"ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"
Neil Young + The Santa Monica Flyers
The confirmed news that Neil Young's next release will be "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE" has -- as usual -- brought about a mixed reaction.
The Tonight's the Night tour concerts from 1973 are quite legendary amongst most long-time Neil Young fans. Many fans attending the tour concerts were bewildered by the experience expecting hippie acoustic sets in the post Harvest era, yet received loud, harsh, edgy electric sets.
But time has since revealed the true masterpiece that the album Tonight's the Night captured. We have explored this topic in depth over the decades.
Which brings us to the Thrasher's Wheat Comment of the Moment on Neil Young's "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE": Release Date - 4/21 by the always intrepid TopangaD:
It will be a decent release, but once again ole' Neil sort of contradicts his own words and goals. He talks about the archives as getting the music out as part of the historical record, etc, so why not give us a FULL SHOW or at least a document that includes ALL of the songs played during the ROXY run?Thanks so much TopangaD.!
And don't tell me it's all about Tonight's the Night. That theory doesn't hold because we are getting Walk On...
Lord, he's infuriating! I'm really not a fan of revisionist history--I want to hear full shows regardless of what Neil may have felt or wanted the focus to be on. Yes, Down By The River and Cowgirl In The Sand have been played to death, but the versions from '73 differ from those that came before and after. Plus, The Losing End is more rare and needs to be heard in context...
As it stands, I'm really not too excited about this upcoming release. The Tonight's the Night album and recording sessions and time period has so many interesting stories to be told and heard, but this release seems to me to barely scratch the surface. Neil could give us a true document of the time, but this just sounds like an incomplete live show (or a splicing together of multiple shows) that leaves out way too much of the story.
I say give us the show(s) and give us the historical story and associated ephemera, warts and all. I want to hear the "original" album, the outtakes, the snippets, the sessions, the reactions from the band and the press and the fans. I want a full document of the American and European tours as they happened, and I want details about the release of the album and how it was initially perceived.
Rant over--I'm glad we're getting at least a partial document of the Roxy performances. I suppose someday we'll get the rest of the story...
"Take my advice
Don't listen to me"
We hear where you're coming from here. For us, the raw Tonight's the Night recordings hold much value in peeking in on that critical timeframe: The Season of The Ditch. Producer David Briggs allegedly had a Tonight's the Night "raw version" which included all of the tape roll pre- and post-song recording. All of the studio, drunken, stoned chatter between the band, The Producer and The Artist. But the tape seems to have been lost to the ages...
So -- in the meantime -- we look forward to ROXY LIVE.
Open the tired eyes.
4 Disc Vinyl Record Store Day Limited Edition Pressing
Neil Young's "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"
More on Tonight's the Nightand the The Ditch Trilogy.
Yeah, I tend to agree with you. This is why I'd prefer the artist wasn't so intricately involved with their own archives, and that as fans we'd get a more complete picture if someone other than Neil was deciding what gets released. It just seems a little thin, much like the Fillmore Crazy Horse album which didn't include everything. Why not release a full show, or several shows?
ReplyDeleteLooks like there are six tracks on disc one shown on the photo but only three on the track listing.Maybe the IRD release is a different version?
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. The archives thus far have been a disappointment. Neil said it would be "warts and all" but we've hardly gotten anything resembling that. Looking forward to Roxy though
ReplyDeleteFull on agree, and don't want to complain as anything is better than nothing and will ultimately wait till its released both physically and on the archives site - who knows we may get a big surprise and a complete more material (all songs/versions even some video, photos) on the archives compared to the physical record, but agree us fans want the warts and all and all of the songs not a sanitised reduced product that favour the record companies/outlets - great to hear different versions of songs played in different eras/bands etc. So lets have it all Neil, don't sanitise the online archive please!
ReplyDeleteI’m guessing that the inclusion of the non-TTN Walk On is a commentary toward people like me who didn’t buy into believing that Tonight’s the Night is a great album. Actually, it may be directed at the (apparently) lots of people who went to shows on that tour and were very disappointed with the material and performances. (They did their thing and Neil did his...)
ReplyDeleteThere very earliest performances of the TTN material included 'Walk On' as the bookend song in place of 'Tonight's The Night'.
DeleteAll good points here, but knowing Neil I’m just glad to be getting something. Yes full shows would be my preference but Neil’s in charge so I will take what he’s offering with joy. I’m grateful that something is coming out from the Roxy shows regardless of what I want. Something is always better than nothing.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Neil and his recordings go; (and I'm pretty sure they are his to do with as he pleases,) he doesn't owe anyone not even the time of day at this point. There is already more of his music and other artifacts available to the general public than any other artist I can dream up; past or present.. And yet people want to wring their hands? You haven't even had time to fully digest his last two albums yet. Take a breath and relax. It's all good.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Dan and Doug!!! I want a 2018 show hahgaha!!!!
ReplyDeleteCan someone explain the "4 Disc" photo above??? Is that supposed to represent the three sides of music and the 4th side of etched artwork or is that some special actual 4 disc special record store edition??? Please answer!
ReplyDeleteWhy do I have to wait an extra week to buy the CD? It's like NY punishes people who don't but his (and everyone else's) way, way , WAY over=priced vinyl versions for an INFERIOR music source. Yeah, CD is also an inferior music source, but at least it doesn't degrade overtime I drag a needle/laser through it! It also has a DYNAMIC RANGE that people in the 60's-80s only dreamt about. That portion of the CD wasn't realized until the 90s, as anyone who's heard an 80s CD can testify! But it is true. Anyway, I'm out of luck for I will have to travel 2 hours roundtrip for RSD and I won't be coming home w/ this new NY release. ARGH!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMany old people will tell you that, way back in the second half of the 1980s, the main reason that they enthusiastically embraced the new CD technology is that CDs sounded so much better than vinyl and cassettes. We heard the music clearly -- and heard nuances of the recordings that we'd never heard before.
ReplyDeleteCDs sounded better than our albums. CDs were amazing.
(skip, crackle, pop...)