Bob Dylan & Neil Young's 1975 Malibu Jams w/ Crazy Horse

Neil Young and Bob Dylan
Entertainment Tonight on 4-1-86 

The never ending saga of Bob Dylan and Neil Young has always been a fascinating tale for us -- as well as -- many of our fellow travelers out there.

Today's guest post by Scott Bunn over on Recliner Notes, analyzes Dylan's song "Shelter from the Storm" and discusses the intersection between the Bob and Neil in Malibu during the 1975 Zuma album sessions.

While Young was recording the album Zuma with the reformed Crazy Horse in June 1975, Malibu Dylan wandered into the recording sessions that were happening at the Zuma Beach house belonging to producer David Briggs. McDonough writes about this encounter:

“Dylan, who lived around the corner from Briggs, shuffled in and joined the Zuma session, first on piano, then guitar.

‘He didn’t talk, just nodded,” said [Crazy Horse guitar player Frank ‘Poncho’ Sampedro]. ‘He was dressed in Sears clothes—I didn’t know it was Bob Dylan’…The action-packed lineup fizzled when the Horse inevitably fell apart. ‘We did a bunch of his songs, never got one right all the way through,’ said Poncho.

‘Neil told me later Dylan said, ‘Your band has a good beat, but they can’t play,’ and Neil replied, ‘Yeah, but think about it, Bob—you could play with them.’”

McDonough writes that Sampedro recalled Dylan leading Neil and Crazy Horse on a group of songs from Blood on the Tracks.

Now that really would be something if Neil ever locates any recordings of those sessions?! Also, a great Jimmy McDonough quote on Crazy Horse playing w/ Bob. priceless.

Full article “Shelter from the Storm” | Recliner Notes by Scott Bunn.

Also, see more on Bob Dylan and Neil Young: A Fascinating Saga.  

"Will The Circle Be Unbroken" - A Tribute to Elliot Roberts
REVIEW: Neil Young Bob Dylan - Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, Ireland - 14 July 2019
COMMENTARY + ANALYSIS: Bob Dylan and Neil Young: Tangled Up in Blue and Out of The Black

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Comment of the Moment: Remembering Neil Young w/ Booker T & the MGs, 1993 Concert Tour

 Neil Young w/ Booker T & the MGs + Pearl Jam and Blind MelonPoster by Frank Kozik(See Sugar Mountain @ 1993-09-05, The Gorge, George, Washington, USA) 

 

Last week we posted that over on Neil Young Archives, a new Timeline Concert of  Neil Young with Booker T & the MGs from 1993 USA & Euro Tour w/ Booker T. & The MGs at Finsbury Park - London, England on July 11, 1993 began streaming.

A real monster, mega outdoor festival concert with Pearl Jam opening for Neil Young with Booker T & the MGs and then coming out for a final encore on “Rockin’ in the Free World” (which was unrecorded due to "tape ran out"), Booker T & the MGs is considered -- in retrospect -- as yet another great Neil Young backing band.

Our  Comment of the Moment: Remembering Neil Young w/ Booker T & the MGs, 1993 Concert Tour by Dan:

Growing up in the 60’s and early 70’s Booker T. & the MG’s were an essential element in the fabric of the times. 

Not only did they record as a stand alone entity, but they were one of four incredible groups that were the backbone of some of the greatest artists of their generation. Along with Booker T. & The MG’s, The Funk Brothers , The Fame Gang, and The Wrecking Crew, these musicians were responsible for some of the greatest music ever recorded. The opportunity to actually witness any of these players live was extremely rare for a young white kid growing up in the Pacific Northwest. So when Booker T. & the MG’s went out on tour with Neil Young, I realized that it might be my last chance to experience at least one of these remarkable groups I’d grown up admiring.

September 6th 1993…. Blind Melon, Pearl Jam, and Neil Young with Booker T. & The MG’s. Outdoors at the Portland Meadows racetrack. Perfect weather and I believe it was sold out.

Blind Melon at that time were only really known for the one song (No Rain) which I liked, but it didn’t prepare me for their live performance. These guys were totally committed to the music and they came with intensity and purpose. They reminded me of The Doors, they were reckless and spontaneous, which I found extremely satisfying. People were throwing water bottles on stage (as they did all day long) and finally Shannon Hoon stops the music and say “look, if you’re going to throw stuff up here let’s just get it over with. So on three, just throw whatever you want on stage…one two three”…..The avalanche of paraphernalia which cascaded down from above was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. One of the items was actually someone’s wallet, so Shannon picks it up, starts pulling out the contents inside and proceeds to toss everything back into the crowd. A truly brilliant performance from beginning to end. What a shame we lost him so young, they were an amazing band.

