is at times shambling, flawed, and uneven. But isn't that exactly what makes Neil Young so great? Road Rock is not for Neil Young fans who only prefer his lighter, acoustic material (Silver & Gold, for instance). This is the Neil Young of Rust Never Sleeps, back in all his ragged glory.