Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Neil Young (vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards); Frank Sampedro (guitar, keyboards); Billy Talbot (bass); Ralph Molina (drums).

Producers: David Briggs, Tim Mulligan, Bernard Shakey.

In the fall of 1978, Neil Young and Crazy Horse undertook a tour that mixed in songs off of what became RUST NEVER SLEEPS with a variety of older material. The stage set included oversize amps and a road crew cloaked not unlike Star Wars' Jawas, making this tour's distinctions as visual as they were aural. The film and recording of this tour were released as LIVE RUST. The show starts out with Neil Young solo, using acoustic guitar, harmonica and piano to perform the country-folk "Sugar Mountain," "I Am A Child," "After The Gold Rush" and "Comes A Time," the title track of the record released shortly before the tour started.

Unlike his peers, Young embraced the punk scene by writing "My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)," his tribute to Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten, which wrapped up the acoustic section of the show. Other new material debuted on this tour included "Sedan Delivery," "Powderfinger" and "Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)." These tunes benefited from the might of Crazy Horse, whose punch provided particularly potent on "Cinnamon Girl," "Like A Hurricane" and the sobering "Tonight's The Night."

What the critics say...

Q (8/93, p.107) - 5 Stars - Indispensable - "...LIVE RUST really captures the essence of Neil Young, from aching fragility to the overwhelming power he can release in love or rage..."
Mojo (Publisher) (11/01, p.151) - "...Essential....equal parts noise and poignancy..."