Neil Young Archives
Encyclopedia
The Neil Young Archives is a series of archival releases by singer-songwriter Neil Young
which feature previously released as well as unreleased studio and live recordings. The project has been long in the making – work began in the late 1980s. Throughout its development, Young himself has made several statements about the material included, release dates, and marketing that have proven false as the project is expanded upon to accommodate new releases or other relevant material. Young has said that there will be five volumes covering approximately 50 years.
The archives are divided into several series. The main part is a series of box sets covering separate periods of the artist's career. The Performance Series consists of individual releases of live material. Finally, there is the Special Edition series which will consist of previously unreleased albums. These different series also overlap; since, for example, two volumes of the Performance Series are included on the first Archives box set release, but are also sold separately.
, as well as cuts, demos, outtakes and alternate mixes from his albums Neil Young
, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
, After the Gold Rush
, and Harvest. Also included in the set are several live discs, as well as a DVD of the long out-of-print film Journey Through the Past
, directed by Young in the early 1970s.
Volume 1 was released as a set of 10 Blu-ray discs in order to present high resolution audio as well as accompanying visual documentation. It is also available as a 10 disc DVD set and an 8 CD set. On January 31, 2010, the box set won the Grammy Award
for Best Art Direction on a Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, and was shared by Neil Young along with his art directors Gary Burden and Jenice Heo.
has stated that Volume 2 will span from 1972 through 1982, one of the musician's most prolific eras. He also stated that it will likely be released "two or three years" after 2009's Volume 1. If Roberts is correct, the second volume may feature songs from the albums and sessions for Time Fades Away
, On the Beach, Tonight's the Night
, Zuma
, American Stars 'n Bars, Comes a Time
, Rust Never Sleeps
, Live Rust
, Hawks & Doves
, Re-ac-tor
and Trans
. Also recorded during this time were the albums Homegrown and Chrome Dreams
, neither of which has ever been released.
Volume 2 could potentially begin with songs from the long out-of-print live 1973 album Time Fades Away, which would be the first time any songs from that record have ever been released on CD. In October 2009, Young told Guitar World
that a disc titled Time Fades Away II will be included in second volume of the Archives series, noting: "It's interesting because [Time Fades Away II] has a different drummer than what was on that album. Kenny Buttrey
was in there for the first half, and Johnny Barbata came in for the second. It's a completely different thing, with completely different songs."
On his on-line newspaper, Young has stated that "four unreleased albums from this period are being rebuilt [...] Chrome Dreams
, Homegrown and Oceanside-Countryside are the three unreleased studio albums. Also from this period is the unreleased Odeon-Budokan live recording produced by David Briggs
and Tim Mulligan".
album contains several live recordings of songs from Life, which the page cites as being "From The Neil Young Archives, Volume 3."
and the unreleased Toast album, which was recorded with Crazy Horse in 2000.
is labeled Volume 00 in the Performance Series, but was the third in the series to be released. It features recordings from Young's solo acoustic performances at Canterbury House on 9th-10th November, 1968. The album was released on December 2, 2008.
and is taken from a series of shows at the Riverboat Coffeehouse in Toronto
in February, 1969, recorded by Brian Ahern. The CD was released as part of the Archives Vol. 1 in June 2009. Chrome Dreams II
from certain retailers also included a bonus CD with a preview track from the Riverboat. Different outlets had different CDs, each with a different preview track.
, released in November 2006, features a March 1970 concert with Crazy Horse
. The album was released on CD, LP and DVD-A with high definition sound accompanied by still images from the concert.
, saw release in March 2007. The album was released on LP, CD and DVD Video with the DVD version including high definition sound accompanied by 8mm
film footage of the concert.
documents the International Harvesters tours of 1984-1985. It was first released May 24, 2011 as an LP, with Blu-ray (and accompanying film) and CD following June 14.
performed live in 1992.
Compact disc versions of the above albums were released on 14 July 2009. In addition, the albums were reissued as limited edition box sets on 24 November 2009, in both 180-gram vinyl and 24k gold CD versions. 140-gram vinyl editions of the individual albums were also issued on that date.
, and Re-ac-tor
on Compact Disc for the first time. These were reissued as HDCD's as part of the Neil Young Archives Digital Masterpiece Series. The CD versions were subsequently joined by DVD-Audio versions.
