From the S&S archives:
Neil Young: A blast from the past

Midway through Neil Young's 90-minute performance last weekend at the Schüttorf Open Air Festival in northern Germany, he finished a song and smiled at the crowd.

"How y'all doin' out there?" the Canadian rocker asked.

The crowd, some 18,000 strong, roared in response.

Young, after all, does most of his talking with his guitar and harmonica.

And his music spoke volumes that day. He opened the concert with a Buffalo Springfield song, Mr. Soul, and proceeded with a reprise of his venerable solo career as well as his days with Crosby, Stills, Nash &Young.

It was vintage Neil Young, with his brittle voice and mastery of the guitar, harmonica and a banged-up piano that surely dates back to his Buffalo Springfield days.

His band consisted of Booker T. and the MG's: Booker T. Jones on keyboards, Steve Cropper on guitar, and Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass. Jim Keltner played drums.

The classic songs Young performed included Southern Man, Love To Burn, This Note's For You, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Live To Ride, and a stirring version of Helpless. Young also played Harvest Moon and Down By The River.

Those two songs proved anti-climatic when he switched gears and played two cover tunes for his final numbers. First was an uninspiring version of Otis Redding's (Sittin' on) The Dock of The Bay.

Then he told the crowd: "Here's a song that's better than all of mine." And he played Bob Dylan's All Along The Watchtower.

Those two songs, classics notwithstanding, were disappointing choices for Young fans wanting to hear more of his original tunes.

But because Young was an undercard on a full concert lineup that headlined Midnight Oil and featured The Black Crowes, the 47-year-old rocker was limited by time constraints.

In his headlining concerts throughout Europe in the coming weeks, Young probably would have to be dragged off the stage after 1½ hours.

Then again, with Neil Young, one just never knows what to expect.