Neil Young 58: Tuscaloosa

Among his many threats and yet-to-be-realized intentions, Neil Young had dangled the idea of an album called Time Fades Away II, compiled from the first part of the tour that spawned the ragged live album of the original name. Ten years after that bombshell revelation, Tuscaloosa presented most of a show that fulfilled that concept. More so, even; unlike Time Fades Away, which concentrated on new material, this set offers more of what the crowd was likely expecting to hear.

After two tunes played solo and sung flat for even him, the band joins to fill in the sound behind his acoustic, concentrating on the hit Harvest album. Halfway through the program, with no warning, “Time Fades Away” explodes into the speakers, turning up the energy considerably. “Lookout Joe” is introduced as a song for returning vets, and sounds very much like the version came out two years later. “New Mama” appears in its loud incarnation, thank goodness, and for the first time we hear a slight resemblance to “Last Dance”. “Alabama” fits very well with the “new” songs, and “Don’t Be Denied” is still trying to find its arrangement. Frustratingly, the album ends on a fade.

Tuscaloosa is more for diehard fans than casual listeners, and it’s no substitute for Time Fades Away, yet we’re happy to have it. At less than an hour, it seems short; a few songs were left off the release due to repetition or supposedly subpar performances, which goes against Neil’s stated “warts and all” goal of the Archives. (“The Loner” was said to have been out of tune, but based on the evidence eventually allowed to stream on his site, it sounds terrific.) Folks following along in release order may tire of songs that were also on the previous Archives Performance Series release, but the guy only had a handful of albums out at the time. And as he also points out, in 2019 he is the only surviving member of the band, so it’s a tribute to them, too.

Neil Young & Stray Gators Tuscaloosa (2019)—3