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...
which feature previously released as well as unreleased studio and live recordings. The project has been long in the making – work began in the late 1980s. Throughout its development, Young himself has made several statements about the material included, release dates, and marketing that have proven false as the project is expanded upon to accommodate new releases or other relevant material. Young has said that there will be five volumes covering approximately 50 years.
The archives are divided into several series. The main part is a series of box sets covering separate periods of the artist's career. The Performance Series consists of individual releases of live material. Finally, there is the Special Edition series which will consist of previously unreleased albums. These different series also overlap; since, for example, two volumes of the Performance Series are included on the first Archives box set release, but are also sold separately.
Volume 1: 1963-1972
The first volume was released June 2, 2009, covering Young's early years with The Squires and 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...
, as well as cuts, demos, outtakes and alternate mixes from his albums Neil Young
Neil Young (album)
Neil Young is the self-titled debut studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, which was his debut release as a solo artist following his departure from the band Buffalo Springfield...
, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is the second studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released on Reprise Records catalogue RS 6349...
, After the Gold Rush
After the Gold Rush
After the Gold Rush is the third studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young. Released in August 1970 on Reprise Records, it was one of the four high-profile albums released by each member of folk rock collective Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their chart-topping 1970 album Déjà Vu...
, and Harvest. Also included in the set are several live discs, as well as a DVD of the long out-of-print film Journey Through the Past
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...
, directed by Young in the early 1970s.
Volume 1 was released as a set of 10 Blu-ray discs in order to present high resolution audio as well as accompanying visual documentation. It is also available as a 10 disc DVD set and an 8 CD set. On January 31, 2010, the box set won the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Art Direction on a Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, and was shared by Neil Young along with his art directors Gary Burden and Jenice Heo.
Volume 2: 1972–1982
Young's manager Elliot RobertsElliot Roberts
Elliot Roberts is an American music manager, record executive, and philanthropist, best known for helping start the careers of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell....
has stated that Volume 2 will span from 1972 through 1982, one of the musician's most prolific eras. He also stated that it will likely be released "two or three years" after 2009's Volume 1. If Roberts is correct, the second volume may feature songs from the albums and sessions for Time Fades Away
Time Fades Away
Time Fades Away is a 1973 live album by Neil Young, consisting of previously unreleased material. It was recorded with The Stray Gators on the tour following 1972's highly successful Harvest and has not been reissued on CD due to Young's dissatisfaction with that particular series of concerts...
, On the Beach, Tonight's the Night
Tonight's The Night
-Films:* Tonight's the Night , a 1934 British film starring Leslie Fuller* An alternative title for the 1954 film Happy Ever After-Musicals:*To-Night's the Night...
, Zuma
Zuma (album)
Zuma is the seventh studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, his second with Crazy Horse, released in 1975. Some believe the album was named after Zuma Beach in Malibu; however, it seems more logical that the title comes from Montezuma, as he is featured prominently in the song Cortez The...
, American Stars 'n Bars, Comes a Time
Comes a Time
Comes a Time is the ninth album by Neil Young, and a return to the country/folk rock sound of Harvest . Many of the tracks include harmony vocals from Nicolette Larson. Originally, it had started out as a solo record, but when Young played it for Reprise executives they asked him if he wouldn't...
, Rust Never Sleeps
Rust Never Sleeps
Rust Never Sleeps is an album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse released in 1979. The bulk of the album was recorded live at San Francisco's Cow Palace, with overdubs added. Audience noise is removed as much as possible, although it is clearly audible at certain points, most noticeably on the opening...
, Live Rust
Live Rust
Live Rust is a live album by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, recorded during his fall 1978 Rust Never Sleeps tour. The show at the Cow Palace, San Francisco was filmed and was the performance used in the concert film, Rust Never Sleeps; however, the album Live Rust was composed of performances...
, Hawks & Doves
Hawks & Doves
Hawks & Doves is the tenth studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young. Its two sides were recorded in different circumstances, side one being culled from sessions dating from approximately 1974 through 1977, and side two from sessions specifically for the album in early 1980. The record peaked at...
, Re-ac-tor
Re-ac-tor
Re-ac-tor is the eleventh studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, and his third with Crazy Horse, released in 1981. The album married the electric guitar crunch of the late '70s Crazy Horse sound with early '80s new wave rhythms...
and Trans
Trans (album)
Trans is the twelfth studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released in 1982. Recorded partially and released during his notorious Geffen era in the 1980s, Trans baffled many Neil Young fans. Some suggested that the album could be a satirical message that Young was trying to send about the...
