Blogcritics Comments on Long Awaited Neil Young Reissues

Comment by Thrasher on Long Awaited Neil Young Reissues

Thu, 28 Aug 2003 17:42:03 EDT

Nearly 30 years after the original release of On The Beach, it's amazing how relevant the album still is and how well it has aged. And contrary to some popular opinion, it was hailed as a "masterpiece" in 1974. It's interesting to go back and read the original reviews of the album. Here's what Rolling Stone mag said in 1974: "The hard-edged sound of On The Beach is a contributing factor to its greatness, since the album poses aesthetic and political questions too serious to be treated prettily. Through various opposed personae, Young evokes primary social and psychic polarities that exemplify the deterioration of American culture. Though not named, the figures of Charles Manson and Patricia Hearst appear as emblems of apocalyptic social dislocation in the album's two masterpieces, "Revolution Blues" and "Ambulance Blues." In each song, by empathizing with the emotions of both predators and victims, Young has dared what no other major white rock artist (except John Lennon) has - to embrace, expose and perhaps help purge the collective paranoia and guilt of an insane society, acting it out without apology or explanation." The entire Rolling Stone On The Beach review along with others is at: http://home.earthlink.net/~thrasher1/tnfy.htm Keep on Rockin! Thrasher ]]>

Comment by Hazy Dave on Long Awaited Neil Young Reissues

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 10:01:35 EDT

I said they were not essential to the casual listener to the extent that most people won't find them to be in the top 10% of Neil's output. Some great tunes on there, I agree, I've had all of these on vinyl for years. They tend to be a bit uneven, part of Neil's "warts and all as long as it feels right" philosophy that he occasionally sets aside to polish up a masterpiece. Of course, just about as often, there's a rough gem that needs no polishing. I love "Walk On", but, I prefer the Byrds' cover of "See The Sky About To Rain" from 1973. And I *like* the "face pushed against the barroom floor" cover photo on _Stars And Bars_! ]]>

Comment by bouncing baby on Long Awaited Neil Young Reissues

Tue, 26 Aug 2003 19:08:49 EDT

None of these albums are essential??? Have you heard ON THE BEACH? Have you heard a good 75% of AMERICAN STARS+BARS (just don't look at the cover) ... not that anyone reads this but: this is an exciting day for NY fans. ]]>

Comment by Hazy Dave on Long Awaited Neil Young Reissues

Tue, 19 Aug 2003 10:19:35 EDT

The delays are over, and four Neil Young CD reissues are available today. At least, that's what it says here on the internet, so it must be true. In fact, "On The Beach" has an Amazon.com Sales Ranking of 10 right now, so one can hope they're shipping as many as they're selling. (The new "Greendale" is at #3 right now...) ]]>

Comment by Thrasher on Long Awaited Neil Young Reissues

Thu, 19 Jun 2003 11:14:33 EDT

Reportedly, Neil's not happy with the mastering sound. Sound familiar? The reissues will come out about the time infamous Archives come out. Let's hope we don't have to wait that long. ]]>

Comment by Hazy Dave on Long Awaited Neil Young Reissues

Wed, 18 Jun 2003 10:13:19 EDT

Release date has slipped to July 15, 2003 according to Amazon. Attractive pricing, appropriate for a catalog rerelease, of $10.99 shows up at present. ]]>

Comment by Dave on Long Awaited Neil Young Reissues

Thu, 15 May 2003 15:59:26 EDT

The four remaining Neil Young studio albums that have never been issued on CD will finally be unveiled in that format next month.

Yeah, right (note the date on the article that comes up). These have been "coming soon" almost as long as I can remember. They even got to the point in '93 where preview copies were sent out to journalists and reviews appeared in magazines and newspapers. ]]>

Comment by Robert on Long Awaited Neil Young Reissues

Thu, 15 May 2003 09:52:29 EDT

Hard-core Neil Young fans (or, indeed, anyone who's fond of his mid-to-late '70's output) should make a point of seeking out "Chrome Dreams", which is a bootleg release of studio material from this era. Superior versions of a lot of the cuts which were released on "American Stars 'N' Bars", "Hawks and Doves", and "Rust Never Sleeps", and the boot's audio quality is excellent (seems to be sourced from the original tapes). ]]>

Comment by Eric Olsen on Long Awaited Neil Young Reissues

Thu, 15 May 2003 08:17:50 EDT

Man, it's hard to keep up with Neil, always moving backwards and forwards in time. I consider myself a huge fan but there is still so much stuff I hardly ever listen to. ]]>

Comment by James Russell on Long Awaited Neil Young Reissues

Thu, 15 May 2003 02:12:18 EDT

There was also supposed to be a mass vinyl reissue of his entire catalogue. Frankly, given Neil's hatred of CD, I don't know why he ever let any of his albums out on the format. I notice both Time Fades Away and Journey Through The Past are missing from the alleged new CD program... ]]>

Comment by Jim Carruthers on Long Awaited Neil Young Reissues

Wed, 14 May 2003 17:23:11 EDT

The state of reissues of Neil Young's back catalogue and how he goes on about unreleased material drives me crazy (hmmm, maybe like Neil). One thing I saw a while ago was a response to Neil talking about digital audio, and somebody saying that the audio opinion of somebody who has spent 30 years standing in front of Marshall amps shouldn't be taken at full value. That said, I just got the DVD of "Rust Never Sleeps" and am looking forward to it. Jawas and all. ]]>