Witnessing Pearl Jam in 1993 was such a gift. They were so young. Still finding their own sound and navigating the fame that had been thrust upon them. Still feeling like they had something to prove, and they came out swinging. The purest form of intensity can really only come from the young, still hungry and angry about everything. This is what I experienced watching Pearl Jam perform that beautiful day in the sun. How anyone could walk away from that, and not forever be a devoted fan of Pearl Jam is unthinkable. One of the most raw performances I’ve ever experienced.

I had already seen Neil in concert several times by this point, but the excitement I felt this time was a little bit different. I was going to be witness to a historic pairing. I got into Neil with ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere’, but but Booker T. & The MG’s had been with me since the early 60’s, so I spent much of this concert focused on them. Neil of course was in top form, and seemed to be relishing every single second getting to play with these four legends. There was an effortlessness in each and every note played that night, which has left an indelible mark on my soul. 

I was spellbound throughout the entire experience, and I feel truly blessed to have been there.

I still have the ticket stub….

ADULT $26.50
Produced By MCA Concerts
Neil Young
--X—Rain Or Shine—X—
No Coolers/Cameras Please
Mon. Sept. 6, 1993 4:30PM

Peace

Neil Young with Booker T & the MGs 

+ Pearl Jam & Teenage Fanclub 

Finsbury Park - London, England on July 11, 1993

(Ticket Stub via Sugar Mountain: 1993-07-11, Finsbury Park, London, England)

Thanks for the memories Dan!  

We saw the 1993 tour between Portland and England, along the U.S. East Coast.  More specifically, Walnut Creek Amphitheatre, in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Our opening bands were Blind Melon and local act The Connells.

BTW, a review noted that "Blind Melon has reached a puzzling level of popularity" and compared Blind Melon to  "Jane's Addiction covering The Grateful Dead"?!

and, we too, still have the ticket stub….somewhere ...

BTW#2, have you read A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon  by Greg Prato?

A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon  

by Greg Prato 

 

Here are some recollections of touring with Neil Young as an opening act in 1993 from the chapter titled 'Neil Young and Lenny Kravitz Tours/Rolling Stone Cover'.

More on Remembering Neil Young w/ Booker T & the MGs, 1993 Concert Tour.

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RARE Altamont: A New View - The Rolling Stones, CSNY & Hell’s Angels

"If Woodstock was the dream, Altamont was the nightmare".~~photographer Eamonn McCabe 

Neil Young w/ Crosby, Stills & Nash
Altamont - 1969

A never-before-seen home movie from the notorious Altamont Free Concert in 1969, in which the Hell’s Angels, who had been hired to provide security, stabbed a fan to death during a confrontation over a gun. It was a major cultural turning point of the era, and the heart of the Maysles Brothers 1970 documentary “Gimme Shelter.”

Thanks to U.S. Library of Congress, this home footage from the event that had never seen the light of day and it’s now available for viewing on the National Screening Room. (There is no audio, so don’t try to fix your sound.)

Mick Jagger (in red) and Keith Richards (in shades, natch), just off stage at the Altamont concert, hours before their segment turned deadly. Dec. 6, 1969. Home video footage. National Audio-Visual Conservation Center.

From  U.S. Library of Congress: (thanks Richard T.!)

And as is so often the case, the tale of how this remarkable video emerged from a mass of unprocessed films is a pretty good story on its own.

It starts in 1996 when archivist/historian/collector/polymath Rick Prelinger — one of the most influential thinkers in our field—acquired a cache of reels from Palmer Films, a San Francisco company that was going out of business. He added them to his burgeoning collection of ephemeral films.

In 2002, the Library acquired the roughly 200,000 reels in the Prelinger Collection. A press release predicted it would “take several years before the Library will be in a position to provide access to these films.” As it turns out, that was optimistic — we are still making steady progress on the collection 19 years later.

Then, not long ago, a technician working on the Prelinger Collection came across two reels of silent 8mm reversal positive—a common home movie format. The handwritten note on the film leader read “Stones in the Park,” so that was the title he gave it for our inventory.

When I saw that, I immediately thought that it could be a home movie of the July 5, 1969, Rolling Stones Hyde Park concert held in London a couple of days after the death of guitarist Brian Jones. But it could also be a copy of a documentary of the same name, which would make the discovery considerably less interesting.

Regardless, I sent the reels up for 2K digitization by our film preservation laboratory. A couple of days later, I heard from some very excited colleagues that the scan wasn’t the Hyde Park show. It was from the Altamont Speedway concert in California and it definitely wasn’t footage from the 1970 documentary.