. Also recorded during this time were the albums Homegrown and Chrome Dreams
Chrome Dreams
Chrome Dreams is the name of a 1977 unreleased album by Neil Young, and also of an acetate from that period which is claimed to be of that album....
, neither of which has ever been released.
Volume 2 could potentially begin with songs from the long out-of-print live 1973 album Time Fades Away, which would be the first time any songs from that record have ever been released on CD. In October 2009, Young told Guitar World
Guitar World
Guitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year...
that a disc titled Time Fades Away II will be included in second volume of the Archives series, noting: "It's interesting because [Time Fades Away II] has a different drummer than what was on that album. Kenny Buttrey
Kenny Buttrey
Aaron Kenneth Buttrey was an American drummer and arranger. According to CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history"....
was in there for the first half, and Johnny Barbata came in for the second. It's a completely different thing, with completely different songs."
On his on-line newspaper, Young has stated that "four unreleased albums from this period are being rebuilt [...] Chrome Dreams
Chrome Dreams
Chrome Dreams is the name of a 1977 unreleased album by Neil Young, and also of an acetate from that period which is claimed to be of that album....
, Homegrown and Oceanside-Countryside are the three unreleased studio albums. Also from this period is the unreleased Odeon-Budokan live recording produced by David Briggs
David Briggs
David Briggs may refer to:*David Briggs , American record producer*David Briggs , American keyboardist and record producer*David Briggs , English organist and composer...
and Tim Mulligan".
Volume 3 (1980s)
Little information about Volume 3 of the Archives has been announced. However, the website for Young's Living With WarLiving With War
Living with War is the twenty-ninth Grammy and Juno Award-nominated studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released in 2006. The album's lyrics, titles, and conceptual style are highly critical of the policies of the George W. Bush administration; the CTV website defined it as "a musical...
album contains several live recordings of songs from Life, which the page cites as being "From The Neil Young Archives, Volume 3."
Volume 5 (2000s)
Elliot Roberts and Neil Young have said that the Archives project will extend into a fifth volume, which should include songs from 2009's Fork in the RoadFork in the Road
Fork in the Road is the thirty-second studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released April 7, 2009, on Reprise Records. The album was released on vinyl on July 26, 2009....
and the unreleased Toast album, which was recorded with Crazy Horse in 2000.
Performance Series
The series of box sets were preceded by individual concert releases, dubbed the Archives Performance Series. This section contains details of releases so far. The releases are ordered in chronological order of recording. The albums were released in a different order, with Volume 2 coming in 2006, Volume 3 in 2007 and Volume 1 included in the first Archives box.Volume 00: Sugar Mountain - Live at Canterbury House 1968
Sugar Mountain - Live at Canterbury House 1968Sugar Mountain - Live At Canterbury House 1968
Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968 is a live album by Neil Young. On November 8–10, 1968, Young performed three shows at Canterbury House in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This album is compiled from the performances on the 9th and 10th....
is labeled Volume 00 in the Performance Series, but was the third in the series to be released. It features recordings from Young's solo acoustic performances at Canterbury House on 9th-10th November, 1968. The album was released on December 2, 2008.
Volume 01: Live at the Riverboat 1969
Volume 1 is entitled Live at the Riverboat 1969Live at the Riverboat 1969
Live at the Riverboat 1969 is a live album by Neil Young, released in 2009. In February 1969, Young performed a series of shows at The Riverboat, a coffee house in Toronto...
and is taken from a series of shows at the Riverboat Coffeehouse in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
in February, 1969, recorded by Brian Ahern. The CD was released as part of the Archives Vol. 1 in June 2009. Chrome Dreams II
Chrome Dreams II
Chrome Dreams II is the thirty-first studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young. The album was released on October 23, 2007. The album is a sequel to Chrome Dreams, a legendary Neil Young album from 1977 that had originally been scheduled for release but was shelved in favor of American Stars 'N...
from certain retailers also included a bonus CD with a preview track from the Riverboat. Different outlets had different CDs, each with a different preview track.
Volume 02: Live at the Fillmore East
Live at the Fillmore EastLive at the Fillmore East (Neil Young album)
Live at the Fillmore East is a live album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse featuring guitarist Danny Whitten. In February and March 1970, Young and Crazy Horse went on tour to support Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Live at the Fillmore East, released in 2006, features performances from the tour...
, released in November 2006, features a March 1970 concert with Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse (band)
Crazy Horse is an American rock band best known for its association with Neil Young. It has been co-credited on a number of albums throughout Young's career and has released five albums of its own.-Early years:...
. The album was released on CD, LP and DVD-A with high definition sound accompanied by still images from the concert.
Volume 03: Live at Massey Hall 1971
A solo acoustic performance from January 1971, Live at Massey Hall 1971Live at Massey Hall 1971
Live At Massey Hall 1971 is a live album by Neil Young. Released in 2007, the album features a solo, acoustic performance from Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada on 19 January 1971 during the Journey Through the Past Solo Tour. It is the second release in Young's Archives Performance Series.. It...
, saw release in March 2007. The album was released on LP, CD and DVD Video with the DVD version including high definition sound accompanied by 8mm
8 mm film
8 mm film is a motion picture film format in which the filmstrip is eight millimeters wide. It exists in two main versions: the original standard 8mm film, also known as regular 8 mm or Double 8 mm, and Super 8...
film footage of the concert.
Volume 09: A Treasure
A TreasureA Treasure
A Treasure is a live album by Neil Young, released on June 14, 2011. It features performances from his 1984-1985 U.S. tour with the International Harvesters. It contains six previously unreleased songs. The album is volume nine in Young's Archives Performance Series and the sixth to be...
documents the International Harvesters tours of 1984-1985. It was first released May 24, 2011 as an LP, with Blu-ray (and accompanying film) and CD following June 14.
Volume 12: Dreamin' Man Live '92
Volume 12 in the Performance Series, Dreamin' Man Live '92, was released on December 8, 2009 and features all ten songs from the album Harvest MoonHarvest Moon (album)
Harvest Moon is the twenty-first studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released in 1992. Many of the musicians appearing on it also appeared on his 1972 album Harvest, and this album is considered by many to be a pseudo-sequel to Harvest....
performed live in 1992.
Official Release Series
Although the Archives label is predominantly used for previously unreleased material, the name is also being attached to remastered editions of existing albums. Such releases are labeled Neil Young Archives Official Release Series. To date, four albums have been re-released as part of the Official Release Series:- Neil YoungNeil Young (album)Neil Young is the self-titled debut studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, which was his debut release as a solo artist following his departure from the band Buffalo Springfield...
- Everybody Knows This Is NowhereEverybody Knows This Is NowhereEverybody Knows This Is Nowhere is the second studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released on Reprise Records catalogue RS 6349...
- After the Gold RushAfter the Gold RushAfter the Gold Rush is the third studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young. Released in August 1970 on Reprise Records, it was one of the four high-profile albums released by each member of folk rock collective Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their chart-topping 1970 album Déjà Vu...
- Harvest
Compact disc versions of the above albums were released on 14 July 2009. In addition, the albums were reissued as limited edition box sets on 24 November 2009, in both 180-gram vinyl and 24k gold CD versions. 140-gram vinyl editions of the individual albums were also issued on that date.
Digital Masterpiece Series
In 2003, Neil Young released On The Beach, American Stars 'N Bars, Hawks & DovesHawks & Doves
Hawks & Doves is the tenth studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young. Its two sides were recorded in different circumstances, side one being culled from sessions dating from approximately 1974 through 1977, and side two from sessions specifically for the album in early 1980. The record peaked at...
, and Re-ac-tor
Re-ac-tor
Re-ac-tor is the eleventh studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, and his third with Crazy Horse, released in 1981. The album married the electric guitar crunch of the late '70s Crazy Horse sound with early '80s new wave rhythms...
on Compact Disc for the first time. These were reissued as HDCD's as part of the Neil Young Archives Digital Masterpiece Series. The CD versions were subsequently joined by DVD-Audio versions.
Special Edition Series
Neil Young recently announced a new part of the archives, known as the Special Edition Series. To date, one album has been announced in this series: Toast, a previously unreleased album recorded in 2000.External links
- http://www.neilyoung.com/ - Official Neil Young site
- http://www.neilyoungarchives.com/ - Official Neil Young Archives site