Neil Young - Archives Vol. 1, 1963 - 1972 (2009) Re-up

Any project in the works for two decades is bound to generate its fair share of myths and so it is with Neil Young's Archives, a series of a multi-disc box sets chronicling Young's history. Originally envisioned in the late '80s as a Decade II, the project quickly mutated into a monster covering every little corner of Neil's career. With its escalation came delays, so many that it sometimes seemed that the project never really existed; it was just a shared fantasy between Neil and his faithful. During that long, long wait, fans held tight to the idea that Archives was a clearinghouse of rarities similar to Bob Dylan's The Bootleg Series, a treasure trove of unreleased songs and epochal live performances that would trump whatever bootleggers had to offer. While rare and unheard music is certainly a key part of Archives, particularly on the first disc covering the pre-history of 1963-1965, viewing this project as merely a CD box set is wildly misleading. Neil Young has designed Archives as nothing less than an immersive multimedia autobiography, an interactive experience where the music, text, video, and pictures feed off each other, creating a virtual journey through Neil's past.

Because this is a biography, Archives, Vol. 1 winds up relying very heavily on previously released recordings, containing almost all of Neil Young, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After the Gold Rush, and Harvest, key Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cuts, and the previously released archival live albums Live at the Fillmore East 1970 and Live at Massey Hall 1971. Such a large chunk of familiar material is bound to disappoint any listener expecting Archives to be a rarities-only set, forgetting that its origin was as a sequel to Decade, the triple-LP set that mixed up hits with unreleased tunes. Archives follows a similar blueprint, excavating many rare gems – some, like "Bad Fog of Loneliness" quite familiar to bootleggers; some, like an extraordinary "Dance Dance Dance" cut with Graham Nash, not – and placing them neatly alongside his well-known jewels, so the end effect isn't a rush of discovery but ongoing quiet revelation, an impression underpinned by the set's leisurely pace.

The entire Archives is designed to trace Neil's evolution, to explain how his dead ends were really detours and how his mood swings weren't all that wild; it preserves Young's history as he perceived it. To that end, the DVD and especially BluRay editions of the set are essential to understanding both the project and Neil himself, so much so that the CD edition feels almost like an afterthought, a skimming of the surface of a deep lake. Often, Young delayed Archives due to the limits of technology, a claim that seemed no more than an excuse to keep the project incomplete, but Archives in its BluRay incarnation lives up to all of Neil's promises over the years, coming close to collecting everything – lyrics, press, artwork, TV performances, doodles, scraps of every sort – in one place, letting users linger for as long as they'd like in a specific era. Surely, the sound quality on BluRay is extraordinary – the music leaps out of the speakers yet never sounds overly clean, digital, or modern – but it's the interactive nature of the set that impresses most. While the DVD set also is complexly interactive, BluRay is designed to be continually updated via the Internet, so Young can add songs and videos whenever he wants, placing the new material as a virtual pushpin on each disc's time line. Acting as a supplement to the text biographies on each disc – the biography only covering the years on the disc – the time line places Young's evolution on a broader scale and is illuminated by this extra material, such as a downright thrilling CSNY performance of "Down by the River" on ABC-TV, but this is merely a teaser for the main event: the virtual filing cabinet, where every song on the set has its own folder bulging with handwritten lyrics, press clips, photos, snippets of in-concert introductions, alternate takes – the list is almost endless and it's always different, so it's easy to flip back to a song and discover a bunch of information you missed the first time around. Add to this, there are an untold number of Easter eggs, sometimes housing the best stuff here, such as videos of Young combing through the archives and reminiscing in 1997, or a 15-minute film clip of Young discovering a CSNY bootleg while record shopping in the early '70s and then taking it from the store.

