Journey Through the Past
Encyclopedia
Journey Through the Past is a soundtrack album
from the film of the same name
by Neil Young
, released in November of 1972
on Reprise Records
, catalogue 6480. It peaked at #45 on the Billboard 200
, and since its initial release on vinyl
, cassette tape and 8-track tape cartridge it has remained out of print. It has never been issued on compact disc
, and is one of the rarest items in Young's discography.
; live recordings
with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; rehearsal outtakes from the Harvest sessions with The Stray Gators
; and recordings by The Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation Orchestra and Chorus
. It functions in part as a retrospective of Young's work, the first of his career.
Side one, tracks one and two are performed by Buffalo Springfield. The medley on track one are studio recordings, including a rare alternate version of "Mr. Soul
", mimed to
by the group for the television program The Hollywood Palace
on January 20, 1967. The second selection derives from the group's appearance in 1967 on The Ed Sullivan Show
.
Side one, tracks three and four, and side two, track one, are live recordings by CSNY from an appearance at the Fillmore East
in New York City on June 5, 1970.
The Harvest album outtakes on side two, tracks two and four, and side three derive from sessions on September 26 and 27, 1971 at Young's ranch in La Honda, California
. Interspersed are conversations with Young, David Crosby
, and Stephen Stills
from the vocal overdub sessions done later in New York.
Side four, tracks two and three, respectively an excerpt from Messiah
by George Frederic Handel and the musical theme composed by Miklós Rózsa
for the film King of Kings, are performed by the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation Orchestra and Chorus, recorded on February 10, 1972.
The album contains only one new song by Young, "Soldier
", recorded in a sawmill
to the accompaniment of a roaring fire from a sawdust burner. It would later reappear in edited form on Young's Decade
compilation. The record closes on side four strangely enough with a track from the 1966 classic album Pet Sounds
by The Beach Boys
, the instrumental "Let's Go Away for Awhile
".
Soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
from the film of the same name
Journey Through the Past (film)
Journey Through the Past is a 1972 film by Neil Young. Originally shot in 16mm format and then transferred for theatrical release the experimental film is a self-directed combination of concert footage from 1966 onward, backstage footage and semi-fantastic art film-like sequences. Although Journey...
by Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
, released in November of 1972
1972 in music
-Events:*January 17 – Highway 51 South in Memphis, Tennessee is renamed "Elvis Presley Boulevard"*January 20 – The début of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at The Dome, Brighton, is halted by technical difficulties,...
on Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
, catalogue 6480. It peaked at #45 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, and since its initial release on vinyl
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
, cassette tape and 8-track tape cartridge it has remained out of print. It has never been issued on compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, and is one of the rarest items in Young's discography.
Content
Journey features music mainly from four sources: television broadcasts with Buffalo SpringfieldBuffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield is a North American folk rock band renown both for its music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion, the group combined...
; live recordings
Recorded live track
A recorded live track is a song or audio sequence recorded from live performances .Live song tracks typically have concert hall noise . Though often less precise than practiced, studio recordings, live recordings may offer a more exciting feel...
with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; rehearsal outtakes from the Harvest sessions with The Stray Gators
The Stray Gators
The Stray Gators were the musicians Jack Nitzsche , Ben Keith , Tim Drummond and Kenny Buttrey that supported Neil Young in 1972 on his hit album Harvest, for which Nitzsche also produced two songs...
; and recordings by The Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation Orchestra and Chorus
Tony Alamo
Tony Alamo is an American religious leader and convicted child sex offender. He and his late wife Susan are best known as the founders of an organization currently known as Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. The organization is based in and around Fouke and Alma, Arkansas, United States, and has...
. It functions in part as a retrospective of Young's work, the first of his career.
Side one, tracks one and two are performed by Buffalo Springfield. The medley on track one are studio recordings, including a rare alternate version of "Mr. Soul
Mr. Soul
"Mr. Soul" is a song written by Canadian rock musician Neil Young, and first recorded by folk rock band Buffalo Springfield and released on their second album, Buffalo Springfield Again...
", mimed to
Mime
The word mime is used to refer to a mime artist who uses a theatrical medium or performance art involving the acting out of a story through body motions without use of speech.Mime may also refer to:* Mime, an alternative word for lip sync...
by the group for the television program The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly on ABC from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970. It began as a mid-season replacement for the short-lived Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show which had lasted only three months...
on January 20, 1967. The second selection derives from the group's appearance in 1967 on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
.
Side one, tracks three and four, and side two, track one, are live recordings by CSNY from an appearance at the Fillmore East
Fillmore East
The Fillmore East was rock promoter Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue near East 6th Street in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City. It was open from 1968 to 1971, and featured some of the biggest acts in rock music at the time...
in New York City on June 5, 1970.
The Harvest album outtakes on side two, tracks two and four, and side three derive from sessions on September 26 and 27, 1971 at Young's ranch in La Honda, California
La Honda, California
La Honda is a census-designated place in southern San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 928 at the 2010 census. It is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains between Silicon Valley and the Pacific coast of California...
