Compiled and mixed by Neil Young, Stephen Stills and engineer John Hanlon from the original 8 track tapes, Crosby Stills Nash & Young Live at Fillmore East, 1969 is a welcome sonic discovery from an under documented period in the quartet’s storied history. Captured just a month after their legendary performance at the Woodstock festival (which was their second show), this September 20, 1969, concert captures the band during a two-night, four performance run at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East.

Stills and Young have carefully curated a two LP set from the two September 20, 1969 concerts. Young posted on his Neil Young Archives website that, “We’re staying all analog throughout the production with a goal of creating a live double vinyl album. Pure. Analog. No digital.”

In what could be called the loosest show on earth, Live at Fillmore East 1969 finds the four principals at the height of their powers. Crosby, Stills, and Nash had released their debut record in May of 1969, and Neil Young had released his second solo LP the same month. Their collaboration was well timed to help CSN to reproduce their electric songs on the concert stage. Young would add guitar, keyboards and vocals, and get to play with his bandmate and pal from the Buffalo Springfield, Stephen Stills.

The recording is airy and detailed. The performance is as real as a street corner busker, some notes are flat, some harmonies wide of the mark, but the performance is true as North and puts a sharp focus on a historically relevant era for the band. The CSNY experience would essentially be over by 1971, and the Fillmore East recordings immortalize their peak period properly. The camaraderie and shared enthusiasm of the group is tangible. Giggles and playful musical tricks between the band are plentiful in the acoustic set. Creative friction and musical tension can be felt when the group plugs in for the second half of the show.

The live album Four Way Street begins with a truncated version of “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” this recording gives us a beautifully recorded full rendition. The performance sparkles with intimate Crosby, Stills and Nash three-part harmonies that are layered in youthful confidence.

Following “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” comes a perfect CSN cover of “Blackbird,” which finds the trio congratulating themselves joyously at its conclusion for hitting all of the notes. The acoustic set settles over Bill Graham’s room like a stoney veil. Emerging from it, are several spotlight moments for each respective member and stunning collaborations on old songs, current cuts and brand-new compositions.

A two-fer from the CSN debut follows with Crosby and Nash each taking a lead part. A spectral version of “Guinnevere,” has Crosby on lead and a sensual version of “Lady of the Island,” has Nash taking the vocals. Both add deeply invested harmonies to each others songs pushing them high over the tree line.

The crystalline recording captures the essence of the concert like a daguerreotype. “Helplessly Hoping,” is played with a unique caesura never to be repeated. You can hear the smiles in each of their voices when Stills tries to trick his mates with mid verse pauses. As expected, the famed CSN harmonies disseminate a heady blend even with the giggles.

A rare acoustic version of “Go Back Home,” gives Stills a blues spotlight that on the next tour would be filled by “Black Queen.” One of the finest acoustic players in rock, Stills picks and thumps out a percussive blues that would later appear on his debut solo record.

“On the Way Home,” from Buffalo Springfield’s, Last Time Around album is a lucid dream. Stills and Young’s guitars are sonically stitched, as Stills slides into the high vocal parts effortlessly. The recording reveals a depth and a second sight to their instrumental interplay. Stunning. Stills stays on a roll as “4+20,” is given a delicate roll out prior to its inclusion on the 1970 CSNY Déjà vu record.

The debut version of “Our House,” that follows is picked fresh from the vine. With the song’s subject, Joni Mitchell watching from the audience, the Nash classic emerges fully formed from the chrysalis. Played on the organ, the sparse and airy adaptation nestles next to Nash’s sincere expression of domesticity.

“I’ve Lover Her So Long,” from Young’s debut solo record is given a stunning reading with soaring support on harmonies from Nash. The duo would also perform Young’s “Birds,” on the tour to the same glorious effect. While the acoustic set is lacking a few songs played over the course of the Fillmore shows, like “Broken Arrow, and John Sebastian’s, “How Have You Been,” these absences can be forgiven due the wealth of material that is here.

