Neil Young News: CSNY 1974 Tour Box Set Coming

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Monday, June 28, 2010

CSNY 1974 Tour Box Set Coming

UPDATE: This post is making the rounds and casuing some waves in various places like Steve Hoffman Forums, our Facebook Wall | ThrashersWheatNeverSleeps and other scattered tweets, etc.

But, it seems that there are some inaccuracies in the original post. It's not clear what the state of the project is or its details. Unsure whether Crosby or The Columbian reporter is mistaken. We do know tapes of the shows exist and they are excellent. Everything else, consider the source (s). Also, the poster for Summer Jam West has been removed. The concert never took place. Thanks Tom on Sugar Mountain! We regret the errors.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
1974-08-23, Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Photo Gallery by John Gellman Photography

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 1974 summer tour was unprecedented in many ways -- not the least of which was a pioneering mega huge sound system able to blast tens of thousands at outdoor stadiums. The Bill Graham produced spectacle went on to usher in the massive rock and roll extravaganzas that so many other acts would later follow.

Now comes word that a box set of CSNY's historic 1974 tour will be released by the end of the year. Planned as a three CD and a DVD set, the box is being put together by Joel Bernstein and Stanley Johnston from eight full shows from that tour.

From The Columbian by Alan Sculley:

“This CSNY thing is going to eclipse almost everything else,” David Crosby said. “I think it’s going to be just pretty much beyond belief. What I’ve heard, I was just stunned.”

“When you really hear them now, it’s just astounding,” he said. “The stuff that they’ve played me, I can’t even believe how … good it is.”

Rolling Stone - August 15th, 1974
More on the reunion tour of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in 1974.

(Thanks Matt!)

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43 Comments:

At 6/28/2010 06:00:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Holy Crap - This is great, a nice tide over until the next archives
At 6/28/2010 06:32:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Neil has gone record saying that to him the 1974 tour was the death knell for CSN&Y. Way to much ego and to many drugs - cocaine - that seriously fucked with the performances. Be interesting to see what the performances the draw from. Lot of unreleased Neil tunes on this tour though!
At 6/28/2010 06:36:00 PM, Anonymous said...: hmm...they weren't happy about it (or the performances) when they were happening...but nearly 40 years later...but it might be worth it for PUSHED IT OVER THE END...and it wouldn't surprise me if that song was omitted either...asg
At 6/28/2010 06:46:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I just hope that they have learnt from Neil, or Neil has some input on what format it comes out on as I really hope they release a Blu Ray version!
At 6/28/2010 06:52:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I saw the tour in Jersey City, NJ in August '74 - It was the day Richard Nixon resigned. I was 15yrs old. The outdoor venue was awful, but what a party! I remember the GIANT PA system and opening with electric "Love the One Your With." At some point, Crosby yelled, "Richard Nixon has Resigned" and they shot fireworks.

Years later I had the opportunity to tell the story to Graham Nash who shook my hand, thanked me for bringing it up, and said, "Godbless."

I had a similar encounter with Neil Young who responded, "There where helicopters in the sky that day." I still have no idea what he meant, but he was very nice and pleasant. Looking Forward to release.
At 6/28/2010 07:16:00 PM, punkdavid said...: This is good news.

I'd wondered how Neil would handle this tour on the next volume of The Archives. A NYAPS release didn't seem to make much sense, but there also seemed to be too many songs for them to simply be included as part of the regular discs. This box set sounds like a good place to stick this stuff.

I too worry about sound quality if this is actually released on CDs and 1 DVD. I wonder how much input Neil is having on the production. A pretty good amount, I'd guess, if Joel Bernstein is involved.

Considering the epic length of those 1974 concerts, my guess is that we'll probably see the 3 audio discs made to resemble a single concert setlist, much as Neil has done on his NYAPS releases.

Blu-ray is nice, but without BD-Live as a draw, it's kind of overkill. I'd be plenty happy with a DVD version of the release with all 24/96 audio.