Many people know the “Gimme Shelter” documentary pretty well,  but there’s a lot more in this home movie.

Carlos Santana performs at Altamont, Dec. 6, 1969. Home video footage. National Audio-Visual Conservation Center.

Although the footage is silent, we were all thrilled to see close-up footage of concert performers who were cut from the film, such as Carlos Santana and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. (CNSY wasn’t pleased with their performance and refused to let the Maysles include them.) It was especially great to see Gram Parsons fronting the Flying Burrito Brothers, since you only see the back of his head in “Gimme Shelter.” Even better, there are good shots of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards off-stage watching him perform!

The second reel is from the Stones’ evening performance, which, while it captures some of chaos so memorably seen in “Gimme Shelter,” doesn’t add anything to our understanding of the death of Meredith Hunter at the hands of a member of the Hell’s Angels.

So what’s the legal status of this home movie? After checking in with Rick to see if he had any inkling of the film’s existence—he didn’t—and not discovering any pertinent documentation, we believe that it is an orphan work, in this case abandoned at Palmer Labs by whoever shot it. They just never picked it up.

 CSNY onstage around ~11:00 .

A nervous looking Neil Young before going onstage w/ Crosby, Stills & Nash
Altamont - 1969

 

On a happier note, here's some memories of CSN & Neil Young at Woodstock. 

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Neil Young Archives: Answer to Answers #4 by Robert Broadfoot/NYU

“Neil Young Unreleased” | Facebook

Here is a curated summary of some of Neil Young's  most interesting answers to Letters to the Editor | Times-Contrarian |  Neil Young Archives by Robert Broadfoot.

From Members | Neil Young Archives:

Answer to Answers #4

by Robert Broadfoot

1-5-22

This is the fourth in a series of summaries of Neil’s most interesting answers to Letters to the Editor in the NYA Times-Contrarian. These replies date from October 27 to December 17, 2021, and are, as always, collated and curated by the “Neil Young Unreleased” Facebook group. Editorial comments are generally marked in [square brackets] and dates refer to the date of publication. 

NOTE: Edited summary below.  Full details @  LTE | T-C |  NYA.

Albums / Films / Timeline Concerts

• On plans to make Trans and other Geffen years albums available in high resolution audio on NYA: “We have finalized our agreement with Universal regarding the Geffen albums. And those albums and tracks will be available on NYA right after the new year.” Also: “Management tells me we will soon have [Where The] Buffalo Roam too.” (2021-12-17)
• “Ragged Glory is done and in line for release 22.” (2021-12-17)
• On a suggestion to take binding, pre-paid, pre-orders of Archive Volume box sets in the future to avoid the problems and shortages associated with Vol. 2 and help Reprise to know how many copies (minimum) they need to produce: “We had considered that option but some elements of the box set have very long lead times and it’s just not practical to take pre-orders that far in advance.” On limited edition releases generally: “We’ve discussed this with our team at Reprise following the Vol 2 problems, and have decided that we will no longer be releasing limited editions. We will be more prepared in ordering enough box sets to cover everyone who would like to buy it.” (2021-12-17)
• “Mirror Ball is in V 4”, meaning Archives Vol. 4. (2021-12-17). Elsewhere Neil says the Mirror Ball Live Dublin film from the1995 tour with Pearl Jam could be coming in Archives Vol. 4 “or earlier”. (2021-12-06)
• In future, access to hi-res downloads, when included in a new album sale, will be made available “early in the morning on release day [Eastern Time]”. It is apparently not possible for them to be made available earlier, although no explanation is given. [Presumably to prevent them getting into the wrong hands and being widely distributed before official release?] (2021-12-17)
• Neil is already thinking about a new album. [This has also been mentioned in several recent interviews. Several songs are almost ready and may include the songs Chevrolet and Break The Chain. Neil played an excerpt of the latter during the Howard Stern interview from 15 Dec 2021.] (2021-12-06)
• Neil says he will check if Sleeps With Angels is going to be re-released on vinyl. [Presumably he means prior to the eventual re-release in the Original Release Series.] (2021-12-01)
• Neil thinks that Johnny ‘s Island may be made available as a separate standalone album in addition to its inclusion on Archives Vol. 3. (2021-12-01)
• Neil is asked why some films shot in high definition appear on NYA in “poor quality”. “I will ask” says Neil. (2021-11-22)
• The soundtrack of the Jonathan Demme film Heart Of Gold is not and will not be made available as an audio release. (2021-11-22)
• High Flyin’ – The Ducks from the Official Bootleg Series is currently scheduled for the first half of 2022. (2021-11-21)
• Neil is asked to include his own recordings which are still missing on NYA from the Journey Through The Past soundtrack album, even if the rights to songs by other artists are not yet cleared. His answer: “This should be up really soon! Maybe even as early as next week.” [They are not there yet!] (2021-11-21)
• Asked about songs from the same 1974 era which were not included on Homegrown but possibly planned for inclusion on a so-far-unreleased Homefires album, Neil does not now mention the Homefires project, but simply says: “They will be added [to NYA] in other ways.” (2021-11-21)
• Asked about the 1987 concept album Meadow Dusk with “synthesizer and New Age instrumentals”, Neil says: “Lost in the shuffle. Never completed.” (2021-11-21)
• “Landing On Water has been remastered by the Volume Dealers in hi res from the original analog masters. Best ever!”. [Presumably this work is for the planned Original Release Series edition of the Geffen albums rather than for Archives Vol. 3, but who knows for sure?] (2021-11-21)