This level of detail may suggest the one serious flaw in Archives: it cannot be taken casually. It demands complete, undivided attention, requiring users to dig as deep as they'd like, and it's no stretch to say that it could take a week or two to discover everything here. Also, the set comes so tantalizingly close to being complete, it's a major irritation to have one song lopped off of each the albums; surely, the extra storage space on DVD and BluRay could have allowed for complete runs of Everybody, Gold Rush, and Harvest. But really, these complaints feel churlish when faced with a box that is an embarrassment of riches, offering so much more than anybody could have imagined during that long, long wait. Not only was the wait worth it, Archives feels like it was 20 years in the making. It's an extraordinary work that redefines what an autobiography can be.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Tracklist:

Aurora The Squires – from the 45 RPM single (mono)
The Sultan The Squires – from the 45 RPM single (mono)
I Wonder The Squires – previously unreleased song (mono)
Mustang The Squires – previously unreleased instrumental (mono)
I'll Love You Forever The Squires – previously unreleased song (mono)
(I'm A Man And) I Can't Cry The Squires – previously unreleased song (mono)
Hello Lonely Woman Neil Young & Comrie Smith – previously unreleased version
Casting Me Away From You Neil Young & Comrie Smith – previously unreleased song
There Goes My Babe Neil Young & Comrie Smith – previously unreleased song
Sugar Mountain Neil Young – previously unreleased demo version (mono)
Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing Neil Young – previously unreleased demo version (mono)
Runaround Babe Neil Young – previously unreleased song (mono)
The Ballad Of Peggy Grover Neil Young – previously unreleased song (mono)
The Rent Is Always Due Neil Young – previously unreleased song (mono)
Extra, Extra Neil Young – previously unreleased song (mono)








Tracklist:

Flying On The Ground Is Wrong Neil Young – from the Buffalo Springfield Box Set (mono)
Burned Buffalo Springfield – from the album Buffalo Springfield (mono)
Out Of My Mind Buffalo Springfield – from the album Buffalo Springfield (mono)
Down, Down, Down Neil Young – previously unreleased version (mono)
Kahuna Sunset Buffalo Springfield – from the Buffalo Springfield Box Set (mono)
Mr. Soul Buffalo Springfield – from the Buffalo Springfield Box Set (mono)
Sell Out Buffalo Springfield – previously unreleased song (mono)
Down To The Wire Neil Young – from the album Decade (mono)
Expecting To Fly Buffalo Springfield – from the album Buffalo Springfield
Slowly Burning Neil Young – previously unreleased instrumental
One More Sign Neil Young – from the Buffalo Springfield Box Set
Broken Arrow Buffalo Springfield – from the album Buffalo Springfield Again
I Am A Child Buffalo Springfield – from the album Last Time Around








Tracklist:

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Neil Young – from the stereo promotional 45 RPM single-second pressing
The Loner Neil Young – from the album Neil Young
Birds Neil Young – previously unreleased version
What Did You Do To My Life? Neil Young – previously unreleased mix
The Last Trip To Tulsa Neil Young – from the album Neil Young
Here We Are In The Years Neil Young – from the album Neil Young–second version
I've Been Waiting For You Neil Young – previously unreleased mix
The Old Laughing Lady Neil Young – from the album Neil Young
I've Loved Her So Long Neil Young – from the album Neil Young
Sugar Mountain Neil Young – previously unreleased stereo master
Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
Down By The River Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Cowgirl In The Sand Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere








Tracklist:

Sugar Mountain Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
The Old Laughing Lady Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
Flying On The Ground Is Wrong Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
On The Way Home Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
I've Loved Her So Long Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
I Am A Child Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
1956 Bubblegum Disaster Neil Young – previously unreleased song
The Last Trip To Tulsa Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
Broken Arrow Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
Whiskey Boot Hill Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
Expecting To Fly Neil Young – previously unreleased live version








Tracklist:

Cinnamon Girl Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Running Dry (Requiem For The Rockets) Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Round And Round (It Won't Be Long) Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Oh Lonesome Me Neil Young with Crazy Horse – previously unreleased stereo mix
Birds Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the 45 RPM single (mono)
Everybody's Alone Neil Young with Crazy Horse – Previously unreleased song
I Believe In You Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album After The Gold Rush
Sea Of Madness Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – from the original soundtrack album Woodstock
Dance Dance Dance Neil Young with Crazy Horse – previously unreleased version
Country Girl Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – from the album Déjà Vu
Helpless Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – previously unreleased mix
It Might Have Been Neil Young with Crazy Horse – previously unreleased live version