--PunkDavid
At 6/28/2010 09:00:00 PM, LRR said...: We've been hearing about this one for a LONG time. But maybe there is a bit more legitimacy now that it's more than Graham hyping it up. I wonder if Elliott will pull his old tricks and keep some Neil songs off of this thing like he did for the CSN Box. Or it could go the other way and it could be MOSTLY Neil songs. If we got something which sounded good, that would be Amazing! LRR
At 6/28/2010 09:09:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I was at what was called "A Day on the Green" at Oakland Coliseum in 1974. Same line up of acts plus many,many topless girls up front and Crosby sure was raising his eyebrows down there!
I've got a pretty good DVD boot of the London show from that year, so a Blu-Ray treatment would be really nice with DTS sound.
I took a lot of pictures (some girls!) but mostly of the bands. Still got 'em hanging on my wall!
No girls though!
These guys have to know that a lot of us carry them around with us in our hearts to this very day!
Youth may be wasted on the youth, but to have a soundtrack of it...priceless!

- Faceless on the Floor
At 6/28/2010 09:16:00 PM, sugarmtn said...: FYI - that Ontario show on the poster at the top of the page never occurred. Don't know the story on why not, but I do know several shows were cancelled.
At 6/28/2010 09:33:00 PM, zejt said...: Hey Punk David

thanks for Holes in the Archives Vol.1
Great production

Zejt
At 6/28/2010 10:06:00 PM, G said...: This won't happen as announced, not when Neil is involved. Hasn't anyone learned yet?
At 6/28/2010 10:34:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I hate to be the contrarian here but notwithstanding the fact that I liked the archives, I thought the CSNY stuff on the archives was horrible. Neil is my favorite performing artist with no close second and I'd say I'm a casual fan of CSN but when those guys are playing with Neil their singing inevitably ruins the song. I completely understand why he'd want to be solo as his songs are way better when he's 100% in control of the band and the production. I'm sure this '74 thing will sell but lets face it -- that tour was everything that's wrong with Rock n' Roll and it was the epitome of excess and it was the ruination of CSN ... Neil for all his tempermentalism was the smart one who stayed far enough away from it all and stayed to the core of being a musician and didn't get hung up on being a Rock n' Roll star ... I just have a hard time imagining that these box sets can be great ... they're just bound to ooze of ego and all the garbage that brought a good thing down. This tour was a couple years past the peak ... in fact it was probably the pinnacle of the 'Hippie Dream'
At 6/28/2010 10:51:00 PM, Anonymous said...: hey Anonymous -

here we have yet another Neil suck-up. Last i checked, Neil signed up, and participated fully in the 74 CSNY tour.

He cashed the checks....so he's on the hook.

what csny stuff from the archives did you find to be terrible?

Ohio?
On the Way Home (live)
Sea of Madness
Tell Me Why (live)

you have no credibility, son!
At 6/28/2010 11:11:00 PM, Anonymous said...: F#*%ing dope!
Nice to see Vol 2 performance series' starting to role out.

I hope some of the rare Neil shit makes it on. Anyone for The Old Homestead/Pardon My Heart?
Syscrusher
At 6/28/2010 11:27:00 PM, Anonymous said...: hey anonymous,

look, i'm a fan of CSN, I like them and their music, but the CSNY songs on the archives are painful to listen to, i can't even tell you which ones, they were so bad i listen to them once and can't imagine listening to them again, i'd say my recollection is they were all pretty bad maybe the exception is ohio ... granted the pure songs are so good that they make up for the interference ... look, I think CSN are incredibly talented musicians just that Neil is and always was destined to be a solo act ... beyond that its hard to deny that CSNY overdosed on ego and indulgence during that '74 tour and the recordings bear it out ... I'm not saying its not worth buying them, but let's call a spade a spade. In terms of Neil cashing his check ... so what, I wasn't implying Neil's perfect, just that he was the only one with his head on straight during a crazy time and not faulting CSN they sank into the morass with the rest of that performing generation, not totally their fault ... the whole scene was a train wreck maybe Neil lucked out because as an epeleptic he HAD to refrain from the madness and also because he was always about the music first and the scene second ... look at Stills the guy was one of the most talented musicians of that era bar none but he toasted himself ... look what's the difference ... has nothing to do with being a Neil suck up just calling 'em like I see 'em. Let it be a cautionary tale
At 6/29/2010 12:00:00 AM, SONY said...: here's the deal. LISTEN UP.

