Performer Notes

Crazy Horse/Neil Young: Neil Young; Billy Talbot (bass guitar); Danny Whitten, Jack Nitzsche, Ralph Molina.
Personnel: Neil Young (vocals, guitar); Danny Whitten (vocals, guitar); Ralph Molina (vocals, drums); Jack Nitzsche (electric piano).
Audio Mixers: Neil Young; John Nowland; Peter K. Siegel.
Recording information: The Fillmore East (03/06/1970/03/07/1973).
Photographer: Joel Bernstein.
Neil Young's in-concert guitar prowess with Crazy Horse is well documented. LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST, recorded at a 1970 performance, nevertheless, fills a major hole in the Young legacy, containing the only live recordings of Young's legendary guitar interplay with original Crazy Horse member Danny Whitten, who died the following year. Performing songs from their most recent release, EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE, the band simultaneously digs in with a visceral, gritty gestalt, and expands outward with Young and Whitten's exploratory six-string journeys.
Of added interest to hardcore Young fans are performances of three songs that wouldn't be recorded until years later--the countrified "Come on Baby Let's Go Downtown," the elegiac "Winterlong," and the lovelorn shuffle "Wonderin'." Augmenting the basic quartet of Young, Whitten, and the stalwart rhythm section of Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot is Young's once-and-future producer Jack Nitzsche on electric piano. Together the five create a thick, sprawling sonic beast that unfolds itself with undeniable gravitas over the course of this priceless set.
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Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.130) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The guitar interplay between Young and original Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten is breathtakingly sharp..."

Rolling Stone (p.110) - Ranked #2 in Rolling Stone's "The Top 10 Reissues Of 2006" -- "'Cowgirl in the Sand' is stuttering fuzz-guitar ecstasy."

Spin (p.83) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[O]n the 14-minute 'Cowgirl in the Sand,' everyone is immortal."

Entertainment Weekly (p.109) - "[The album] finds him in March 1970, transforming the twang of his second solo LP into a string-scraping squall." -- Grade: B+

Q (p.146) - "Live At The Fillmore East finds Young and Crazy Horse in fine form. As ever, Young's plaintive voice is set against the band's rolling thunder..."

CMJ (p.43) - "[T]his backwards glance features original Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten....[A] significant piece of history..."

Dirty Linen (p.43) - "[The album] rocks hard, and after almost 36 years still sounds fresh and contemporary."