. Interspersed are conversations with Young, David Crosby
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
, and Stephen Stills
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
from the vocal overdub sessions done later in New York.
Side four, tracks two and three, respectively an excerpt from Messiah
Messiah (Handel)
Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
by George Frederic Handel and the musical theme composed by Miklós Rózsa
Miklós Rózsa
Miklós Rózsa was a Hungarian-born composer trained in Germany , and active in France , England , and the United States , with extensive sojourns in Italy from 1953...
for the film King of Kings, are performed by the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation Orchestra and Chorus, recorded on February 10, 1972.
The album contains only one new song by Young, "Soldier
Soldier (Neil Young song)
"Soldier" is a song by Neil Young from the 1972 soundtrack album, Journey Through the Past. It was the only new track included on the album, and was later released on the 1977 compilation Decade, although it was slightly edited....
", recorded in a sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
to the accompaniment of a roaring fire from a sawdust burner. It would later reappear in edited form on Young's Decade
Decade (Neil Young album)
Decade is a triple album compilation by Neil Young, released in 1977, now available on two compact discs. It contains 35 of Young's songs recorded between 1966 and 1976, among them five tracks that had been unreleased up to that point...
compilation. The record closes on side four strangely enough with a track from the 1966 classic album Pet Sounds
Pet Sounds
Pet Sounds is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band The Beach Boys, released May 16, 1966, on Capitol Records. It has since been recognized as one of the most influential records in the history of popular music and one of the best albums of the 1960s, including songs such as "Wouldn't...
by The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, the instrumental "Let's Go Away for Awhile
Let's Go Away for Awhile
"Let's Go Away for Awhile" is an instrumental by the American rock band The Beach Boys, from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. It is the sixth track on the album.-Information:...
".
Side one
- "For What It's Worth/Mr. SoulMr. Soul"Mr. Soul" is a song written by Canadian rock musician Neil Young, and first recorded by folk rock band Buffalo Springfield and released on their second album, Buffalo Springfield Again...
" (Stephen StillsStephen StillsStephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
/Young) – 3:54- Neil Young - electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, vocal; Stephen Stills - electric guitar, vocal; Richie FurayRichie FurayRichie Furay is an American singer, songwriter, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member who is best known for forming the bands Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin, and Poco with Jim Messina, Rusty Young, George Grantham and Randy Meisner...
- electric guitar, vocal; Bruce PalmerBruce PalmerBruce Palmer was a Canadian musician notable for playing bass guitar in the folk rock band Buffalo Springfield.-Early years:Palmer was born and raised in Toronto Ontario, Canada...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
; Dewey MartinDewey Martin (musician)Dewey Martin was a Canadian rock drummer, best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield.-Career:Martin was born Walter Milton Dwayne Midkiff in Chesterville, Ontario in 1940. He was raised there and the surrounding Smiths Falls and Ottawa...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Neil Young - electric guitar
- "Rock & Roll Woman" (Stills) – 2:53
- Stills - electric guitar, vocal; Young - electric guitar, vocal; Furay - electric guitar, vocal; Palmer - bass; Martin - drums
- "Find the Cost of Freedom" (Stills) – 1:59
- Stills, Young, David CrosbyDavid CrosbyDavid Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
, Graham NashGraham NashGraham William Nash, OBE is an English singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer...
- vocals, guitars
- Stills, Young, David Crosby
- "Ohio" – 4:23
- Young - electric guitar, vocal; Stills - electric guitar, vocal; Crosby - electric guitar, vocal; Nash - vocal; Calvin Samuels - bass; Johnny Barbata - drums
Side two
- "Southern ManSouthern Man"Southern Man" is a song by Neil Young from his album After the Gold Rush. The album was released in 1970.The lyrics of "Southern Man" are vivid, describing the racism towards blacks in the American South. In the song, Young tells the story of a Southern white man and how he mistreated his slaves...
" – 6:47- Young - electric guitar, vocal; Stills - electric guitar, vocal; Crosby - electric guitar, vocal; Nash - electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
, vocal; Samuels - bass; Barbata - drums
- Young - electric guitar, vocal; Stills - electric guitar, vocal; Crosby - electric guitar, vocal; Nash - electric piano
- "Are You Ready for the Country?" – 1:52
- Young - pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, vocal; Ben KeithBen KeithBennett Keith Schaeufele , better known by his stage name Ben Keith, was an American musician and record producer...
- pedal steel guitarPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
; Jack NitzscheJack NitzscheBernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche was an arranger, producer, songwriter, and film score composer. He first came to prominence in the late 1950s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spector, and went on to work with the Rolling Stones, Neil Young and others...
- lap steel guitarLap steel guitarThe lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....
; Tim DrummondTim DrummondTim Drummond is an American bass guitarist who has toured and recorded with many notable artists including Conway Twitty, Bob Dylan, James Brown, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Ry Cooder, J. J. Cale, Lonnie Mack, Miles Davis, B.B...
- bass; Kenny ButtreyKenny ButtreyAaron Kenneth Buttrey was an American drummer and arranger. According to CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history"....