CSNY is a sound that Neil Young made/makes with them like no other. Vibe/funk/rock/jive jam sound. Magnified live.

or did you forget?
At 6/29/2010 01:06:00 AM, JoeRay Skrha said...: Hi Gang,
I saw CSNY in Buffalo 8-11-1974 and Cleveland 8-31-1974... Both days were in the top 10 of concerts I ever attended. Buffalo was at the newly opened Rich Stadium, sunny warm day, great sound and Jesse Colin Young, Santana and CSNY. Cleveland was at Municipal Stadium, 88,000 people, great sound, Jesse Colin Young, The Band, Santana and CSNY. Bill Graham who ran the tour was at he very best. Rock and Roll was young, raw and alive. This was the tour I wish I could experience again. It took a rap for being the Doom Tour... I disagree... Perhaps some musicians over did it but for those of us in attendance (always sat 20 feet back on Neils side), I was simply blown away. Neil recorded each concert in 8-16 or 24 track. Perhaps the archives BD-Live will allow more than one concert to be released. Even most of the audience recordings from this tour sounded good without much echo or distortion. The sound was clear and alive. Peace, Joe Ray Skrha
At 6/29/2010 02:47:00 AM, punkdavid said...: Personally, I gained a whole new appreciation for CSNY from The Archives. I never thought much of them, but I now see them as a critical element in that period of Neil's career.

On the other hand, the 1974 CSNY tour might be the only tour of Neil's that I don't have a recording from (or if I do, I've never listened to one all the way through).

Whether it's great or terrible, I have a feeling that this box set will be PERFECTLY REPRESENTATIVE of the tour and all its greatness and terribleness.

--PunkDavid
At 6/29/2010 06:10:00 AM, Stringman said...: The 1974 tour will be a great addition to the Neil Young Archives. This tour was part of Neil's identification of what fame did to rock stars.
These CDs/DVDs will seem like another NYAPS disc without Neil having to divert is attention from his Archives Vol.2.
Some of the songs are excellent. The Wembley show from September 1974 is one show that is widely circulated on DVD.
The rawness of CSNY will be a delight to listen to and watch.

Regards

Stringman
At 6/29/2010 07:19:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Hope it will be available on Blu-ray as well.

Rancho Relaxo
At 6/29/2010 08:07:00 AM, tuned4life said...: I hope there will be something from Rich Stadium included. My memory of the event is pretty much a blur. Me and a dear departed friend drove from Northern N.Y. to Buffalo in a 1957 GMC 3/4 ton pick up truck. Smoked home grown all the way there. listened to 4 way street on an under dash ampex cassette deck. Got to Rich Stadium and ate a couple hits of acid. Youth maybe wasted on the youth but I wouldn't change a thing. Wish my friend could have lived another couple years to see the Archives released. Doug S. from Warsaw N.Y.
At 6/29/2010 08:39:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Homegrown is the way it should be...
At 6/29/2010 09:12:00 AM, MARIAN M. said...: My first time seeing Neil live (at the tender age of 19) was CSNY Reunion Tour 1974 @ Atlantic City Race Track (August 9)...standing for hours in the RAIN (rain, rain, rain, and still more rain), standing because there was nowhere to sit (all mud)! It was still all worth it to see Neil and the rest of the guys!

I loved seeing David Crosby walking out on stage holding up the newspaper with the headline in HUGE letters, "Nixon Resigns"; this was met with a thunderous roar from the audience. This whole show was a glorious celebration!

The only songs I'm sure about (36 years later) being played were "Don't Be Denied" and "Pushed It Over the End," which I LOVED! I have never seen a set list for this concert.

Is there anybody out there that can supply more information?

Even the possibility of a box set being released for this 1974 tour thrills my heart!!!!!!!

I sure hope this is true!!!!

Marian M.
At 6/29/2010 09:24:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Who's Eric Johnson?Off topic here I know.Has anybody else caught the cool/weird artwork on the NY Times at Neil's Garage?Made me wonder.

Rancho Relaxo
At 6/29/2010 10:45:00 AM, Archives Guy said...: For a bit of clarity on all of this-

This project is real and currently in production.
The release date and content are still undetermined at this time.

As some of you recall in your comments, this was very memorable tour and the outstanding mixes on this project should flood you with great memories.

It sounds GREAT!

-Archives Guy
At 6/29/2010 10:49:00 AM, Thrasher said...: Thanks AG!

I've heard that footage from the Washington, DC Capital Center exists. The Capital Center was the first sports arena to use video screens and every event was filmed to be displayed.

