By Tony Paris
In 1976, Neil Young barnstormed across the U.S. with Crazy Horse, playing shows that established the band as a musical tour de force and earned their performances legendary status. Each evening, Young would open with an acoustic set; a tape compiling them has made the rounds to collectors for years. Now, Young is giving them an official release with Songs for Judy, the latest installment of his “Archive Performance Series” of releases. Twenty-three songs, eight cities, ten shows capturing Young at a time many thought him to be at the peak of his powers. Who knew, four decades later, he would still be going strong? Six of the tracks on Songs for Judy were recorded during the early and late shows at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre Nov. 24, Thanksgiving Eve, of that year. The next day, Young would fly to San Francisco, joining Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and many others to bid farewell to the Band at the Last Waltz.
At the beginning of the album, Young welcomes the audience by telling a story of seeing Judy Garland in the Fox’s pit — “the abyss,” he jokes, that separates him from the audience. Young says that he saw the actress, who portrayed Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, down there carrying a music folio of “Somewhere, Over the Rainbow.”
The first show that Wednesday night was sold-out. You can hear the Atlanta crowd’s enthusiasm during the “Songs for Judy Intro” at the beginning of this album, and during “Old Laughing Lady” and “The Needle and the Damage Done.” Young was incredible, solo and with Crazy Horse, performing write-home-about versions of “Like a Hurricane” and “Cortez the Killer” (both with Crazy Horse and neither included here). When the early concert was over, it was worth playing cat ’n’ mouse with ushers and security, running low, undercover, around the Fox, hiding from their flashlights as they cleared the house for the late show. When the doors for the second show finally opened, two people crouching behind the wall of “Black Heaven” at the top of the balcony surfaced and merged with the ticket-holders to find their seats. The second concert did not disappoint, as “The Losing End,” “Here We Are in the Years,” “Pocahontas” and “Sugar Mountain” here attest.
It was during that last song that Young again referenced Garland’s presence, urging her to, “come on up, Judy” when he began “Sugar Mountain,” his ode to lost youth. But Garland didn’t. She wasn’t there. She was never there, staring up at Young from the abyss, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” sheet music in hand. No, the only ones there were those in the audience facing their own future, preparing to grow up and having to leave Sugar Mountain behind, whether they wanted to or not. It was time to experience life, learn its lessons, and to treasure the experiences one encounters on the journey. Outside the Fox Theatre, the temperature dipped into the mid-30s. People bundled up as they left the concert and headed out into the cold, crisp night. The future looked bright, as bright as the stars shining in that clear November sky. The wind began to blow.