- drums; Crosby, Nash - backing vocals
- Young - piano
- "Let Me Call You SweetheartLet Me Call You Sweetheart"Let Me Call You Sweetheart" is a popular song, with music by Leo Friedman and lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson. The song was published in 1910 and first recorded by The Peerless Quartet....
" (Leo FriedmanLeo FriedmanLeo Friedman was an American composer of popular music. Friedman was born in Elgin, Illinois and died in Chicago, Illinois. He is best remembered for composing the sentimental waltz "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" with lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson in 1910...
/Beth Slater WhitsonBeth Slater WhitsonBeth Slater Whitson was an American lyricist. Whitson was born in Goodrich, Tennessee and died in Nashville, Tennessee...
) – 1:05- unknown announcer and female chorus
- "Alabama" – 6:23
- Young - electric guitar, vocal; Keith - pedal steel guitar; Nitzsche - piano; Drummond - bass; Buttrey - drums; Stills, Crosby - backing vocals
Side three
- "Words" – 16:30
- Young - electric guitar, vocal; Keith - pedal steel guitar; Nitzsche - piano; Drummond - bass; Buttrey - drums
Side four
- "Relativity Invitation" (dialogue from the film) – 1:09
- "Handel's Messiah" (George Frederic Handel) – 2:49
- "King of Kings" (Miklós RózsaMiklós RózsaMiklós Rózsa was a Hungarian-born composer trained in Germany , and active in France , England , and the United States , with extensive sojourns in Italy from 1953...
) – 5:07- Tracks 2-3 performed by The Tony & Susan Alamo Christian Foundation Orchestra & ChorusTony AlamoTony Alamo is an American religious leader and convicted child sex offender. He and his late wife Susan are best known as the founders of an organization currently known as Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. The organization is based in and around Fouke and Alma, Arkansas, United States, and has...
- Tracks 2-3 performed by The Tony & Susan Alamo Christian Foundation Orchestra & Chorus
- "SoldierSoldier (Neil Young song)"Soldier" is a song by Neil Young from the 1972 soundtrack album, Journey Through the Past. It was the only new track included on the album, and was later released on the 1977 compilation Decade, although it was slightly edited....
" – 3:39- Young - piano, vocal
- "Let's Go Away for AwhileLet's Go Away for Awhile"Let's Go Away for Awhile" is an instrumental by the American rock band The Beach Boys, from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. It is the sixth track on the album.-Information:...
" (Brian WilsonBrian WilsonBrian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
) – 2:08- Jim Getzoff, Bill Kurasch, Lenny Malarsky, Jim Reisler, Ralph Schaeffer, Sid Sharp, Tibor Zelig - violins; Joe DiFiore, Harry Hyams - violas; Justin DiTullio, Joe Saxon - cellos; Roy Caton - trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
; Jules Jacob - fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
; Steve DouglasSteve Douglas (saxophonist)Steven Douglas Kreisman , better known as Steve Douglas, was an American saxophonist, flautist and clarinetist. Douglas is best known as a Los Angeles session musician, a member of The Wrecking Crew, who worked with Phil Spector, Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys...
, Jim HornJim HornJim Horn is an American saxophonist and woodwind player. He was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for five years, playing sax and flute on the road, and in the recording studio...
, Plas JohnsonPlas JohnsonPlas John Johnson Jr. is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most familiar as the lead on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme"....
, Jay MiglioriJay MiglioriJay Migliori was an American saxophonist, best known as a founding member of Supersax, a tribute band to Charlie Parker....
- saxophones; Al de LoryThe Wrecking Crew (music)The Wrecking Crew was a nickname coined by the drummer Hal Blaine after the fact for a group of session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who earned wide acclaim in the 1960s. They backed dozens of popular singers, and were one of the most successful "groups" of studio musicians in music history...
- piano; Lyle RitzThe Wrecking Crew (music)The Wrecking Crew was a nickname coined by the drummer Hal Blaine after the fact for a group of session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who earned wide acclaim in the 1960s. They backed dozens of popular singers, and were one of the most successful "groups" of studio musicians in music history...
- double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
; Carol KayeCarol KayeCarol Kaye is an American musician, best known as one of the most prolific and widely heard bass guitarists in history, playing on an estimated 10,000 recording sessions in a 55 year career....
- bass guitar; Julius WechterJulius WechterJulius Wechter was an American musician and composer who played the marimba and vibraphone. He also played various percussion instruments. He composed the song "Spanish Flea" for Herb Alpert and was leader of the The Baja Marimba Band.Born in Chicago, Wechter played vibes and percussion for the...
- tympani, vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
; Hal BlaineHal BlaineHal Blaine is an American drummer and session musician. He is most known for his work with the Wrecking Crew in California. Blaine played on numerous hits by popular groups, including Elvis Presley, John Denver, the Ronettes, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, the Beach Boys, Nancy Sinatra, and...
- drums
- Jim Getzoff, Bill Kurasch, Lenny Malarsky, Jim Reisler, Ralph Schaeffer, Sid Sharp, Tibor Zelig - violins; Joe DiFiore, Harry Hyams - violas; Justin DiTullio, Joe Saxon - cellos; Roy Caton - trumpet