> Bob, who can't wait to hear Neil's "Crazy Horse" take on Watchtower! >
Neil's new live album will consist of select portions of his recent Red
Rocks concert with his "Friends & Family Band"...Ben Keith (pedal steel and
second guitar), Spooner Oldham (piano and vibes), Duck Dunn (bass) and Jim
Keltner (drums), with wife Pegi and sister Astrid singing background vocals
(and lead vocals on "Motorcycle Mama"). Collectively, the band sounds a lot
like Neil's Stray Gators band from the Harvest era.
My understanding is that at Red Rocks, Chrissie Hynde joined Neil for "All
Along The Watchtower." The Pretenders had been the opening act for most of
the tour. That was the one concert recorded for CD, video and DVD release,
and I think Neil wanted to give Chrissie her "props." She had been kissing
the stage each night and saying how thrilled she was to be sharing the stage
with Neil.
Neil pulled a lot of seldom-performed songs out of his hat on the tour. I'm
a *bit* disappointed in the selections he chose for the live album, but
"Words" is going to amaze you. I think the video and the DVD (don't quote
me) will be the complete concert.
Also, regarding "All Along The Watchtower," Neil performed it (and "Just
Like Tom Thumb's Blues") backed by Booker T. and the MGs at the Bob Dylan
30th Anniversary Tribute Concert in New York in 1993. He had such a blast
with Booker T. and the MGs that he took them out on tour as his backing band
later that year. They continued to play "Watchtower," I believe, and another
encore was "Sittin' By The Dock Of The Bay," written by MG Steve Cropper.
:-)
"Boston Jim"