Songs

• Yours truly wrote to Neil to question the 27 Nov 1975 date of the recording of Like A Hurricane as shown on the NYA file card. [It’s a long and complicated story, so I suggest you go read the original letters as well as Neil’s very interesting response.] Neil seems to have taken up the challenge and says his team will research the case soon. (2021-12-17)
• Asked [also by me!] about a number of studio recordings which have been released on singles or on promo releases but which are not (yet) on NYA, Neil replies: “Most of these are volume 4 and will be on that release… some will be added to the Archives [NYA].” (2021-12-06)
• Asked if he has any other ‘home recordings’ (i.e., like the basic track of Will To Love which was done in front of the fire for example), Neil says: “I don’t have any demos from home on old tape recorders!”. [I am sure we are all hoping that he has and has just forgotten about them for now!] (2021-12-06)
• Neil is asked to put a film version of When You Dance on Hearse Theater and replies: “There is no film version other than in Year Of The Horse.” [Now that is not really true. There are versions in both of the movies Rust Never Sleeps and In A Rusted Out Garage.] (2021-12-06)
• Neil confirms that they have a studio version of Hawaii which was recorded with the Stills-Young Band in 1976. (2021-12-06)
• Neil liked a suggestion of adding the ‘Crazy Harvesters’ live version of Misfits from the 1985 tour to Archives Vol. 3. (2021-12-01)
• Neil implies that the studio version of You Never Call, seen on the Le Noise video but not included on the album, may make it onto NYA as an audio track. (2021-12-01)
• The shorter edit of Like An Inca to be found on the LP release was shortened to “maintain quality listening volume levels” on the vinyl album. (2021-12-01)
• Neil is asked if he could make a live version of Sad Movies from the 1976 European tour available on NYA as an outtake: “Sounds possible. I am checking.” (2021-12-01)
• Neil was asked about a list of studio recordings, particularly from the 1972 to 1975 period, which are known to exist but which have not been included on Archives releases so far. Neil’s answer: “Many of those songs are on the way. We have not forgotten them.” (2021-11-21)
• Neil says that the film documentary “Honour The Treaties… is coming in 22, documenting what we did to help.” (2021-11-03)

Archives Volumes

• Vol. 3 will now be 13 discs, including Summer Songs and Johnny’s Island, all due mid-2022. (2021-12-01 / 2021-11-03)
• Vol. 3 will definitely be released on Blu-ray, not on DVD. [A CD edition will also be available.] (2021-11-17)
• A re-release of Archives Vol. 1 “is coming in ’22 for sure”. (2021-11-17)
• Films which are included in the Blu-ray version of the Archives Vol. 3 box set will not be available as digital downloads, either for free or for purchase. (2021-11-03)

NYA Stuff

• Neil is asked if he can create file cards on NYA, with lyrics and other details, for songs which are so far unreleased on audio media but which are already available on NYA in films or Timeline Concerts. Neil says: “We will look into this for you.“ (2021-11-21)
• Neil confirms that the announcement of his Zoom calls for Patron-level subscribers will always be at very short notice and only announced by e-mail to members. “We do not want the media to get it and spread it around the world. It’s just for NYA users who happen to be there.” (2021-10-27)

Miscellaneous

• When asked about the “oldest active piece of sound equipment” which Neil still uses, “and don’t say Billy.” Neil replies: “Ralph”. (!) (2021-12-06)
• Neil’s sci-fi novel Canary “is done except for the art (paintings). That’s next… I’m sure it will come out someday!!” (2021-11-10)
• Neil says music “cassettes are coming back. They sound better than most digital files”. (2021-11-10)
• Asked again about producing an illustrated book of his complete lyrics, Neil answers: “I have been thinking about that. Trying to find the time and concept to do it.” (2021-11-10)
• In response to a request to provide audio download files of the soundtrack songs with DVD film releases, an NYA team discussion decided against it. Audio downloads will only be available with audio albums. (2021-11-03)
• Talking about the Bridge School, Neil says: “Bridge may have a big announcement coming soon in 22.” (2021-11-03)

 

Full details Answer to Answers #4 by Robert Broadfoot/NYU at Letters to the Editor | Times-Contrarian |  Neil Young Archives.

