Anyone who has followed
Neil Young's career knows enough not to expect a simple evening of mellow good times when they see him in concert, but in 1973, when
Young hit the road after
Harvest had confirmed his status as a first-echelon
rock star, that knowledge wasn't nearly as common as it is today.
Young's natural inclinations to travel against the current of audience expectations were amplified by a stormy relationship between himself and his touring band, as well as the devastating death of guitarist
Danny Whitten, who died of a drug overdose shortly after being given his pink slip during the first phase of tour rehearsals. The shows that followed turned into a nightly exorcism of
Young's rage and guilt, as well as a battle between himself and an audience who, expecting to hear
"Old Man" and
"Heart of Gold," didn't know what to make of the electric assault they witnessed. All the more remarkably,
Young brought along a mobile recording truck to capture the tour on tape for a live album and the result,
Time Fades Away, was a ragged musical parade of bad karma and road craziness, opening with
Young bellowing "14 junkies, too weak to work" on the title cut, and closing with
"Last Dance," in which he tells his fans "you can live your own life" with all the optimism of a man on the deck of a sinking ship. While critics and fans were not kind to
Time Fades Away upon first release, decades later it sounds very much of a piece with
Tonight's the Night and
On the Beach, albums that explored the troubled zeitgeist of America in the mid-'70s in a way few rockers had the courage to face. If the performances are often loose and ragged, they're also brimming with emotional force, and despite the dashed hopes of
"Yonder Stands the Sinner" and
"Last Dance," "Don't Be Denied" is a moving remembrance of
Young's childhood and what music has meant to him, and it's one of the most powerful performances
Young ever committed to vinyl. Few rockers have been as willing as
Young to lay themselves bare before their audience, and
Time Fades Away ranks with the bravest and most painfully honest albums of his career -- like the tequila
Young was drinking on that tour, it isn't for everyone, but you may be surprised by its powerful effects. ~ Mark Deming
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