Uncut Magazine's Archives Preview

This month's Uncut.co.uk - Magazine previews Neil Young's Archives in anticipation of the February release which has since been delayed.

One would think by now that anyone involved in publicizing the Archives would have learned that it's an effort in futility to preview the Archives based on predicted release dates.

Uncut Editor Alan Jones publishes this letter:

In October 1977, I reviewed Neil Young’s triple-LP retrospective, Decade, for what used to be Melody Maker. There was excited talk at the time about a follow-up, with more previously unreleased material, a rumour that circulated feverishly, causing a lot of excitement among Neil fans before things went ominously quiet.

Nothing for a while was heard about what had by then been dubbed Decade II and the notion of another major retrospective somewhat receded. Then Neil, a couple of years later, started talking about something called Archives, a vast project spread over multiple albums, a trove of unheard songs reaching back beyond the Springfield to material recorded with the first groups he was in, including The Squires, Neil’s high school band of glimmering legend.

This would have been at the start of the ’80s, and we’ve been waiting for it ever since. There have along the way been tantalising hints that Archives would be with us sooner than later, Neil on occasion promising that, yeah, finally, it was on its way.

And then, last December, Archives appeared on Amazon’s forthcoming release schedule. We even got hold of a tracklisting for what would now be a 10-disc CD and DVD boxset and thus armed started tracking down as many of Neil’s past-collaborators as we could for this month’s cover story which we fearlessly predicted would coincide with its release.

Over on rust : Message: *SPOILER* "UNCUT" Archives feature, Mark "Spook_the_horse" notes the following details:

Disc 00 "Early Years '63-'65"
Half a dozen Squires tracks & then solo demos.

Disc 01 "Early Years '66-'68"
17 tracks, mainly already available (mono) Springfield stuff. Last ever live cut features ("This is It").

Disc 02 "Topanga 1"
15 tracks, five from first album

Disc 03
Live at the Riverboat - 11 tracks

Disc 04 "Topanga 2"
14 songs, inc. "Everybody's Alone" - mainly '69/'70 Crazy Horse EKTIK-era material. Unreleased mix of "Helpless" and live "I've Loved Her So Long" as well.

Disc 05
Fillmore East show (as NYA PS)

Disc 06 "Topanga 3"
11 songs from ATG...also "Wonderin'"

Disc 07
Massey Hall (as NYA PS)

Disc 08 "North Country"
14 Harvest-era songs

Disc 09
JTTP (the film I guess and not the soundtrack).

Thanks Alan and Mark!

Also, Sharry "Keepin' Jive Alive in T.O." on Rust is interviewed for the article. Yeah Sharry!

It should be noted that the issue includes a free CD "LONG MAY YOU RUN" with 15 brilliant tracks that share musical DNA with Neil Young, including The Gourds, Neal Casal, J Tillman and Hush Arbors.

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More on that beautiful girl we call the Neil Young Archives: A Fan's Desperation over the elusive and unattainable.