Neil Young & The Stray Gators - Toronto 1973 - Happy Birthday!

This album is a fascinating broadcast recording from the legendary "Time Fades Away"-tour comprising Jack Nitzsche, Ben Keith, Tim Drummond and Kenny Buttrey, The Stray Gators had backed Neil Young on 1972 s Harvest, and would go on to do likewise on the tour during which its follow-up, "Times Fade Away", was recorded live. Featuring previously unreleased cuts, until 2017 TFA remained the only Young album not released on CD, despite critical acclaim from most quarters. 

What would later become known as the "Time Fades Away"-tour began on 4th January 73 in Madison, Wisconsin; it was fraught from start to finish. Young would later describe it as one of the unhappiest times of his life and the worst tour of his career. However, the show performed at Toronto s Maple Leaf Gardens on 15th January, recorded for live FM broadcast and featured on this album in its entirety, sounds far from chaotic and forms a fascinating document of a legendary tour from which a full performance has rarely been heard. This album features a set list that includes five numbers from the TFA album (albeit in different versions to those included on the record that would appear in the shops in November 73) alongside a handful from Harvest and others from earlier LPs.

Tracklist:

1 On The Way Home 3:43

2 Tell Me Why 2:34

3 L. A. 4:07

4 Journey Through The Past 4:19

5 Borrowed Tune 4:45

6 Out On The Weekend 5:35

7 Harvest 4:04

8 Old Man 3:39

9 Heart Of Gold 4:19

10 Lonely Weekend 3:07

11 New Mama 3:16

12 Alabama 4:33

13 Last Dance 5:22

14 Don't Be Denied 7:23

15 Cinnamon Girl 4:17

16 Lookout Joe 5:14

17 Southern Man 6:26

Neil Young & The Stray Gators - Toronto 1973

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Neil Young was born on this day in 1945, making him 75 today. Happy birthday!