Supergroup bills often suggest a near-perfect show or album is on our hands. How could it not? On paper, the collaborative efforts of David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young, is a defiant pairing of some of the best voices and lyricists of the 1970s. In practice, it feels rough and a rugged portion of their live work is now available thanks to Live at Fillmore East, 1969. A fresh mix of their hour-long stage show and the cracks in their unit begin to show. Their individual mastery of the stage – namely Crosby and Young – is magnificent. Pairing them with Stills and Nash here is, or should be, a goldmine of influential materials. But it was not to be. Their tours the whole way through its lifespan, up to the death of Crosby, have struggled to piece together a consistency the group found in the studio.
Where Suite: Judy Blue Eyes serves as the opener, the first moment of note, of real interest, comes in the form of a cover of The Beatles’ Blackbird. Somehow softer in its acoustic melody than the Paul McCartney-led original ever was, the collective vocal overlap found on this cover is beautiful. Vocal flubs on Helplessly Hoping are all part of the character these four bring to the stage and while it rarely happens elsewhere in Live at Fillmore East, 1969, the genuine passions and quality of the instrumental partnership between Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, is a delight. Warmth is the key to this acoustic set, later electrified and spinning all the same emotions but with a new layer of guitar depth. Live at Fillmore East, 1969 depends on the moments of quiet. They appear best of all on Guinnevere.
Much of this live album will depend on your infatuation and admiration for the four men performing. They provide admirable works on stage but it is never close to perfection. Pieces like Go Back Home feel frankly melodramatic in their delivery, in the isolation provided by the guitar. It feels fractured rather than a united front from the four. Young makes up the best moments on Live at Fillmore East, 1969, with some astounding performances highlighted best of all by On the Way Home. What follows is a series of unremarkable but pleasant moments, punctuated by the occasional turn of vocal interest, Long Time Gone, for instance. Ultimately their political prowess and the shared messages of defiance at a time of complete and utter turmoil for the United States is what guides Live at Fillmore East, 1969.
An acoustic to electric transition does very little to coax a fresh blaze or flame from this live performance, which continues on with a heaviness to the instrumentals, a dreamy attitude in the lyrical delivery and the hope of an audience, of a listener now, being taken along for the ride. Down By the River is the best of this electrified bunch and before you know it, the performance is over. Not much of an impact, this one. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were a monumental experience but each was so similar in their style and tone, in their reach for some greater impact on the public consciousness, that they blur together when working together on stage. Live at Fillmore East, 1969 is one for dedicated fans of all four, but there is little more to it than that.
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Firmore east is also where Led Zeppelin performed I saw it in their new movie Becoming Led Zeppelin
One of the best live a,bums ever. Just so great. A magic show caught on vinyl. Now we can put it on, fire one up, and relive a time when music was made by people who cared about music, not just money. All involved here went on to make music t h at has enriched our lives. Something about Filmore East just seems to create magic moments. Thanks guys.
I always thought the key to understanding CSN&Y was the ‘And’. CSN was a great idea but both Stills and Crosby had ideas above their heads. I always thought Stills in particular had a kind of ‘what’s all this fuss about the Beatles’ thing as if he was a genius waiting to happen – the guy who tried to be a Monkee when the Beatles were making Revolver! Anyway CSN was a good band but vastly over-hyped. Going back to the ‘And’ Young was never a good fit for any band, almost like inviting Bruce Springsteen to join. It was never going to happen, it seemed a great idea but adding a massive ego to a band containing two existing ego’s and an ego who could actually back-up their claims was a disaster.