Tracklist:

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Winterlong
Down By The River
Wonderin'
Come On Baby, Let's Go Downtown
Cowgirl In The Sand








Tracklist:

Tell Me Why Neil Young – from the album After The Gold Rush
After The Gold Rush Neil Young – from the album After The Gold Rush
Only Love Can Break Your Heart Neil Young – from the album After The Gold Rush
Wonderin' Neil Young – previously unreleased version
Don't Let It Bring You Down Neil Young – from the album After The Gold Rush-first pressing
Cripple Creek Ferry Neil Young – from the album After The Gold Rush
Southern Man Neil Young – from the album After The Gold Rush
Till The Morning Comes Neil Young – from the album After The Gold Rush
When You Dance, I Can Really Love Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album After The Gold Rush-first pressing
Ohio Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – from the stereo 45 RPM single
Only Love Can Break Your Heart Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – previously unreleased live version
Tell Me Why Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – previously unreleased live version
Music Is Love David Crosby, Graham Nash & Neil Young – from the album If I Could Only Remember My Name
See The Sky About To Rain Neil Young – previously unreleased live version








Tracklist:

On The Way Home
Tell Me Why
Old Man
Journey Through The Past
Helpless
Love In Mind
A Man Needs A Maid/Heart Of Gold (Suite)
Cowgirl In The Sand
Don't Let It Bring You Down
There's A World
Bad Fog Of Loneliness
The Needle And The Damage Done
Ohio
See The Sky About To Rain
Down By The River
Dance Dance Dance
I Am A Child









Tracklist:

Heart Of Gold Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
The Needle And The Damage Done Neil Young – from the album Harvest
Bad Fog Of Loneliness Neil Young with The Stray Gators – previously unreleased version
Old Man Neil Young with The Stray Gators – from the album Harvest
Heart Of Gold Neil Young with The Stray Gators – from the album Harvest
Dance Dance Dance Neil Young – previously unreleased version
A Man Needs A Maid Neil Young with the London Symphony Orchestra – previously unreleased mix
Harvest Neil Young with The Stray Gators – from the album Harvest
Journey Through The Past Neil Young with The Stray Gators – previously unreleased version
Are You Ready For The Country? Neil Young with The Stray Gators – from the album Harvest
Alabama Neil Young with The Stray Gators – from the album Harvest
Words (Between The Lines Of Age) Neil Young with The Stray Gators – from the original soundtrack album Journey Through The Past
Soldier Neil Young – previously unreleased mix
War Song Neil Young & Graham Nash with The Stray Gators – from the 45 RPM single (mono)








Available for the first time since its original theatrical release in 1973 In 5.1 DTS© surround sound and stereo. Includes rare performance and documentary footage of Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and scenes from the recording of the Harvest album featuring Neil Young with The Stray Gators

Tracklist:

01. For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield
02. Mr. Soul - Buffalo Springfield
03. Rock And Roll Woman - Buffalo Springfield
04. Find The Cost Of Freedom - Crosby Stills Nash & Young
05. Ohio - Crosby Stills Nash & Young
06. Southern Man - Crosby Stills Nash & Young
07. Are You Ready For The Country - Neil Young
08. Let Me Call You Sweetheart - Neil Young
09. Alabama - Neil Young
10. Words - Neil Young
11. Messiah- The Tony And Susan Alamo Christian Foundation Choir
12. The King Of Kings - The Tony And Susan Alamo Christian Foundation Orchestra
13. Soldier - Neil Young
14. Let's Go Away For Awhile - The Beach Boys
15. Speakin' Out - Neil Young

Special features include:

Theatrical trailer
Radio spots
Archival galleries








All thanks go to the original releaser