Sure we would be nice to see ... someday.
At 6/29/2010 11:01:00 AM, Homesick in Paradise said...: I'll try to ask Nash when I'm interviewing Crosby in Paris in two weeks ;-)
At 6/29/2010 11:42:00 AM, Anonymous said...: The 1974 Doom Tour might was well into Neil's Ditch phase, and yet another detour into the madness.. excess evident everywhere. I have loved my Wembley DVD and have watched it about 50 times - Neil's Don't Be Denied and Pushed it Over the Edge are iconic... Love Art Blues is sweet. and Joni Mitchell in attendance makes it all the more magical. Neil doesn't like this like he doesn't like TFA. Release them!!
At 6/29/2010 01:32:00 PM, terryfunku said...: Archives Guy-

Thanks for authenticating this project, man.

How much Neil material will likely make it into this package?

I know a few years ago (I think it was) Neil or Elliot or someone who basically said that he limits the use of his material into the CSNY box set items (especially from the '74 era stuff) because they were just being a jukebox and he was delivering tons of outstanding, new material.

If we only see a handful of unreleased gems on the CSNY box set, is it safe to assume the rest will show up on the Archives Volume 2?

I understand that due to no known release date any answer you give would be speculation.

Andy
At 6/29/2010 02:05:00 PM, Anonymous said...: As someone who got into Neil through CSNY, I don't get the negative vibes against this pairing. Does one leave it up to personal tastes?

Without CSNY, Neil would not have gotten the (almost instant) widespread recognition he received and deserved.
Nowadays the pendulum has changed and CSN needs Neil and not the other way around. I do think that Neil's reputation is based on his permutations including the Y in CSNY.
At 6/29/2010 04:35:00 PM, MDB said...: Man, topics like this one really bring out the name-dropping, been-there-done-that dig-me-isms. I, for one, will brag that I was born in 1977 and will outlive ALL of you. I am very, very healthy.

But anyway... CSNY at its worst in 1974 will be better than just about any rock we can see live in 2010, so BRING ON THE '74 BOX SET

- MDB (Just a Loser)

P.S. "Archives Guy" is actually Thrasher, delicately and creatively dripped into these threads to excite us all. Stirs conversation. God love him.
At 6/29/2010 05:24:00 PM, SONY said...: Sugar Moutain lists 81 songs from the CSNY 1974 tour. At 16 per disc, it's a a 5 disk setup. At 9 per disc, its a 9 disc gig. That's if versions of each song are included. Maybe individual shows in entirety? But that would be too repetitive. So to ponder........
At 6/29/2010 09:25:00 PM, Robert Ford said...: I do not see why this would come out when Neil has so many new projects going on. I would love to see the Trunk Show DVD and the new record before going for the 74' tour. Does not make sense to release music from a tour Neil has condemed as a disaster both musically and personally when their is great music happening now. Save this release for later.
- Robert Ford
At 6/29/2010 10:12:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I think Eric Johnson is the guy painting at the trunk Show.

And this makes lots of sense as the other performances series from volume two, might not get independant releases.

But I really wish Neil decided to do a small venue solo tour in 1974.
The setlists would surely boggle.
Syscrusher
At 6/29/2010 10:18:00 PM, Anonymous said...: neil did do a small venue tour in 74.....it's called the Bottom Line, NYC gig!

the best live Neil recording of all-time!

Johnny Rocket
At 6/29/2010 10:38:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Maybe the CSNY '74 project is another example of Neil being a good friend to his old pals. Neil's got this whole production team set up and that probably makes the process a lot more profitable and easier. With music sales down so dramatically, musicians who have enjoyed very comfortable lives now find their annuity cash flow streams at risk. The best way to make money these days as a musician other than touring is through specialty sets like this one. The fact is, evidenced from this thread, there's real demand for this product and perhaps Neil's helping these guys keep the cash spicket running. Neil hated the TFA tour and the album but we're begging him to bring it back and if he did I wouldn't fault him, I'd say despite his misgivings he's giving fans what they want. Its not unlike the archives MP3 download where the team broke their back to produce a Blue Ray version but some of us wanted to also have it on our ipods. Maybe CSNY '74 is right behind the TFA tour in terms of his hated tours but he's probably trying to be a gracious friend and feed the fans what they want. Otherwise, its hard to understand why his team would focus on this project when the could fast track Archives II, toast, Truck show on blue ray, ect...
At 6/30/2010 04:34:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Anonymous 02:05:00 wrote -As someone who got into Neil through CSNY, I don't get the negative vibes against this pairing.

As someone who was in high school in 1969 - sorry MDB - I remember how shocked we were with NY's decision to join CSN, we saw it as a Sell Out!

NY had to follow his own muse, and his fans knew it from the beginning.

