Exclusive First Look: Neil Young - Archives Vol. III

Neil Young is an avid collector of trains, cars, clothes, photos, records, and amplifiers, but also of his own recordings, which he reveals in bits and pieces whenever the time seems right, which is to say quite often. Unexpected records are always an event, but it’s the release of his archive volumes that we’ve been circling like hawks. The project sees the meticulous Canadian-American singer/songwriter retrace his career chronologically, and in detail. It’s a pharaonic undertaking begun in the 1980s and documented on the dedicated website (neilyoungarchives.com), the main series of which plans to cover 50 years in five volumes—a goldmine for enthusiasts and an (ample) gateway for neophytes.

After Vol. I (1963 to 1972), which focused on his beginnings with The Squires, Buffalo Springfield and his first four solo records, and Vol. II, which concentrated on the short but prolific years between 1972-1976 that saw the birth of his masterpieces On the Beach, Tonight’s the Night and Zuma, Vol. III looks at the eclectic decade that followed, 1976 to 1987, marked by his time on the Geffen label. Never where his fans—or his label—expected him to be, Young surprised them with every record, moving between rock ‘n’ roll, country, classic folk and new wave. With often breathtaking sound quality—hardly surprising given Young’s high standards—this copious third volume brings together 121 previously unreleased versions (live, studio, mix, original or alternative) and 15 never-before-heard songs, for a gigantic total of 198 tracks, divided into 17 discs.

Throughout, we are taken on the road, on stage, into the California and Texas studios, in the car, and even to Linda Ronstadt’s house (where she sings on “Heart of Gold”), hanging up a few time wagons in the Loner’s discography along the way. The icing on the cake is that Young takes part in the storytelling, introducing when, why, where and with whom you are. For those who prefer short stories, Neil Young Archives Vol. III Takes, a double LP of 16 tracks from the box set, is being released in both physical and digital formats on the same date and is now available for pre-order on Qobuz.

March 1976 to August 1977: From Across the Water I & II to Windward Passage

It’s 1976: Neil Young had lost his guitarist Danny Whitten and his roadie Bruce Berry, he had split up with Carrie Snodgress, with whom he had just had his first son Zeke, diagnosed with cerebral palsy at six months, and he had dropped Stephen Stills by telegram in the middle of touring their joint record Long May You Run to fly to Japan with Crazy Horse. That’s where we left him in Vol. II and where we find him playing his biggest hits, at Tokyo’s Budokan on March 11, to be precise, for Across the Water I. A few days later, we crossed the ocean again to hear him in London, and then in Glasgow playing (probably for the first time there) a version of “Homegrown,” all guitars out. Then it was back to the States with disc 3, Hitchhikin’ Judy, which featured Hitchhiker, born during an express session at the Indigo Ranch in Malibu, California; Songs for Judy, a collection of solo acoustic overtures that Young played before returning to electric with Crazy Horse; and an appearance on The Last Waltz, a farewell concert for The Band, where he reunited with Joni Mitchell on “Helpless.”

1977 is collected in disc 4: Snapshot in Time. It captured Young sitting, guitar in hand, before his loyal producer David Briggs and Nicolette Larson at Linda Ronstadt’s house in Malibu, putting their heads together to compose American Stars ‘N Bars. The album even included “Barefoot Floors,” a ballad recorded on cassette that he’d play to a jubilant Ronstadt in his passenger seat. Then it was northward to the hot bars of Santa Cruz, where Young had gone to relax by playing guitar with some locals going by The Ducks (Johnny Craviotto on drums, Bob Mosley on bass and Jeff Blackburn on guitar) in the very rock ‘n’ roll “Windward Passage,” steeped in airs of Chuck Berry.

May 1977 to July 1981: Oceanside/Countryside - Coastline

In 1978, Young went back to the folksy sound of Harvest with the excellent Comes a Time, covering Ian and Sylvia’s “Four Strong Winds” (which reminded him of his childhood in Ontario, Canada) alongside Nicolette Larson and his hero J.J. Cale on guitar. But before that came Oceanside Countryside, a fairly personal solo album that Young presented to Mo Ostin and Lenny Waronker of Reprise, who urged him to add more instrumentation. “I trusted them and still do,” he notes in his archives. “Their musical tastes were a soundboard for years. It was a record I felt really good with.” Thus we discover part of the version recorded at Nashville’s Crazy Mama Studio, with Young backed up by Rufus Thibodeaux on fiddle, Joe Osborn on bass, Karl Himmel on drums and Ben Keith on steel guitar and dobro. And we linger in the country feeling for the lovely Union Hall (disc 7), which affords a listen in on a rehearsal with Linda Ronstadt and The Gone With The Wind Orchestra, loaded with woodwinds.

In the twilight of the ‘70s, the punks may have been mocking the hippy utopia, but Neil Young had not been labeled a has-been. He wore Sex Pistols t-shirts, made a dedication to Johnny Rotten at the end of “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)” from the very hard rock Rust Never Sleeps (1979)—which was to be a major influence on grunge—and hooked up with Devo for his film Human Highway (1982). It’s with them, moreover, that we find him in May ‘78 in San Francisco on disc 10, Boarding House II, which is worth its weight in gold for its creepy version of” Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)” where he refers to Rotten as “Johnny Spud.” Then, on Sedan Delivery, which draws on Rust Never Sleeps and Live Rust (1979), we discover the short “Bright Sunny Day,” where Neil Young lifts his foot off the distortions.

