Neil Young
13 Days of Neil
RustWorks, Vol. 18
Falling From Above

Some time ago I acquired Chris Davis� fantastic Jerry Garcia compilation, �8 Days of Jerome� and thought that somebody should do the same for Neil Young. Well, taking my own advice I embarked on this little project in May 2011 and, I hope, put together something people will enjoy. The title,�13 Days of Neil� is an obvious rip-off from Chris and Neil (Lucky 13), but feel free to call it whatever you want. Clearly, with Volume 18 (and counting) this series may never end. So be it, it�s all one song, anyway.

�I get back in the Continental and continue down the road to the cafe. Then I pull in and there's Larry Johnson's '57 Ford pickup in the parking lot. As I enter the little cafe, I see Larry and Briggs in the corner, drinking some coffee and having a late breakfast. I go right over and sit down with them. We don't say much. David says something about Kirby getting a job at one of the studios. Kirby is very good with his hands and can fix anything, plus he has a very friendly personality. We are happy for him. Larry has to make a call and gets up, heading for the pay phone in the corner. He has us get him another coffee when the waitress comes back. Briggs looks at me and asks what I've been doing.�

-Neil Young, "Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream"


Vol. 18: Falling From Above

Falling From Above, Mountainview, 2002-10-26 (Bridge Benefit XVI)
Goin' Back, Mountainview, 2006-10-22 (Bridge Benefit XX w/ The Prairie Wind Band)
Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It, Mountainview, 2004-10-23 (Bridge Benefit XVIII)
Peaceful Valley Boulevard, Kansas City, 2011-08-13 (Farm Aid 2011)
Lady Wingshot, Miami, 1977-11-12 (Children's Hospital Charity)*
Birds, Mountainview, 1991-11-09 (Bridge Benefit V)
Silver and Gold, Mountainview, 1989-10-28 (Bridge Benefit III w/CSN)
Instrumental, Sedona, 1994-10-22 (Verde Valley Benefit w/Crazy Horse)
Rumblin', Panama City, 2010-09-20 (Gulf Coast Benefit Concert Tour)
Crime in the City, San Francisco, 1989-11-29 (Earthquake Relief)
Powderfinger, Los Angeles, 1986-02-24 (Vietnam Vet Benefit)
One of These Days, Tinley Park, 2005-09-18 (Farm Aid 2005 w/ The Prairie Wind Band)
Harvest Moon, Mountainview, 2004-10-24 (Bridge Benefit XVIII w/Eddie Vedder and Pegi Young)
Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Los Angeles, 1993-03-01 (Children's Health Benefit w/ Simon and Garfunkel)**
I Believe in You, San Francisco, 2010-12-08 (The Concert for UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital)

Neil Young is about as infuriating an artist as there is. He's managed to hurt and alienate friends, lovers, wives, fellow musicians and fans. Many Rusties were shocked and dismayed at the abrupt end of the Crazy Horse 2012-13 Alchemy tour. As a result of Neil's sudden twists, turns and detours, I've had to adjust my expectations for what I want and expect from his work as an artist. And yet, Neil Young is one of the most selfless and generous performers in rock, and has been for over 40 years. He's performed in hundreds of benefit tours and concerts going back to 1970. Of course, there are the annual Bridge Benefit and Farm Aid concerts he's headlined for 27 years. Along the way, he's lent his name and talent to countless other causes, from Operation Challenge/ACLU Kent State Project in 1970 to this year's Farm Aid and Bridge benefits and, on October 30, a benefit for the Silverlake Conservatory Of Music.

