Acoustic, yes! Electric, not so much…
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2024 | Rating: 3/5 | Best Sellers in CDs & Vinyl
this csny september 1969 show from  the fillmore east in new york fast on the heels of their performance at woodstock was something i really looked forward to i knew they were a young band and my expectations were kind of low the opening set was an acoustic one and makes up the first 11 tracks on this onecd 17track release i loved the first set the second set electric was augmented by what would be the deja vu rhythm section of dallas taylor and greg reeves clearly the full band needed much more rehearsal time as taylor and reeves walked all over the other guys and kept time like a 20yearold timex it’s a pretty rough listen especially the meandering unfocused 16plus minutes of neil’s “down by the river” and utterly unlistenable version of stills’ “bluebird revisited”the overall impression of the entire show warrants just three stars it’s a hard listen yes by 1974 the band was tight this earlydays release gives a hint of the band’s promise even if the fillmore east electric set leaves much to be desired i’ll play it again but maybe just the charming first 11 tracks and tracks 1217 will probably never be played again in all honesty