Neil Young News: Comment of the Moment: Massey Hall DVD Mystery

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Comment of the Moment: Massey Hall DVD Mystery

There's been a bit of discussion regarding the Massey Hall DVD as to what exactly we're watching relative to the audio CD. Here's a comment on Massey Hall Reviews from Wally:

"Does anyone else notice the similarities between the Massey Hall DVD and the film footage taken of Neil performing about a week later in Stratford, Conn.?

This show was filmed by the same Dutch camera crew whose film clips of Neil on his ranch appear on the DVD. There are many discrepencies on the DVD video compared to the CD audio as well. Neil is speaking words on the audio that he does not appear to be speaking in the DVD (Dance, Dance, Dance when speaking to the audience about making some noise). The in between song banter is not included on film in the DVD. The songs without footage (BFOL, I Am A Child, Helpless)were not performed in Stratford which makes me believe the Massey Hall film footage is not what it is purported to be. Is Neil being honest here? Go to www.umgf.com to read more about this in the "Techniqes and Players" section of the forum. You can see the Stratford film footage at www.sugarmegs.org and see for yourself....."

I wouldn't go so far as to say that Neil isn't being honest here. There's definitely creative license here and the CD and DVD do not claim to be uncut footage. They're both heavily edited. It would be nice if the releases did include more specific information about the source material though.

For more discussion, see The Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum: Massey Hall DVD mystery? Footage from another concert?.

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22 Comments:

At 4/02/2007 03:39:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I didn't particularly get the impression Neil was trying to convince people that the DVD was ALL Massey hall. I don't believe it's officially documented word-for-word anywhere that this is the case either. Regardless....who cares?
it's awesome footage!
At 4/02/2007 05:14:00 PM, Anonymous said...: What concert footage did you expect was in an album entitled "Live at Massey Hall 1970"? If you were buying an album called "The Beatles at Candlestick Park 1966" and the DVD of the concert was the Beatles in Cincinnati but the audio was Candlestick Park would you be upset? Granted the footage is awesome but it is not what it is implied to be.
At 4/03/2007 09:20:00 AM, Anonymous said...: It's great footage,who cares where it's from !
Hamish McA
At 4/03/2007 12:18:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Maybe the footage was mis-labled on the box, or they genuinely thought it was Massey Hall footage. I mean it can be pretty easy overlook certain video not being in-sync; I didn't even realize certain parts were out of sync until this was brought up.
At 4/03/2007 04:33:00 PM, Anonymous said...: One thing many never seem to think of is there were Two Shows that day...footage could be from both the Early and Late Show rather then this ongoing debate about it being from another source all together...and reguardless, no matter the footage it is all period and relevent to the Tour. My 2 cents is all
At 4/03/2007 06:24:00 PM, Anonymous said...: You can go here and check the set lists of both Massey Hall shows and the Stratford shows....

http://www.sugarmtn.org/years/71nysets.html

The songs BFOL, I Am A Child , and Helpless were played at both Massey Hall shows. Don't you think there would be film of them if one or both were filmed? They were not played in Stratford which we know was filmed. That is why they don't appear in the DVD because the Massey Hall shows were not filmed.....They fit the audio of Massey Hall to the film of Stratford where it best matched. Go to www.sugarmegs.org and watch the Stratford footage for yourself then tell me if the footage on the DVD is not from Stratford.....Peace
At 4/04/2007 04:53:00 AM, Anonymous said...: > I mean it can be pretty easy overlook certain video not being in-sync

I think it's impossible that they wouldn't have noticed that the footage doesn't match when they tried to sync it. But I'm sure they knew it was from Stratford, since the farm footage from the same doc. is used in the dvd as well.
At 4/04/2007 09:25:00 AM, haahnster said...: Jeeeez-uss!

Please unbunch your panties and calm down. Enjoy the beautiful sonic clarity, and the fact that there is video footage, any video footage, that even remotely corresponds to a 36-year-old performance.