The acoustic portion of the set concludes with the lacy sophistication of Stephen Stills “You Don’t Have to Cry,” from the CSN debut. Reportedly, it is the first song the trio ever sang together and the musical moment that cemented their collaboration. Listening to a laid-back version like this, it’s easy to hear why they were collectively blown away.

Neil Young said about the release that, “The acoustic set was soulfully sung and played, full of great songs and then unknown gems. Staggering harmonies. Happiness.” He then added, “The electric set quickly moved to a new space.” Ragged but right, this electric set features incendiary and extended versions of a range of songs. “What we lacked in finesse, we made up for in enthusiasm,” Stills says in the liner notes. The addition of bassist Greg Reeves and drummer Dallas Taylor to the foursome gave CSNY plenty of room to do their thing.

An aggressive “Long Time Gone,” starts off the electric portion and finds Stills and Young giving their all to Crosby’ politically charged classic. Stills howls until his veins pop during the chorus, and Young fires off sustained charges of sound accentuating the thick curvature of the song.

“Wooden Ships,” incorporates a funkiness not discernible on the studio recording and highlights stringy Stills soloing that takes the mid-verse jamming to the outer limits. Crosby’s wiry rhythm locks in with Reeves and drives the jam through the breakers toward the horizon line. Nash can be heard emitting a yelp of glee at the song’s conclusion.

Stills then takes to the organ for the gospel flavored dramaticism of “Bluebird Revisited.” A song that wouldn’t appear until his 1971 Stephen Stills 2 record, here the full band gives it a bombastic reading. Stills sounds fantastic and hits big falsetto markers throughout. The song harkens back to the Buffalo Springfield cut, “Bluebird,” but that’s the only similarity, as CSNY fly this cut in the opposite direction.

Young’s “Sea of Madness,” is finally in its proper place. For some strange reason this version was used for the original Woodstock soundtrack in an edited form. Now, in its appropriate context, the tune can be enjoyed for what it is, a groovy Young number that disappeared after only a couple of appearances. Catchy vocals, killer Nash harmonies, and tough muted soling by Stills make this one worthy of multiple listens.

Noted by Neil Young as a highlight, a 16-minute version of “Down by the River,” takes a long-hooded walk to the shoreline concluding the electric set. This extended run through is a rugged encapsulation of the dynamics of the CSNY live show. It heavy steps out of the gate and at the first instrumental break Stills and Young hit the song’s central melody line together in sharp conjunction. Young quickly diverges from their chosen route by throwing large chunks of sound into the churning whirlpool of the rhythm players.

The jam becomes part Buffalo Springfield, a smidge of Crazy Horse, and all CSNY. The guitar tones are warm and wobbly, the notes intentional and Young scrubs up a psychedelic foam that starts to crest the framework of the song. He soon gets Stills goat, who responds in kind with a series of cutting licks. Nash flashes on organ and the tempo increases in kind as Taylor pounds double time.

The jamming intensifies as Stills and Young circle each other suspiciously, increasing the velocity of their six string interactions faster and faster; before cranking the wheel at the last second, just avoiding a head on crash.

Following, the second verse, the groove intensifies as Young probes and prods it with a series of grunting riffs. Stills hits on a R&B lick he likes and Young runs with it, peeling off several deft variations on the theme. Stills continues to offer up swells and then vibrato string bends in support, each time encouraging Young to peel off another layer of severe jamming. The band brings the double-digit exploration to a peak, and then a crashing conclusion. They return to the stage and sing a meditative, yet brief, reading of “Find the Cost of Freedom,” bringing the evening and archival album to a close.

As Neil Young digs through his expansive tape archive, we can hope new recordings like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Live at Fillmore East ,1969 continue to appear. This raw recording from a legendary venue, removes all pretense, drama, and bullshit and reduces the CSNY story to its essential elements. What is left is the creativity, friendship, and enduring music that continues to inspire listeners over 50 years later.