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Neil Young Archives Vol.1
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Cadillac of music box sets lands with a massive thud! By Brian Wise
NEIL YOUNG
ARCHIVES VOL.1 1963 - 1972
WARNER
It is difficult to believe that this archive has finally been released. For a while it was a mythical creation that was often talked about over the years but showed no evidence of ever appearing. Now that the first instalment has arrived and the sheer mass of material far exceeds expectations, the crucial questions are not only whether the quality of the release is worth the wait but also if it is worth the substantial cost.
The answers, I suppose, depend on how much of a Neil Young fanatic you are; whether you have your tax return; or, perhaps, whether you can inveigle others to buy it as a present for you.
This first volume of what is an incredible archive is both exhaustive and exhausting. Arriving in ten-disc DVD and Blu-Ray formats contained within a large box, the massive archive houses previously recordings, as well as many more previously un-released studio and concert tracks. There is also the 1973 film Journey Through The Past as a separate disc. Add to that a substantial soft cover scrapbook with an imitation leather cover, a draw with the bonus disc of the Sugar Mountain album and a small notepad (!). There is also a card that gives access to all of the audio material online so that you can download the tracks onto to your computer or portable music device. There are also many hidden tracks on the discs and so far I have accounted for 128 songs but there may be more. If you buy the Blu-Ray version you get to update the discs online as Neil finds and adds more material.
The main reason given for the long-delayed the release of the Archives is that Young was waiting for a suitable medium to do justice to the audio. As the notes explain it, DVD quality is 256 times better than CD which, in turn, is 90% better than MP3. (It is increasingly annoying to me how many radio presenters are playing MP3 tracks where the quality is awful. Okay for the iPod not for hifi!). Blu-Ray is far better than the lot of them – and the video quality is apparently astonishingly good.
Even a cursory listen to the DVD will illustrate the far superior sound quality; so one can only imagine the sound of Blu-Ray. Of course, several fanatical friends have gone and purchased new Blu-Ray players (or the X-Box) specifically for the purpose of listening to these archives. One of them jokingly (I think) said that he could sell most of the rest of his music collection because this would keep him busy for months!
There is no doubt that the audio quality is fantastic, so you should not even think about buying the cheap, and abridged, 8-disc CD version (available only on import) unless you are not concerned with this factor. If you already own the Massey Hall and Fillmore East albums then you will really be buying a six-disc set. Those discs appear in the larger boxes, along with Sugar Mountain as a bonus eleventh disc. It is weird, and slightly annoying, that Young has included these already released discs so that you are buying something you already have. Yet this will not deter real Neil Young fans.
The very presence of the Archives is awe-inspiring. It is like one of those old behemoth American automobiles so beloved by Young. You can just sit there and admire the sheer size of the product and its design. This is not the V8 of box sets, this is the 8-litre,16-cylinderVeyron version: it makes every other box set you have ever seen look puny, including all of your Dylan sets. (It certainly does make me wish that the Stones had archived their material a lot better. I am sure there must have been a wealth of early recordings, especially at Chess, that we could enjoy). The only similar product that looks better is the series of Miles Davis re-releases such as In A Silent Way, Jack Johnson and Bitches Brew. The recent re-release of Kind Of Blue is far more aesthetically pleasing, beautiful in fact, but that is just two discs and a vinyl album!
The box set is divided into 9 audio discs – strangely starting at 00 – and a DVD of Journey Through The Past, the 19743 film that must have once seemed like a self-indulgent curio but is now an interesting historical artefact, like some mythical home movie gone awry. Not sure what Neil was trying to do here but it is fascinating! On the other hand, each audio disc contains photographs, lyrics, track and personnel information, rare video footage and enough other material to keep you busy for hours.
The musical content charts Young’s journey from his very early days with The Squires, through Buffalo Springfield and onto his solo albums, up to Harvest. The three ‘Topanga’ discs outline the progress of the studio work, the live albums (including the previously unreleased Toronto Riverboat concert) give a glimpse of Young’s growth as a performer. There is a plethora of rarities: the recordings with Comrie Smith, the Harvest outtake ‘Bad Fog of Loneliness,’ ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ done as a duet with Graham Nash in London in 1971 – and on and on. The first disc itself is a fascinating history lesson.
While it might be tempting to think that Archives Vol.1 might be the template for other artists to follow it is doubtful that many other musicians would have the patience, commitment and obsession to produce anything to match this amazing achievement.
Rhythms Online has one copy of Archives, courtesy of Warner Music Australia, to giveaway. See website front page for details.
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