Eat a peach.
At 6/30/2010 08:10:00 AM, Harm said...: I have the bootleg 2DVD set of the Wembley Concert, which is what I suppose they will use for the DVD, which will probably consist of highlights of that concert. On top of that, I have (had) a number of audio recordings of the 1974 tour. Although it has it's moments, it's an awful mess, that I cannot stop watching. It perfectly documents what was wrong with CSNY and that tour in particular, which makes it as compelling to watch as Muddy Track. The DVDs are unfortunately marred with all sorts of technical problems. Although the picture quality is fine, for a 1974 recording, the sound quality, or rather mix is poor. The problem with the tour was, that they had to play so damn loud that they could not even hear themselves (in that respect, the Grateful Dead's Wall of Sound was perfect, even if it did only yield mediocre recordings on board tapes, at least it was enjoyable for the audience present). The result was that Nash was outright screaming during the electrical sets, which makes it appalling to listen to it. Moreover, many of the instruments are mixed either too loud, or not loud enough. For example, the opening song 'Love the One Your With' is ALL organ and Black Queen is just Neil chopping away on his axe. If they can fix those mixing problems (pray that they have multi-track tapes) it will definitely be worth the effort, because there are so many highlights, in particular the Nash and Young acoustic stuff.
At 6/30/2010 08:17:00 AM, Harm said...: @PunkDavid
I have recently learned to re-appreciate CSNY live through 4 way street. Although the acoustic disc is honestly only so-so, NYA was much better in that respect, the electric disc is heaven. Stills adds so much to both Ohio and Southern Man. The guitar battle between him and Neil on the Down by the River performed on TV is also magic.
At 6/30/2010 10:40:00 AM, Anonymous said...: to Anonymous who claims Neil is allowing this release simply to be a "good friend" to his old comrades.....uh, PLEASE!

Neil's record sales have also dried up. I highly doubt the Archives were a monumental commercial success.....

Neil plays the game as well as anyone....

- he charges TOP dollar for concert tickets

- he charged TOP dollar for the Archives

- he's repackaged his releases in various formats, hoping his die-hard fans would buy the same stuff multiple times (ie, see the Performance Series releases, and see them again in the Archives)

Neil is not immune from price-gouging.

Johnny Rocket!
At 6/30/2010 08:10:00 PM, Mick said...: as always rocket man comes up with the same rehashed post about cost.

... I think it was Neil who said the archives were never going to make money. Lets face it the all the money Neil has spent personally on the archives will never be recovered by their sales. He has had 3 people working 20 years collecting/collating etc etc. I'm sure Warmer/Reprise are not footing the bill for the ongoing cost of supporting BD live or archives production team either.Nor would they have paid for the multiple formats Neil has had them transferred too, which he didnt release to sell to us by the way . If it was all about money we would have had the archives in the 90s on videotaoe, dvd only in the 2000s and bluray now.

He charges top dollar for the archives, as its a top shelf product on a new platform, so it was always going to cost more. Its not cheap ( DVD/BLURRAY), but I would like to see a similar quality product that can compare The CD version is very good value at $90, I cant believe people feel otherwise.The money spent in mastering to his standards I would think would also be substantial.

As for the repackaging, excluding fillmore and massey I dont agree. In the context of a 50 year career he has rehashed very little.Annoying in some respects as you couldnt get a decent version of EKTIN album until last year, excluding vinyl version!
At 7/01/2010 07:26:00 PM, Anonymous said...: JR,

If he was out for money he definitely wouldn't do CSNY '74 simply because he likely would have to split the money 4 ways and its hard to imagine the market for this product is so huge ... Neil has tons of stuff in he vaults, performance series kind of stuff, that he could break out and make far more money. He could do a big greatest hits summer tour and promote the crap out of it and make a fortune ... instead he's playing 2000 person theaters where 2/3rds of the seats cost $125 or less ... there's no money in that ... and artistically its just hard to imagine he'd prioritize this tour, therefore by inference I conclude he's being a good friend and helping his old pals during tough times .... Neil doesn't need the money and he's a money maker, much more so than his pals
At 2/21/2012 10:23:00 PM, hp said...: I was at the Cleveland concert in 1974.
About 100,000 people there in that big old stadium.

Neil Young was absolutely priceless, as usual. They were all great!

I remember Santana playing all their tunes from Caravanserai.

What was it we used to say way back then?
Oh yeah; peace, love, dope!