I just watched the concert DVD of Neil Young "Heart of Gold'. It was recorded at the Ryman in Nashville in August 2005.
Apparently it started out to be a live rendition of Neils latest (?) album Prairie Wind; the first half of the concert I believe includes all of the songs from that album. The scond half (which was added to 'flesh out' the concert) is what caught my attention. This included lots of his classic 'acoustic' hits like Heart of Gold, Old Man, The Needle and the Damage Done, Four Strong Winds, and Comes a Time. All songs are performed very, VERY true to the original recorded versions.
The songs are performed acoustically, with barely an electric guitar in sight. That's not to say the arrangments are sparse - they're not. Instruments include acoustic guitars (lots of em), bass, drums, percussion, piano, steel guitar, banjo, fiddle (?), lots of backup singers, and a few others that I'm not sure what they're called.
In a typical 'unplugged' fashion, Neil gives some insight to the meanings of the songs and/or what he was doing at the time he wrote or recorded them. Very interesting. Mr. Young seemed to be in exceptionally good voice (esp. for him). The dvd includes a DD and DTS soundtrack.
The highlight for me would be towards the end of the concert when there are seven (!!!) acoustic guitar players lined up across the front of the stage to perform several songs. Very impressive to hear AND see.
Highly recommended. Anyone else seen this?
