The Religion of Rust: Part Three

The Limited Deluxe Neil Young Archives: Volume 3.  The stylish heavy box contains a visual guide resembling a file cabinet drawer, a box that opens in the middle with little black doors on each side containing 11 audio "discs" with 198 songs and 5 Blu-rays with 11 films.  Each little door is magnetic and shuts firmly and easily.  There's a lengthy "records" ledge containing hundreds of rare photos, memorabilia and handwritten lyrics.  The book is open to a page with the black and white photo on the left and the first page of the Shocking Pinks section on the right. 

I ordered my Limited Deluxe Edition of the Neil Young Archives: Volume 3 (1976 – 1987) as soon as I received an email on the upcoming release in late July. It arrived in early September. I was excited to get it. Volume 1 arrived in 2009 and I had to wait until 2021 for Volume 2. I was hoping it wouldn't take another dozen years for the next to appear. Happily it only took three, I'm not getting any younger and neither is Neil.

Volume 2 was not as packed with music and extras as the initial deluxe release. Volume 3 makes up for it by being jammed-packed with 17(!) CDs containing almost 200 songs, many of them never heard before, and several hours of viewing over 11 films of various quality on 5 Blu-rays. Way more stuff than was on the first two deluxe volumes. With so much to digest, it took me a while to plow through all of it. But, once I started, I did so with my usual intense immersive obsessiveness.

In spite of being a self-proclaimed “Rustie,” I've never listened to 17 Neil Young CDs in a row. So, when I got to the end of them over the course of over a week on and off (mostly on) I was a bit muddled by all the different tracks. Fortunately, the boxed set comes with a “Records ledger” which I used to follow along with while hearing all this music. It is a well-produced book in the style of a distressed ledger filled with never before seen photos, memorabilia, and samples of Neil's handwritten lyrics on random scraps of paper, scratching out a lot of words as he was literally working through the song for the first time in his life. The vast scope of intimacy provided in the book alone is impressive.

This fantastic book continues the NY Archives tradition of offering remarkable photos of Neil both privately and on tour during this time period.  It is published in a distressed ledge style that is wonderful to behold.

In the back of the book there are a lot of production, art and music credits, down to which band member is playing what instrument on each song, even where the track was recorded, which venue for live, which studio otherwise. And the date, there are dates on everything, it's an archive, after all. I made a point of remembering my initial impressions, just mental notes. Now, I'll share those, rereading the ledger. Triggering recent memories of new old Neil that went everywhere from non plus moments to elevating me and putting a smile on my face with some incredible music. Thankfully, the latter is mostly the case.

There may be 17 CDs but there are only 11 numbered “discs,” some are doubles with an “A” and “B” component. I guess it had to do with the space limitations and the amount of music for a specific style or time period. Each disc offers a perfect glimpse of Neil, from warts and to magnificence and everywhere in between. We start off in March 11, 1976 with a concert in Tokyo, Neil's first concert in Japan. The audience is attentive, generous with applause and polite, not as many screams and shouts as you would hear in America. The music is so solid. Neil starts Volume 3 off by mostly looking backward, covering the incredible material of his immediate past, mostly with Crazy Horse. As was his custom, Neil came out alone for a solo acoustic set. The Horse followed. There's not a bad song on the disc, documenting Neil at the height of his powers with so much success still ahead of him, as the rest of the volume shows. This is easily one of the strongest discs in Volume 3, worth hearing over and over again.

I am most impressed by Neil's “Mellow My Mind” and “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” solos. We get to hear Crazy Horse perform “My Country Home” 14 years before in came out on Ragged Glory (1990). Amazing. There's a blistering 8-minute version of “Southern Man” here that really captures the essence of that biting rocker. “Cowgirl In The Sand” clocks in at under seven minutes with all the energy from his first album with Crazy Horse seven years earlier. But hearing Crazy Horse back Neil on “Lotta Love” (two years before an acoustic version came out on Comes A Time [1978]) was enthralling. This is not the typical edgy, crackly style of the band. This is soft electric and it works wonderfully (in 1978 it would be a hit for Nicolette Larson, but she shows up a couple of discs later).

That's Across The Water: Disc 1A. Across The Water: 1B was mostly recorded 20 days later on March 31, 1976 in London (part of a four-night stand in that city). Neil and the Horse were really getting around back then, and would continue to do that for decades. According to the ledge, each song is a “previously unreleased live version” meaning that these live recordings have not been heard before Volume 3 was released. On this disc we get a great version of “Human Highway” on banjo (again, two years before Comes A Time) and “Stringman” in an early live performance of this new song that was performed for decades afterwards.

“Down By The River” is given an 11-plus minute treatment that is just outstanding. That one had been released in 1969. Neil is all over the place on Volume 3 in all kinds of ways, Time itself being one of them, mixing old standards with completely new material, which is what seems to make him happier. Yet this first disc is more retrospective than any of the others. “Like a Hurricane” makes its only appearance on Volume 3 here, an undeniably classic song he would soon release on American Stars and Bars (1977). “Cortez the Killer” from Zuma (1975) also delivers the goods. Along with “Cinnamon Girl” (which is not on either CD in disc 1) and “Cowgirl In The Sand,” these are the giant pillars of early Neil rock.

Yet, it is the less remembered “Drive Back” that actually offers the best version of these songs on this particular recording. Neil put out an advance CD called Takes a few weeks before the deluxe-box Volume 3 was released. It was a perk for ordering early. It consists of a lot of previously unheard songs. “Drive Back” was a known commodity and this version of it on the bonus CD caught my attention before Volume 3 ever showed up. It might the best version of it ever and certainly was the highlight for me on Takes. The version of “Homegrown” that finishes the disc was recorded on April 2 in Glasgow, Scotland.

A closer look at the book pictured up top.  The black and white photo is of the disastrous aftermath of a Neil concert during his solo Trans tour.  The caption reads: "Interior of Commonwealth Convention Center, Louisville, KY, after a riot following a Friday night 'Solo Trans' show.  Neil left the stage, collapsed in his dressing room and was declared 'medically exhausted' by the county coroner, who announced Neil would not be returning."  On the other hand, there's the Shocking Pinks...

Disc 2 is Hitchhikin' Judy and mostly contains material that appeared retrospectively on Hitchhiker (2017) and Songs for Judy (2018), neither of which I own. So it was nice to listen to this stuff both on my stereo and with my Bose headset. In contrast to Disc 1, there is a lot of new material here. The version of “Lost In Space” is a rare “previously unreleased original,” which means this is the first time Neil ever recorded the tune, at his ranch December 31, 1976. But the live version of “Helpless” with Joni Mitchell, various other great artists, and The Band from The Last Waltz (1978) is the best version of this classic Neil song ever. It blows all other attempts away including the original with CSNY (Deja Vu, 1970). It is followed up with the classic Canadian folk song “Four Strong Winds” live at the same event, a version that was not released until the 2002 reissue of The Last Waltz came out. (The Last Waltz was a great concert film – and double album – by Martin Scorsese of The Band's final live performance.)

A Snapshot In Time is the first part of the two-disc Disc 3. Again, this is Neil playing a lot of new material. This time on an acoustic guitar over at Linda Ronstadt's house with Nicolette Larson hanging out. It was the very day Neil met Noclette. The two female vocalists chime in now and then, being completely unfamiliar with the songs that Neil is demoing for them. It is an intimate moment in the artistic life. It documents the types of casual interactions that are necessary to create a piece of music from scratch. “Hey Babe” is part of this. Wonderful tune.

3B is Windward Passage and has Neil playing with a band called The Ducks. I had never heard any of this music and didn't know Neil ever played with these guys, whoever they are/were. There is a track or two where he does not sing lead, just plays lead and back-up vocals as one of the The Ducks sings. Cool stuff showing how Neil sometimes loved to mix it up and just play along. “Cryin' Eyes” finishes the disc and is another “unreleased original recording.” Never heard before Volume 3 came out.

The next disc, Oceanside/Countryside, features two songs with Neil, Nicolette Larson and his “country” band members studio work in 1977. But most of the material is Neil just working solo in a studio in Florida (while his sailing yacht was being renovated) on songs that mostly appear on Comes A Time (1978). Again, we get this intimate glimpse into Neil's creative process. This version of “Lost In Space” ended up on Hawks And Doves in 1980.

Union Hall (Disc 5) is with most of this same ensemble, now expanded and re-dubbed “The Gone With The Wind Orchestra” also working on Comes A Time material along with other folksy Neil. There's a great version of “Love/Art Blues” here. By now, that song had been around a while but Neil never recorded it, the song premiered on the CSNY 1974 Blu-ray (2014).  The version of “Heart of Gold” is solid, such a pure song. “Lady Wingshot” is an unreleased song that was also on Takes. “Dance Dance Dance/Love Is A Rose” is the first time I've heard these two related songs sang in the same tune. “Love Is A Rose” later replaced “Dance Dance Dance” (and became a hit song by Linda Ronstadt). It is a nice little surprise to hear them together like this, with Nicolette singing along. The disc ends with “Motorcycle Mama” off Comes A Time which really brings her vocal talent front and center.

Neil recorded tons of new material from Comes A Time and Rust Never Sleeps (1979) on the next disc, Boarding House. Here he is performing a solo acoustic set before a club-sized crowd, basically to get comfortable using the new wireless mic on his harmonica holder. It is cool to hear “Powderfinger” played with no instantaneous applause – because no one had heard it yet on May 26, 1978. "Thrasher" is one of my favorite all-time Neil ballads.  The version here is unvarnished and not quite ready yet, but it's still cool to listen to on his twelve-string guitar.  This is accompanied by Board House II which extends the solo performance but this disc's highlight opens with a one-off studio version of “Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)” Neil cut with Devo, of all bands. This absurdist rendition appeared as part of the soundtrack to Neil's Human Highway movie. Perhaps appropriately enough, “Out Of My Mind” with Neil on piano is the real highlight here.

Sedan Delivery has another nice version of Neil and Crazy Horse doing “Lotta Love” in 1978 after the Boarding House appearances, this one appeared on Live Rust (1980). The rest of the material is mostly the proto-grunge material that made Neil “The Godfather of Grunge.” “Welfare Mothers” remains one of the most difficult of Neil's songs for me to hear. Most of this material was released on Rust Never Sleeps and Live Rust, the successful duo albums that created the idea of the “Rustie” as a hardcore Neil Young fan. It was these albums that got my friend Mark hooked on Neil. This CD starts with “Bright Sunny Day,” another previously unreleased song that came on Takes. Basically, it's a Neil pop song that didn't pop.  It's just so-so.

Meanwhile, 7B Coastline is completely different. This is mostly material from Hawks And Doves and Re-act-or (1981); two Neil albums that are episodic at best; uneven efforts, sometimes okay, never great. “Get Up” is not bad, a previously unreleased song that did not appear on Takes. It only exists on Volume 3.

Pages in the ledger show Neil's handwriting as he was working on song lyrics.  The entire boxed set reveals the intimate nature of the great musician.  These are the original lyrics to his great ballad "Thrasher."

Disc 8 is a combo Trans EP/Johnny's Island, which could not offer more contrasting styles. Trans (1983) was a polarizing album for Neil. Half of that album was the type of stuff you would expect, some acoustical and rocking numbers, but this was interspersed with this proto-electronic music where Neil was exploring vocalizations through a vocoder and Synclaiver. Basically, he synthesized his voice to sing to these spiky semi-electronic tunes based upon experiments he had conducted on trying to communicate in the hospital with his severely handicapped son. I found "Sample And Hold," "Transformer Man,"  "Computer Age," and the electronic "Mr. Soul" to be really much more accessible and interesting with this listening compared with when I first bought the album the week it came out.  These are great songs of a one-off Neil style.  They are especially entertaining with the accompanying video - see below.

Then we switch to “Johnny,” another previously unreleased song recorded solo at his ranch January 1, 1982. The five songs following that are all previously unreleased versions, two are unreleased songs. Neil put together this band called the Royal Pineapples and recorded most of an album he never finished. The material here is surprisingly strong. These songs suit the happy island flavor Neil was feeling at the time.

Why he never put together a couple of other songs (it's not like he was short on material) to finish Johnny's Island, I don't know. I guess he was sick of the whole idea even though the music itself is very accessible and even fun. I listened to these tunes a couple of times and enjoyed them a lot. Hard cut to Neil's Trans Band doing “Soul of the Woman” another original recording live August 11, 1982. Awesome! This is followed by “Hotel Love” another unreleased song which is so-so but cool to have. A perfect end to perhaps the most schizoid CD in the bunch.

Or maybe that distinction belongs to the next disc. Evolution is Disc 9A and contains six original songs among a bunch of stuff from Everybody's Rockin' (1983) with the Shocking Pinks. I take this version of Neil as a curiosity like Trans just with an early rock 'n roll vibe instead, Neil's hair is slicked back and all. The best of the originals is “Get Gone” with the Shocking Pinks. Of note Neil is solo on several instruments for the first time ever recording of “Razor Love” which would appear 16 years later in a different version on Silver And Gold (2000). This is a great tune made more special by knowing this is the first time he recorded it.

Other than the surprise of "Interstate," this album was the highlight of Volume 3 for me.  Outstanding music even with "Welfare Mothers"!  Left to right is: Ben Keith on saxophone, Frank Sampedro on guitar, Ralph Molina on drums, Bill Talbot on bass and Neil on Old Black.

The B disc is Touch The Night, legendary among Rusties and was the one disc I was especially looking forward to hearing when I saw a Volume 3 track listing before my order. Like all the songs, "Touch The Night" has a history (bootleg here, it sounds so much better on Volume 3). First of all, this version sounds every bit as great and in the same style as "Like A Hurricane." It is a phenomenal song, absolutely ruined with its studio version on Landing On Water (1986). It was recorded with Crazy Horse at the Catalyst club February 7, 1984. I have heard it on a bootleg recording I got about 30 years ago. I have listened to its muffled quality with enthusiasm all these years. Now, to be able to hear it in quality remastered sound is nothing short of joyous. There are a couple of unreleased songs here too, but “Violent Side” and “Touch The Night” are clearly the best efforts, with the later song given 11 minutes to breathe and accommodate incredible riffs on Old Black. Wow! Maybe single biggest highlight of Volume 3.

Grey Riders is disc 10A and it's amazing. Neil's country/folk band from Comes A Time evolves into more country than folk, the International Harvesters. In 1984, Neil developed a full-fledged country persona (Old Ways, 1984) to go with his rock-a-billy persona, his electronic persona and his proto-grunge persona. They start off with “Amber Jean” followed by “Get Back To The Country” definitely the two best “unreleased originals” on Volume 3. A lot of this material is from A Treasure (2011), a retrospective of their 1984 – 85 tour. All the songs are solid and sound great.

Then the huge surprise highlight of Volume 3 hit me. Grey Riders has several unreleased songs but one of them, “Interstate,” blew me away. This is a fantastic track of a song I had never heard before featuring piano, synthesizer and fiddle with Old Black going stratospheric in an odd fusion of country and rock. I have listened to this track more than any other on Volume 3. I cannot get it out of my head. I've got dozens of bootlegs of Neil's live shows, why did I not know about it before now?

Well, it turns out Neil recorded a laid-back acoustic version of it with Crazy Horse for Ragged Glory but did not release it until he put it out as a bonus track on vinyl (only, not on CD) for 1996's Broken Arrow. That version is wonderful too. Listen to some bootleg audio from (incredibly) 17 years ago here (how did I not know about this song?) and a more recent mix (2023) with better quality sound here.  

I don't play vinyl anymore and I had no reason to suspect the vinyl record would have a bonus track that missed the CD. Usually, it's the other way around – unless you're Neil. This made me realize I am really just a “tier two” Rustie. Tier one fanatics would have known all this years ago. This acoustic version will be released as a bonus track (again) on the reissue of Ragged Glory called Smell The Horse (remastered 2024) on October 4 (day after tomorrow).

Anyway, that version, as good as it is, is not the same vibe as the unreleased version from the International Harvesters in 1985 that no one has heard until now. After “Touch The Night,” the best song in the whole collection is “Interstate.” For days afterwards I was in music nirvana over both versions of this new old song! The great tune is bookended by "Southern Pacific" and "Grey Riders," both terrific songs that are superbly performed.  "Barstool Blues" is here too and featured on Takes.  It's just okay.  (You can hear a similar version of "Interstate" with the International Harvesters, although Neil is not on Old Black on this one, which is what makes the Volume 3 version so optimally awesome!  Nevertheless, the band is playing its part: piano, synthesizer, fiddle, etc. which forms the bedrock of its distinctive sound.  I hope the Old Black version becomes more generally available one day.)  

The “B-side” CD, Road Of Plenty, is miscellaneous stuff mostly off Landing On Water with previously unreleased originals thrown in at the end, “Road to Plenty” being an unreleased song. Even more new old Neil! Though definitely not of “Interstate” caliber (few songs are), this unreleased material still fun to hear.

Disc 11, the 17^th CD actually, is Summer Songs. This offers a batch of five more previously unreleased originals recorded solo by Neil on his ranch in 1987. Some of them would be worked into later albums. This is yet another look at Neil writing and developing material, some great, some not so much, but not necessarily doing anything with any of it until later when some of it felt right.

Throughout all the discs, Neil will chime in now and then with a “rap” explaining what a recording is or the context of it. He finished his 17 CDs with this rap concerning Summer Songs: “And then I just put it away and I went up by it and I left it there for years and years. And I just realized that its a document of something that I really wanted to share. So, this is it.” He could have said that about a lot of songs between 1976 – 1987. Most were used either immediately or later. Some were changed. Some never made it at all. He gives it all to us now in the marvelous collection of 198 tracks that I had the joy of immersing myself in over 8 – 10 days.

The sticker that came with my boxed set, detailing its contents.

There is one noteworthy song missing, however. “Look Out For My Love” is one of my all-time favorite Neil tunes and he performed a terrific version of it with Crazy Horse on Comes A Time. Alas it is no where to be heard, even with all the extra concert stuff. Perhaps he is saving it up for when he gets to his MTV appearance in 1993. That version is my favorite. Hopefully, it will make an appearance on Volume 4.

As I mentioned, Volume 3 contains 11 films on 5 Blu-rays, some of which I've seen before. Rust Never Sleeps (1979) is a great rock concert film featuring a Neil acoustic solo opening followed by a raucous Crazy Horse set.  Neil Young in Berlin (1982) is also terrific, featuring a lot of Trans material along with some classics. It ends with the only version of the song “Berlin” Neil ever recorded. It's really a good tune. This concert was a big deal at the time because Neil was performing “behind the Iron Curtain” (in what was “West Berlin” then) late in the Cold War period.

I intentionally listened to all the CDs in chronological order, but for the Blu-rays I went straight to what I wanted to see the most, the performance at the Catalyst in 1984. The only thing better than hearing “Violent Side” and “Touch The Night” in professional quality on CD was watching Neil and Crazy Horse performing it live on Blu-ray. Just incredible with even better quality sound! The whole performance is wonderful to see but those two tunes are still the highlight.

Across The Water is another great concert to watch with Neil and the Horse at the top of their game in 1976 in Tokyo, London and Glasgow. Boarding House (1978) is a much smaller venue. This offers the same completely new, previously unheard material as are on the CDs but in Blu-ray quality. A Treasure (2011) is just that, a visual document of some of Neil's best new songs from this period featuring the International Harvesters. Unfortunately, “Interstate” isn't on here. It seems almost like Neil is hiding this great song from us.

Trans Solo (1984) was directed by the great Hal Ashby. It is an odd title for the video as Neil hardly does any Trans material, safely opting for his classics instead which are admirably performed. Then we abruptly cut to a few songs by Neil with the Shocking Pinks just to keep things completely weird. Meanwhile, Trans is a recent neon animated/computer generated effort consisting of the electronic stuff with Crazy Horse and was produced by Micah Nelson, Willie's youngest son, in 2023; very cool to watch and the best way to present this material visually that I've seen. Kudos to Micah! Hearing these songs with Micah's visuals revealed to me how special this material is/was.

Muddy Track (1987) is Neil's personal version of touring with Crazy Horse. It includes live performances, interviews, and personal video in hotel rooms; just giving a flavor of what it was like to tour with Neil at the time. Some of the hotel room video here was actually presented in Volume 1. In A Rusted Out Garage is a 3-hour video of a performance of Neil and Crazy Horse from 1986. Crazy Horse is comically billed as “The 3^rd Best Garage Band In The World.” There's a lot of classic stuff to listen to on this one in a addition to new material that would later appear on Life (1987). There are some playful skits thrown in throughout the concert that seem rather pointless to me. Overall, this is not as great as Across The Water or Catalyst - just okay. Neil seems like he is trying too hard in this concert. It doesn't really work, especially with the “lifeless” new songs.

The low-point on the Volume 3 is the digital release, at long last, of Neil's film Human Highway (1982). It is terrible like most other Neil film efforts. This cringe-worthy film is so ridiculous (an attempt at comedy, I guess) and disengaging that it is difficult to watch. I sat through some of it and then left it on in the background while I was doing other things. I've heard about the film all my life as a Rustie. It has a mythic quality about it simply because it was discussed more than seen for many decades. There was a VHS release back in the day but I never saw it.  Now it is out and it is about what I expected. It contains the version of “Into The Black” with Devo which is the “highlight” of the whole absurd mess.

Overall, the video quality on these Blu-rays ranges from blurry or grainy VHS caliber on Catalyst and A Treasure to higher quality on Human Highway and Micah's excellent Trans video. Neil usually prefers the video to have a distressed appeal while the audio is always given top consideration. Everything sounds great on these Blu-rays. This amazing video dump is a goldmine, even Human Highway for a completest mindset. The various live concert footage, reflecting several stages and styles of Neil's career, is stuff I will return to again and again.

As I will to most of this massive, sprawling, often brilliant and sometimes bland Volume 3 release. It is well-worth the money and the wait. I think Volume 4 will complete the set of deluxe boxed editions, supposedly carrying his career up to the end of the 20^th century. If that's true it will explore 1988 to 2000. “Rockin' In The Free World,” “Love And Only Love,” and “Harvest Moon” immediately come to mind. So much great music in this time period! I hope to see/hear it sometime in the next few years. Even with these outstanding deluxe releases, Neil keeps putting out a lot of other “archival” material worth hearing. I access most of this with my Neil Young Archives website subscription and hope to mention some of it before the year is out. Until then I'll keep on rockin' in the Neil's world!

"Neil You" gets us through Volume 3.  The next volume will provide the "ng" to finish his name - and conclude the planned four deluxe boxed sets from Neil's massive archives.  I started collecting in 2009. 

 

 

(Written without AI assistance.)