Thanks again Robert for all the invaluable research! So much unreleased, so much time.  Lucky us.  More on Curated Summary: Neil Young's Answers #3 | Letters to the Editor | Times-Contrarian | Archives.

Also, here are details on Robert's other Neil research:

DOWNLOAD FILE @ 

#NYU - Neil Youngs Missing Recordings V4.0 (c) Robert Broadfoot 2021.pdf (right click to "Save As")

If you see any corrections or updates, please share a comment below.

Neil Young's Unreleased Songs:
The Unofficial Archive - UPDATE Version 7 (Abridged): 12 November 2019

Also, see Neil Young's Unreleased Songs: UNCLE EDDIE'S CUPBOARD + The Unofficial Archive - UPDATE Vers. 7 + COTM.

Also, see Neil Young's Missing Recordings | NYU.

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And many, many eternal thanks to all the unsung researchers and their labors of love. 

... gone but NEVER forgotten ... e

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REVIEW: “Timeline Concert” - Neil Young w/ Booker T & the MGs, 7/11/1993 | Old Grey Cat

SAVE THE WAILSFans had "widespread teeth chattering” and “blankets and hot coffee would have been a greater boon than a pea souper.” Max Bell, Guardian Newspaper Review

Neil Young with Booker T & the MGs 

+ Pearl Jam & Teenage Fanclub 

Finsbury Park - London, England on July 11, 1993

 

Last week we posted that over on Neil Young Archives, a new Timeline Concert of  Neil Young with Booker T & the MGs from 1993 USA & Euro Tour w/ Booker T. & The MGs at Finsbury Park - London, England on July 11, 1993 began streaming.

A real monster, mega outdoor festival concert with Pearl Jam opening for Neil Young with Booker T & the MGs and then coming out for a final encore on “Rockin’ in the Free World” (which was unrecorded due to "tape ran out"), Booker T & the MGs is considered -- in retrospect -- as yet another great Neil Young backing band.

From Old Grey Cat blog:

Bell [Max Bell, Guardian Newspaper Review, above] called the combination [Neil Young with Booker T & the MGs] “bizarre.”

Andy Gill of the Independent agreed: “On paper, it just doesn’t work: Neil Young, the most quixotically gifted singer-songwriter of his generation, given to wild mood swings between maudlin sentiment and raw, sculpted guitar feedback frenzy; and Booker T & the MGs, the tightest, crispest soul band of them all.” Bell called the result “solid and dependable,” however, while Gill found the pairing “a little one-sided,” saying that the MGs were “a tough, stable bedrock where Crazy Horse were once looser and wirier in the support.” 

Still, both enjoyed the shows.

As tape-trading and/or bootleg-buying fans have long known, however, the MGs were more than just “solid and dependable.” They provided utterly brilliant support. For additional proof of that indisputable fact (says I, at any rate), give a listen to the streaming-only release of this concert, which was made available on the Neil Young Archives last September. While Crazy Horse engages in what I’ve come to call “brutal grace,” the MGs provide a sonic tonic of pure soul throughout. They add layers of depth to “Southern Man,” for example, and their support on “Helpless” and “Harvest Moon” lifts those heartfelt songs into the stratosphere. Likewise, “Like a Hurricane” and “Down by the River” soar. They also get down and dirty when need be, such as during the combustible “Live to Ride.”

 Thanks OGC! See full review at Neil Young With Booker T & the MGs, 7/11/1993 – A “Timeline Concert” Review | Old Grey Cat blog.

From the concert, the cover of Otis Redding’s “(Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay”:

Neil Young with Booker T & the MGs 

+ Pearl Jam & Teenage Fanclub 

Finsbury Park - London, England on July 11, 1993

Poster via Sugar Montain

More on  “Timeline Concert” -  Neil Young w/ Booker T & the MGs, 7/11/1993.

Also, see Neil Young Archives: Complete Listing of "Timeline Concerts of the Week" + UPDATE: NYA Subscriber News.

 "Timeline Concert of the Week" | NYA

(See Neil Young Archives: Complete Listing of "Timeline Concerts of the Week" + UPDATE: NYA Subscriber News)

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