We open with "Falling From Above" which would be released on Greendale the following year. Its lines "a little love and affection" set the tone for this collection. "Goin' Back" precedes the old Springfield chestnut, "Do I Have to...?" performed here by Neil for the first time publicly. "Peaceful Valley Boulevard" reminds us how hard life is and how important it is to help each other. One of Neil's most beautiful songs and featuring Nicolette Larson, "Lady Wingshot" has been performed publicly only twice. Neil reportedly wept after this performance of "Birds." "Silver and Gold," which wouldn't appear officially for another ten years makes a great CSNY song.The instrumental performed in Sedona in 1994, more than just an ArcWeld moment, has melody and drive and still feels totally spontaneous. Neil's guitar growls during "Rumblin'." The 1989 performance of "Crime in the City" is all the more special because I survived that earthquake and saw Neil perform his set on television. A somewhat rare acoustic "Powderfinger" showcases this song, and Neil, at their folkiest. "One of These Days" sounds so wistful with the Prairie Wind Band. The performance of "Harvest Moon" among the three close friends is sublime. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" with Simon and Garfunkel is spine-tingling with its gorgeous harmonies and beautiful piano. "I Believe in You" is a Neil Young love letter to his audience. "Now that you made yourself love me, do you think I can change it in a day? How can I place you above me? Am I lyin' to you when I say?" Remember those lines next time Neil Young does something to confuse, anger or disappoint you.

The selection process for this compilation was quite simple. I attempted to pace the volumes in loose chronological order (sometimes), creating counterpoint with slow and uptempo tunes, and above all include versions of songs that I can enjoy over and over. In that sense, this is more of a retrospective than a greatest hits or best of compilation. Basically, it�s just a bunch of songs that just seem to go well together. Of course, the fact that Neil is so prolific has made this project fairly mind-boggling simply in terms of available material. Clearly, I avoided any officially released material, or any that was likely to be released in the foreseeable future.

The RustWorks collection is also a showcase for the great people and bands with whom Neil has played over the years: Danny, Bert, Nicolette, all those Nashville players, Crazy Horse, the Stray Gators and Santa Monica Flyers, the Springfield, CSN, Pegi. Listen closely and you�ll hear all of them at one point or another. The RustWorks collection goes out to Long Grain in particular. If not for Ben Keith, I fear there would be no Neil Young as we�ve come to know, and love, him.

A word about compilations: I compiled these performances for my personal enjoyment, and share them for the same reason. There are many Neil Young compilations available out there: �Archives be Damned 2000� (and 2006), �Acoustic Masterpieces,� �A Perfect Echo.� Of course, the one must have compilation is the officially released �Archives.� Nothing beats the original tracks themselves. This compilation is not meant to replace any of the aforementioned. It, simply, is part of the same song.

I urge you to seek out the original performances (they�re all available somewhere). Thank you so much to the original tapers, uploaders and all who share this great music. And, of course, thanks, Neil.

Enjoy,
1chucho (setlistthief)
11/12/13 Happy Birthday, Neil

Lineage: All recordings obtained from various torrent sites: Original Recording > FLAC > DIME
Notes on Sound Quality: All Audience Recordings, the SQ is Excellent to Excellent+ throughout except*
*SQ is Fair to good
All tracks are from the original filesets as previously torrented except**. New checksums created with TLH.
Convert to lossy for personal use only-share only LOSSLESS recordings.
NEVER FOR SALE- ALWAYS SHARE FREELY
Please support this artist-purchase official recordings, attend live performances regularly, and visit the websites:

http://www.neilyoung.com
http://www.sugarmtn.org
http://www.thrasherswheat.org
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2011/10/charitable-mr-neil-young-keeps-on.html


RustWorks, Vol. 1: Sugar Mountain
RustWorks, Vol. 2: Heart of Gold
RustWorks, Vol. 3: Tired Eyes
RustWorks, Vol. 4: On the Beach
RustWorks, Vol. 5: Interstate
RustWorks, Vol. 6: This Old Guitar
RustWorks, Vol. 7: Let it Shine
RustWorks, Vol. 8: Out of the Blue
RustWorks, Vol. 9: Into the Black
RustWorks, Vol. 10: Transformer Man
RustWorks, Vol. 11-Part I: Don�t Spook the Horse
RustWorks, Vol. 11-Part II: Don�t Spook the Horse
RustWorks, Vol. 12: Stringman
RustWorks, Vol. 13: Borrowed Tune
RustWorks, Vol. 14: Looking Forward
RustWorks, Vol. 15: Cinnamon Girls
RustWorks, Vol. 16: Spirit Road
RustWorks, Vol. 17: Walk Like a Giant
RustWorks, Vol. 18: Falling From Above








Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

Images for this show: