Here is the latest in a series of summaries of Neil’s most interesting answers to Letters to the Editor in the NYA Times-Contrarian. These replies date from February 8 to March 23, 2022 and are, as always, collated and curated by the “Neil Young Unreleased” Facebook group. Editorial comments are generally marked in [square brackets], and dates refer to the date of publication.
Albums / Films
– Neil confirms the release of the Harvest 50th Anniversary Edition in 2022 and says it will include the movie Harvest Time [which is expected to include footage from solo concerts as well as the Broken Arrow barn sessions and BBC interviews.] (2022-03-23)
– “Will the original Comes A Time [album] one day see an official release?”, a fan asks. Neil: “Yes”. [It should be noted that the ‘original’ Comes A Time, including solo recordings later overdubbed for the final version of Comes A Time, is generally assumed to form all or part of the project now known as Oceanside Countryside. This is expected to be included in some form in Archives Vol. 3.]
“Any possibility of a more produced album not just live takes [like Barn was]?” Neil: “Yes.” (2022-03-22)
– Archives Vol. 3 release currently scheduled for “mid year”, says Neil. (2022-03-22)
– Asked about the possibility of releasing the so-called Tonight’s The Night Acetate version as an album, Neil replies: “The music is the same on the released version, a few songs added.” (2022-03-16)
– “We just did a stereo reversal of the CSG process for my debut album.” (2022-03-16) [Earlier in March, Neil had said that they had not been successful at this so far.]
– “Since you’re not putting [it] out,” a fan suggested a tracklist for the unreleased Homefires album. Neil’s answer: “Am I not putting out Homefires? Don’t be so sure.” (2022-03-16)
– “Time Fades Away II was planned but the material didn’t warrant it so we went onward.” [TFA2 was initially planned as a further release covering the early part of the 1973 TFA tour and possibly one or two studio recordings, but we got Tuscaloosa instead.] Neil also confirms that there is still no trace of the original sessions tape for Tonight’s The Night which included all the raps between songs. (2022-03-02)
– “Ragged Glory (extended)” [aka Ragged Glory – Smell The Horse] “is coming this year with 4 outtakes.” (2022-03-02)
– “Toast is a great record. A Crazy Horse Classic coming in 2022.” (2022-02-23)
– “Alchemy not scheduled for 2022.” (2022-02-23)
– “Live Europe with Promise of the Real [Noise & Flowers] 2022 release.” (2022-02-23)
– The master recording of Sleeps With Angels was made in 44.1 kHz so no higher resolution will be available. (2022-03-02)
– Asked if the planned forthcoming Chrome Dreams album release is the same as the previously bootlegged, so-called “acetate” version, Neil replies: “It is the original from the original tape.” (2022-03-02)
– Asked about making the “restored” hi-res version of Trans available for download purchase, and whether restored versions of Everybody’s Rockin’ and Life might follow, Neil replies: “I’ll check on those albums. We will announce when they are available.” (2022-03-02)
– Neil says there is a “chance” that a follow up album to Barn will come out this year. (2022-03-02)
– The NYA streaming version of the forthcoming Official Bootleg Bottom Line will be “complete, no edits”. [The in-between song raps are likely to have been edited off the physical album for space reasons.] (2022-02-22)
Songs
– “Any new songs coming along?”, asks a fan. “Yes” says Neil. (2022-03-22)
– Neil says he is [still!] looking for Evening Coconut to be able to post it sometime. (2022-03-22)
– Answering about Harvesters recordings planned for Vol. 3, specifically Razor Love, Interstate, Silver & Gold, This Old House, Neil says: “Many of those will be there, some added as outtakes, [including] Misfits.” (2022-03-17)
– Asked about the “solo acoustic” demos for Landing On Water which were mentioned in the Shakey biography, Neil replies: “They are not acoustic. They are coming in V4 or sooner.” [Neil does not explain why they will be allocated to Vol. 4 which is generally expected to start chronologically at mid-1987.] (2022-03-16)
– Neil says he considers Throw Your Hatred Down his best anti-war song. (2022-03-16)
– Asked about further, so far unreleased recordings made by the Mynah Birds for a planned 1966 album release, Neil answers: “If we can get it we will share it.” (2022-03-16)
– The full version of Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black) with Devo will apparently be included on Archives Vol. 3, though Neil may in fact just be referring to its inclusion in the Human Highway film. (2022-02-23)
– Neil is asked whether he could post on NYA the extended dance mixes of Mr. Soul (5:53) and Sample And Hold (6:48), which were only ever released on the Sample And Hold 12 inch single. He answers mistakenly that that particular mix of Sample And Hold is already available on the Lucky Thirteen album, though he goes on to say: “We will look at adding it and Mr. Soul as outtakes to Trans.” (2022-03-02) In another answer Neil says they have uncovered no actual Trans outtakes yet. (2022-02-23)
– Neil gives an ambiguous answer to a request to add his cover of Imagine from the 9-11 tribute broadcast, as well as the Woodstock performance of Mr. Soul, to NYA. He says: “Probably… We will listen – see how it sounds after 50 years.” (2022-03-02)
– Asked if any recordings from the Catalyst 1984 shows, including unreleased songs such as So Tired, Your Love Is Good To Me, and Rock Rock Rock will turn up in Archives Vol. 3, Neil answers: “They will show up somewhere. We have them and they are not great performances or recordings.” (2022-02-16). Neil was also asked about recordings from sessions at the Power Station, New York City, with Crazy Horse at around the same time. Neil replies: “It’s not that great but we may show it someday.” (2022-02-11)
– “We have 5 more outtakes from Harvest due soon. Much more to come.” (2022-02-16)
– Asked again about CSNY outtakes from 1969 such as Sea Of Madness and Everybody’s Alone, which Neil has so far rejected on quality grounds, a fan said NYA should present them “warts and all” as promised. Neil concedes: “I will listen again.” (2022-02-12)
– Neil is asked about a longer version [7:51] of Words which appears to have been included on the European 2002 DVD-A reissue of Harvest, at least according to a listing on Discogs.com. The standard version is 6:42. Neil says: “We are looking at that.” (2022-02-11)
– Asked about the songs Time Off For Good Behavior, Old Hillbilly Band, Turbine and Leaving The Top 40 Behind, Neil says: “I think the songs you mention are all on V3. Most of them are for sure.”
Timeline Concerts
– Neil says he is currently reviewing the Erfurt, Germany show from the 2001 Eurotour with Crazy Horse. [Presumably with a view to releasing it as a Timeline Concert]. (2022-03-16)
– Neil is asked about a possible recording of the 1971 solo show in Edmonton, Canada at which he played an extra set to the snowbound audience. “I do not remember that. I will take a look.” (2022-03-16)
– Neil implies he is not bothered about providing complete recordings of the incomplete Heart Of Gold and Southern Man tracks from the 1976 Rotterdam show on the recent Timeline Concert release. “We’re ok with what we have.” (2022-03-16)
– A fan suggests syncing the recording of the Amsterdam 2016 Timeline Concert to “a great fan-shot film of three hours of that show shot with two cameras”. Neil answers “Sounds like a great idea, we will search for the video online.” (2022-03-02)
Miscellaneous
– “Is a return to Broken Arrow to record an option?” “Yes”, says Neil. (2022-03-22)
– Neil says he intends to bequeath Old Black “to someone I love”. (2022-03-16)
– Neil mentions plans to tour the US and Europe again but says that no dates have been booked yet: “We are working on it right now.” (2022-03-02). “If you tour, is a solo tour to Australia and NZ possible?” “Yes”, says Neil. In another answer he says that carbon footprint needs to be “net zero”. (2022-03-22)
– “Have you considered putting your music on Bandcamp”, asks a fan. Neil: “Hit a wall I am tearing down.” Frank Gironda: “Warner Music is looking into this.” (2022-02-12)
– “I will look into selling [NYA] outtakes as files.” (2022-02-12)
Fan requests for…
– White Line Crazy Horse version from 1975
– Buffalo Springfield 2011 reunion shows at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles as a Timeline Concert
– A 1976 live version of the unreleased song Sad Movies