Then there’s Coastline (disc 11), a mix of the half-folk, half-country heard on Hawks & Doves (1980) and the repetitive rock of Re-ac-tor (1981). There are two unreleased tracks from opposite ends of the spectrum: the anachronistic “Winter Winds,” which finds the Broken Arrow Ranch filled with atmosphere more akin to an Irish pub from Crazy Horse, Neil Young on piano and Hillary O’Brien on vocals, as well as the brief anthem “Get Up,” on which Young juggles a Synclavier and a Wurlitzer. The synthetic ‘80s began, and Young’s daily life became more complex. He toured less, no longer lingered in the studio and, together with his wife Pegi, embarked on a long 15-hours-a-day therapy program for his second son Ben, who was born with a more severe form of cerebral palsy. This intense phase was to influence Re-ac-tor and Trans (1982).

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Neil Young + “The Gone with the Wind Orchestra,” 1977 Rehearsals for the Children’s Hospital Charity with The Gone With The Wind Orchestra (Neil Young, Nicolette Larson, Ben Keith, Tim Drummond, Rufus Thibodeaux, JJ Cale, Grant Boatwright, and others) © 1977 Coley Coleman

January 1982 to 1987: Trans EP - Summer Songs

In 1982, after two albums that saw scant commercial success, Neil Young left his historic label Reprise to sign with David Geffen, with a guarantee of his artistic freedom. In Hawaii, his beloved island, he recorded Island in the Sun that May—an extremely gentle album driven by languid guitars that makes you want to dive into the deep blue sea. But Geffen joined him at Commercial Recorders studio in Honolulu halfway through and immediately urged him to revise his copy. Young then went in the opposite direction and set about finishing Trans, where he used vocoder and synths, inspired by his son who could communicate exclusively through machines. Disc 12, Trans & Johnny’s Island, unites these two disparate records, all while bringing to light five previously unreleased tracks: surf rock with “Big Pearl,” “Raining in Paradise” and “Island in the Sun”; synthpop on “Johnny”; and the more melancholy “Love Hotel,” recorded in Birmingham using a drum machine.

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Neil Young, 1982 Rehearsal for Island In The Sun sessions, Kahala, Hawaiiu, May 1982 © Joel Bernstein

Young consummates his label’s commercial ambitions with Everybody’s Rockin (1983), a pure ‘50s rockabilly record, and the resolutely country Old Ways (1985), which led to him being sued by Geffen. Then comes Landing on Water (1986), dominated by drums and synths, which was more contemporary and better received by the critics. The Evolution album combines alternative versions of the three; it includes the moving “My Boy,” where Young takes up the banjo and harmonica alone, and displays, as its title suggests, his incredible stylistic versatility. The atmosphere changes with the supercharged live album Touch the Night, unfortunately poorly recorded, which Young performed with Crazy Horse at the Catalyst Club in Santa Cruz on February 11, 1984. It features the thick-sounding “So Tired, Rock and Your Love.” Then it’s back to the fields with the International Harvesters for Grey Riders (disc 14), centered on unreleased tracks from A Treasure, the 100% country live album from their 1984 tour. The mid-’80s mark his least prolific period without a doubt, and it’s worth noting that for its duration, the hitherto loquacious Neil Young is less vocal. But this mammoth volume ends with two discoveries: “Road of Plenty,” a new track reminiscent of “Hey Hey, My My,” on the album of the same name, and the famous Summer Songs featuring early drafts of American Dream (1988) with CSNY and Freedom (1989).

If the ‘80s were unkind to Neil Young, this thousand-hour music odyssey and rich documentation—note that an illustrated 178-page book accompanies the physical box-set—proves fascinating for the close up it offers on the artist. It provides an in-depth view of his stylistic outpouring in a changing era, when the hippie dream collapsed to make way for no-future punk and the advent of sophisticated technology. It’s a rabbit hole you’ll want to plunge into, which takes you to an intimate distance with the creative sensibilities of one of North America’s greatest songwriters. A real must-have!

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Neil Young Archives Vol. III - Physical Release Date: 09/06/2024

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Neil Young Archives Vol.III, Deluxe Edition Neil Young Archives Vol. III (1976-1987)(17 CD & 5 Blu-ray) [Deluxe Edition] $449.98 // The limited-edition deluxe box set contains 17 CDs, 5 Blu-rays, with 198 tracks on the CDs and 11 films on Blu-rays, and also includes a hardcover 160-page book plus a fold-out Archives poster.

Disc 1: Across The Water I (1976) Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Disc 2: Across The Water II (1976): Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Disc 3: Hitchhikin’ Judy (1976-1977): Neil Young

Disc 4: Snapshot In Time (1977): Neil Young with Nicolette Larson & Linda Ronstadt

Disc 5: Windward Passage (1977) The Ducks

Disc 6: Oceanside Countryside (1977): Neil Young

Disc 7: Neil Young & Nicolette Larson Union Hall (1977)

Disc 8: Boarding House I (1978): Neil Young

Disc 9: Devo & Boarding House II (1978): Neil Young and Devo

Disc 10: Sedan Delivery (1978): Neil Young with Crazy Horse

Disc 11: Coastline (1980-1981): Neil Young

Disc 12: Trans (1981) & Johnny’s Island (1982): Neil Young

Disc 13: Evolution (1983-1984): Neil Young

Disc 14: Grey Riders (1984-1986): Neil Young with The International Harvesters

Disc 15: Touch The Night (1984): Neil Young with Crazy Horse

Disc 16: Road Of Plenty (1984-1986): Neil Young

Disc 17: Summer Songs (1987): Neil Young

Complete Track Listing and Info