There has never been a more exciting – or expensive – time to be a Neil Young fan. The global pandemic has given Young plenty of time for reflection and for going through the archives. The past year has seen release of his ‘Homegrown’ solo album from 1974, a ‘Greendale’ live set, a CD and DVD of an early show (‘Young Shakespeare’), some classic live material with Crazy Horse (‘Way Down In The Rust Bucket’ and the appearance of his long-awaited ‘Archives II’ ten CD set.
Neil has now hinted that this was merely the beginning. At some point in the coming months, fans can expect an expanded edition of 1990’s classic ‘Ragged Glory’ featuring four bonus songs. At present, the bonus materials aren’t confirmed and Neil is well known for last minute changes, but fans should probably expect period b-side ‘Don’t Spook The Horse’ to finally make an appearance on a full length release.
In addition, Neil suggests this wave of releases will also include a box set for the accompanying live album ‘Weld’, with a vinyl edition and a long overdue blue ray release of the concert film. Although final formats are far from being settled upon, if the ‘Weld’ reissue follows the pattern of ‘Young Shakespeare’, ‘Return To Greendale’ and ‘Way Down’, it’s unlikely fans will be given the easy option of a stand alone blu ray disc, but any upgrade on the now long obsolete VHS is surely welcome. Fans of the period will also be thrilled at the announcement of ‘Weld Series’, a collection of shows from the same tour, presumably sourced from good quality audience tapes as part of the NY Bootleg Series.
His “Performance Series” is also gearing up to release a classic Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’ live show. As a companion to the soon-to-be-released super deluxe version of ‘Deja Vu’, the live set will feature a complete show along with a pro-shot, four camera film of the performance. As with other items, Neil has been scant on actual details, it could probably be assumed that the performances will be similar to the existing bootleg recordings from the Fillmore in 1970, if not the same ones, afforded a proper send-off.
We’ll bring you more news when as it comes…