Breaking News: Neil & the Horse overdubbed some vocals on "Live Rust" without adding a disclaimer to the album...Please send all your no-longer-wanted copies of that LP to me for proper disposal.
At 4/04/2007 03:42:00 PM, Anonymous said...: What is that all about???? Get a grip.....What's wrong with a little discussion about concert footage? Why do people have to become so critical of things they don't have much interest in.....If you don't have an intelligent opinion don't post or don't be so critical of others....There is enough of that nonsense on Fox News....No one is covering for anyone's lies. What wrong with asking questions with out becoming hysterical or nonsensical? The issue might not be earth shattering but I feel it is a legit topic to discuss on a Neil Young website just in case you forgot where you were.
At 4/05/2007 06:48:00 AM, HE Pennypacker said...: Helpless was indeed played at the early Stratford show, and the footage is included in the Van der Linden documentary...
At 4/05/2007 03:02:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Remember - this was put out first and formost as an AUDIO CD....a new Neil Young release with a FEATURE DVD included (if you chose that package). You can buy the CD alone if you'd like for a few less bucks, but you can't buy the DVD alone. Therefor the DVD is just a little "gift" for the die-hards. Not the other way around. So if this was marketed as being a DVD with a special feature audio CD included, and it stated all footage was Massey Hall, then yeah...maybe you'll find a little white lie in there. So the bottom line here is the Audio CD. that's what matters, that's the product and whatever comes 'with' the product is superceded by the product. Therefor, there is no lie. All audio footage is from Massey Hall, which is exactly how Bernard intended it to be - ....the source
At 4/05/2007 08:02:00 PM, Anonymous said...: So you (the source) are saying the audio on both CD/DVD is Massey Hall as we all know and accept but the video/film footage is not Massey Hall as the original post implies? Do you have some inside info on this to confirm once and for all?
At 4/06/2007 01:36:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Well what I'm saying is all the audio on the CD is Massey Hall. Period.
That is the "Main Event" of the whole package. The DVD serves as the "bell's & whistle's", if you will. When you buy the CD alone without the DVD, there's no issue. There are some of us who know all the music is Massey hall on the CD. Is it on the DVD?? Well, Neil never said it was or wasn't. Did he say or make his intentions known that the CD was all Massey Hall? Yes - he did. the DVD? No...he didn't. Remember....the BIG picture here...CD CD CD CD CD CD...aka: Album release. - peace
At 4/06/2007 02:21:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I say we all go out to Cali and beat up Neil! Cmon folks, unless you were at Massey in 1971 what difference does it make. The CD and DVD are nothing short of sensational and I hope Neil releases 50 more of these. Hey Thrasher - if some right wing tool wants to post - please edit it out - we just want to have a good chat here. Thanks
At 4/08/2007 09:01:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Come on THRASHER! go back to "reading" our posts before you post them! FREE SPEECH only applies to the Left WIng, Hate AMerica, Global Warming, HIPPIE dope Smokin, non-productive, Pro Communist-like you.

IF YOU ARE SUCH A NEIL FAN, THEN THIS POST WILL REMIAN UP! (but your not, your a pathetic hypocrit that "pretends" to know everything.)

Ask yourself "what would Neil do?"
At 4/09/2007 01:10:00 AM, Anonymous said...: First where the hell did thaat last post come from? Oh well free speech has a tendency to make some people look like complete idiots... On a more on focused point I seem to think that the fact that the DVD may be from is another show is perfectly acceptable. I meam two shows for the price of one man. Thats a deal is it not. Counting down and saving up for fall 07
At 4/09/2007 02:46:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Final thought - my point is not to censor anybody, it is just to keep comments germane to the topic at hand so we can have a nice chat. So simmer down there Righty. The next time we have a chat that gets yer undies in a bunch we will all look forward to your incredibly articulate and well stated views.
At 4/10/2007 02:47:00 AM, HE Pennypacker said...: When the DVD has 'Massey Hall 1971' printed on the actual disc, I think it's fair to say that there is some deception going on. Why all the attempts to shoot down the messengers here? Oh, that's right - Neil can do no wrong... It is indeed great to have a DVD from this period included, but why not just credit it as being where it's from? Would have already been in synch too, if he'd just used the Stratford audio instead of trying to match Massey Hall audio with Stratford video. I think it detracts from a great release unfortunately - I would much prefer to have had a Stratford DVD which was credited as such, along with the other Van der Linden documentary footage and the Johnny Cash appearance etc, than the amauterish deception we've been given... Shame Neil...
At 5/11/2008 08:39:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Hi I love Neils music, Hi I am learning rock,blues and jazz guitar right now, but I am still very young.I get inspired to play by going to major concerts with guitar players
I am like barley 13 and cute for a blonde girl, and I love guitar.I just had to tell everyone that!! I went to a rock show and saw GW Williams Friday. he was the bestest ever.I am so in love with an older guitar man.ok so he doesn't know,but I have a crush on GW Williams.
I got his press release here
Part of him Press Release Is down Below
________________________
The GW Williams,Rock & Blues & JAZZ guitar concert held last Friday evening in Seattle was amazing !! The crowd went crazy wild with emotion,even I couldn't believe what GW Williams did, neither could the over 98,582 people who veiwed GW and his Rock n Roll & jazzy blues style on guitar. And This Guy can sing like Elvis.His Guitar Playing and singing opened a whole new world of music,maybe a new style was born.So Don't wait check this guy out when he come to your town.Rock,Blues,Jazz Guitarist GW Williams The Birth Of A Guitar Legend
At 6/07/2008 02:38:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Hello,

The comments posted about GW Williams are part of a viral marketing campaign. This person has a home-made recording on Amazon.com . You can listen to samples and see why it's clear that they had to resort to this sort of thing.
Reference to Eric Clapton, John Mayer or other prominent non-fictional guitarists seem to be drawing him in.
Please feel free to delete this entry along with his.
This seems like a nice place. It's too bad he's decided to invade it.
We've been doing battle with him and his multiple personalities on Topix. There are several indications in his posts and IP addresses that point to him being incarcerated quite possibly at Folsom prison near Sacramento.

Again, I apologize for barging in. Please feel free to block me and this other person as well
At 6/19/2008 12:01:00 AM, battery said...: [...]I mean it can be pretty easy overlook certain video not being in-sync; I didn't even realize certain parts were out of sync until this was brought up.[...]
At 7/21/2008 06:16:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I caught the GW Williams guitar show in Medford Ore a month ago.
he is without doubt the greatest living rock - blues -classcial and jazz guitar player in the world.
I also downloaded his recording on Amazon.com it is professional and beautifully recorded. I guess one of GW's jealous competiors on guitar is trying to ruin his sales.
I don't think that will happen.
GW is world class. And over 30 million pages online talking about him now.