Product Description

Recorded live at Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Morrison, Colorodo on September 19-20, 2000. Songs include: Motorcycle Mama, Powderfinger, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, I Believe In You, Unknown Legend, Fool For Your Love, Buffalo Springfield Again, Razor Love, Daddy Went Walkin', Peace Of Mind, Walk On, Winterlong, Bad Fog of Loneliness, Words, Harvest Moon, World On A String, Tonight's The Night, Cowgirl In The Sand, Mellow My Mind.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14873 in DVD
• Brand: YOUNG,NEIL
• Released on: 2000-12-05
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 122 minutes

Customer Reviews

Tonight's the Night!!
After reading somewhat mixed reviews here, I came close to passing this dvd by. But now, having had my walls rocked by this performance, the negative words in some reviews don't hold rain water with me. What you have is the best seat in the house to an ultimately impassioned concert taking place at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Young is amazing as he leads the troups through a set that covers much of his career and hits a cressendo with World on a String, Tonight's the Night and an incredible performance of Cowgirl in the Sand. You truly get a concert experience with the 5.1 surround sound and feel you're part of a crowd that is not fazed by pounding rain. This concert is so much better than the cd of the same name. Don't expect Crazy Horse-like energy from the backup musicians, they mostly provide the canvas for Neil to paint his artwork on. Bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn was statue-like the entire show but as Neil blew the sky's roof off the outdoor setting, even Dunn was moved to blinking to the beat.

Fans of Neil Young won't be disappointed unless they're expecting some sort of MTV Video, this is a rock concert.

While We Await the Archives
Neil Young's Archive project has been in the works for so long, one has to wonder if it'll ever see the light of day. I remember it was original touted as a sequel to Decade, spanning the second ten years of his career--a period that ended in 1987! While we wait, however, Neil is providing us with plenty of great material, and this new DVD is no exception. I think if someone wanted one purchase to crystallize and boil down Neil's career to its essence, this might be the best one. No one show or CD can cover everything he's ever done, but this comes close. Not as pretty as the Silver and Gold DVD, not as ragged as the Year of the Horse movie, this show has elements of power and beauty, sometimes displayed simultaneously. Highlights include chestnuts like Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and I Believe In You, as well as newer songs like Razor Love. The band is terrific, including veterans like Don Dunn of Booker T & the MG's on bass, Jim Keltner on drums, Spooner Oldham on the keys, and Neil's old pal Ben Keith on several instruments. Though this show took place at Red Rocks in Colorado, I saw a similar show from the same tour this summer in New Jersey, and I loved it then, too. There aren't too many big hits here, although there is an eighteen minute Cowgirl In The Sand that the band launches into just as the heavens open up, but it's all good. If you're a big Neil fan and you've never seen him do great songs like Winterlong and World On A String and Peace of Mind live, here's your chance. Don't miss it. And if you're not a big fan of Neil's voice, well, his wife and his sister sing backing vocals, making this more listenable for you than a solo show or Crazy Horse concert would be.

The other Neil Young
This is one of the finest concert recordings ever made for several reasons:
1) Neil Young.
2) absolutely no, I repeat no audience shots.
3) one of the finest concert venues (visually, I can't attest to the acoustics... someone else will have to do that) hands down.
4) the intriguing set list. I'm of the opinion that Neil selected this particular band to put on video the particular songs, the particular types of songs, given voice here. I view it as a companion video to 'Live Rust', creating a historical record of the 'other' Neil Young. This Neil is a country/folk rocker, and this Neil has plenty of country/folk rock in his litany to choose from... 'Motorcycle Mama', 'Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere', 'Powderfinger', 'I Believe In You', 'Unknown Legend', and the list goes on and on. Neil selects gems from nearly each and every stage of his career, and the performances just get better and better as the concert (actually filmed over at least two nights at the Red Rocks Amphitheater outside Denver) progressed. 'Powderfinger' would be the best song on this recording if it wasn't for 'Razor Love', and 'Razor Love' would be the best song if it wasn't for 'Walk On', and 'Walk On' would be the best song if it wasn't for 'Words', and 'Words' would be the best song if it wasn't for 'Cowgirl In the Sand'... it's that kind of a performance.

This is certainly a different ballgame from 'Live Rust', or the 'In Berlin' concerts. 'Live Rust' was a greatest hits compilation, featuring first a solo acoustic set, and then the unparalleled Crazy Horse electric set. 'In Berlin' still drew from the 'Rust Never Sleeps' zenith of Neil's career, but offered a glimpse of the radical transitions Young would be flipping through in the 1980's, seemingly trying to find his footing in a changing landscape, and mastering several distinct genres in the process. Both recordings feature a smattering of drama, 'Live Rust' telling a chronological story of growing up, and toying with the off-beat Road Eyes, while 'In Berlin' features the high energy presence of Nils Lofgren. Another Neil concert tape, 'Weld', is in a league all it's own, featuring Neil as the Godfather of Grunge, and giving Crazy Horse it's wildest workout. That recording is significantly marred by audience shots of some of the most unforgettable concert groupies around (after a bit, you would prefeer to forget, but you can't).

'Red Rocks Live - Friends and Relatives' is none of that. It's just Neil and his friends (Jimmy Keltner on drums, Donald 'Duck' Dunn on bass, Ben Keith on a variety of guitars, but mostly steel guitar, and on keyboards) and relatives (wife Peggy Young and sister Astrid Young doing an admirable job on backing vocals). The filming is, for the most part, right on the money. It alternates between at least two nights of filming, one calm and the other blustery, and culminating in a drenching downpour that finally works its way onto the performers, and adds some REAL electricity and thunderous appeal to the epic final runs of the first encore, 'Cowgirl In the Sand'.

Don't believe any of the criticisms you read here. Sure, Neil is older, sure, some of these songs have probably been performed again and again and get to be old hat to the performers (I was watching the CSN portion of 'Woodstock' the other day and thought... would you ever get as fresh a performance as this ever again?... impossible). On the other hand, like old wine there are elements of the performance that only improve with age... the arrangements get tighter, better thought out, and carry a certain nostalgic appeal that only time can muster. This is a performer giving us impressions of songs that have lived with us through the decades, and if you can't appreciate that... well, you just don't realize what you are missing.

Highlights include some terrific romantic ballads, such as 'Winterlong', 'Harvest Moon', 'Peace Of Mind', and 'Razor Love', touching blues numbers such as 'Bad Fog of Lonliness' (a staple of Young concerts for many years, and available for the first time here on an official release) and 'Fool For Your Love', upbeat rock numbers such as 'Walk On' and 'World On a String', and classic performances of 'Words' and 'Cowgirl In the Sand'. The acoustic set features 'Daddy Went Walking' and 'Buffalo Springfield Again', displaying Young's continued relevance. There is also a very appealing version of "Tonight's the Night', featuring Neil on a bluesy piano while Keith handles the lead guitar lines on his steel guitar. I'm also fond of the vibes on 'Winterlong'.

In short, this is nothing less than an essential componant of any complete Neil Young collection, and dare I say an essential componant of any well-rounded library of rock history. At the very least, if you enjoy watching a great rock show... get this now.