Wilco's Jeff Tweedy compiles his list of essential live albums and puts Neil Young's "Live Rust" as #1 in the December issue of HARP Magazine.
Tweedy says of Neil Young's "Live Rust":
"There's not that much Neil Young that I'm not into. But "Powderfinger" on this — he's on fire.
The film was pretty miserable, but, man, the music is in its own place. I just saw him at Farm Aid. He did "Southern Man" with the Fisk University gospel choir. It was a fucking perfect performance of a classic song, and maybe my favorite moment ever of seeing live music.
There was a lot of shit going on, things that seemed to fuel his anger. And an angry Neil Young, that's pretty unbeatable. That's kind of what that "Powderfinger" sounds like to me.
He's invested himself in some of the fury of it."
More on Neil Young's Rust Never Sleeps tour.
Also, see Wilco and Neil Young at Farm Aid 2005 - concert review and photos.
And more on the song "Powderfinger"'s lyrics and "Southern Man".
Here's Tweedy's full list:
1. Neil Young - Live Rust
2. Allman Brothers Band - Live at the Fillmore East
3. MC5 - Kick Out the Jams
4. Albert Ayler - The Complete Live in Greenwich Village
5. Richard Pryor - Wanted: Richard Pryor Live in Concert
6. Miles Davis Quintet - The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel
7. Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
8. James Brown - Live at the Apollo Vol. II
9. Pink Floyd - Ummagumma
10. Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series Vol. IV: The Royal Albert Hall Concert
Article comments
1 - Rob
Couldn't agree with him more on the "Live Rust" pick. What a great performance!
2 - Vern Halen
Well, I ike classic Neil, too, but Live Rust just seemed like a walk through of the greatest hits. At least Arc/Weld had some semi spontaneous bursts of feedback & weirdness. I don't know if it really counts, but I'd pick Time Fades Away, much of which I believe was recorded live in different venues, the audiences hearing the freshly written tracks for the first time - what a challenge for music consumers, especialy those who like the familiar when they shell out $$ for a night out at a rock concert.
3 - thrasher
Vern Halen: Neil's definitely got some great live albums like Live Rust, Weld, Year of the Horse, & Time Fades Away.
Too bad Time Fades Away is out of print and unavailable.
Live Neil is definitely the best!
4 - BG
It's criminal that "Time Fades Away" doesn't have an official CD release.
Jeff forgot "Live At Leeds" by The Who.
5 - Kevin
Live music is better, bumper stickers should be issued!
6 - uao
Jeff Tweedy is a guy who has grown on me almost every single year since the early 90's. I'd expect his list to look something like this, and good for him.
I wouldn't choose "Live Rust" first, but I can understand why Tweedy would; his list makes sense when you play Wilco in your head while reading it. I wouldn't call it a 'run through his hits', though, any more than any live album is a run through the hits. Young was at a crossroads at the time; it's a fine album. "Sedan Delivery" !!
Interesting post, Thrasher.
7 - thrasher
uao - yeah, these Top 10 lists seem to range between eclectic and "inside baseball, see if you can top this." Tweedy's falls somewhere in between with some familiar selections and a few obscurities.
8 - uao
That's why top-10 lists are so inadequate in telling stories about something that exists divorced of written form. But it's all we have.
So then, we have to consider our faith in the picker. Can he or she be relied upon to shed some new insight on the topic, or is it a pose or hot air?
Tweedy really does deserve a lot of props; he's reaching the point where the sum of his career starts to hold up to any rock musician in history. And he's in for the long haul.
If any Wilco fans want to know what Wilco has become, his list is a primer. And that really is good on him.
Lists are very much baseball-card stats kind of things. Ever notice that lists are published by men at something of a 10-1 ratio? Gotta be a reason for that...
;-)
9 - Rodney Welch
Pretty smart list, I'd say: I, 2, 6, 7, 8 & 10 are certainly great records in my book, with an enormous amount to not only enthrall but probably teach both pros like Tweedy and plain old listeners like me. Some of these -- the Davis and Dylan in particular -- are exemplary performances of people really pushing themselves beyond expectation.
I hold Live Rust and Weld in about equal regard, although I'd probably give the edge to the former because it's more diverse and not just purely sonic all the way through; more of a rounded picture. Of course, with Neil, purely sonic is certainly okay, too.
10 - thrasher
Rodney - Selecting a Miles Davis album for a list always seems like an "intellectual" choice. Nothing against Miles. He's a genius for sure. It's just that you don't plop it on the turntable every month or so. But I'm sure there are a few Miles Davis fans who do.