Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Live at the Fillmore East (Reprise)

Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten overdosed and died the same night Neil Young fired him in 1972. His long shadow hung over Young’s mournful eulogy, 1975’s chilling Tonight’s the Night; Whitten and Young’s “Come on Baby’s Let’s Go Downtown,” a song about scoring drugs, taunted Young & Crazy Horse in their struggle to pick up the remaining pieces. Live at the Fillmore East, Young’s handpicked, first installment in his Archives Performance Series, is an attempt to reframe that same recording into its original setting. In the context of this historic, two-night stand in March 1970, the song now celebrates Whitten’s short-lived, simple brilliance. In fact, Fillmore‘s crux is in the original Crazy Horse’s irreplaceable affinity. The band gets equal treatment on the marquee, a formal introduction, and none of Young’s solo acoustic performances are included. As the opening “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” attests, the collective was still smoking hot from recording both of Young’s 1969 solo LPs. Young and Whitten are truly kindred spirits; their rustic guitars roam freely on highlights “Cowgirl in the Sand” and “Down by the River.” Consider this the setting sun.

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This article appears in December 15 • 2006.

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