Neil Young News: So What's The Deal With The Performance Series (NYAPS)?

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

So What's The Deal With The Performance Series (NYAPS)?

Last week, we waded into that whole can of worms regarding those darn NYA BD Live updates. And -- it would seem -- the answer is patience, grasshopper.

Similarly, we hear all sorts of confusion and uncertainty again now with the latest NYA Performance Series (NYAPS) release Dreamin' Man which will be PS #12.

Of course, everyone is going, what about PS #4 - 12? Will I have to buy Dreamin' Man again in 2024?

Needless to say, we have no clue whatsoever. And Neil probably doesn't either. Or does he?

A recent letter from Donal:

I have a question on the Neil Young Archive Performance Series (NYAPS) in the context of the Archives Boxset.

Am I correct in saying that some of the NYAPS series, namely Live At Fillmore East # 02 and Live at Massey Hall #03 are part of this series ?

If so, I am confused as to why these are included in the Archives Boxset, when they were released prior to the boxset being released.

If this is the case, then, 2 of the NYAPS are with the Archives boxset, and 2 more are not - Sugar Mountain # 00 Dreamin Man # 12(coming in November)

So, would it be accurate(in your opinion) to say that, as these NYAPS are released, theres a good chance that these will also come with future Archive Boxsets ? And some will not.

Whats really confusing for people like me, is that, I bought Fillmore East And Massey hall, and then I find out they are also with the boxset which I might buy.

It would have been much better if there was not this duplication. Release stuff on the Archives box set or separately - doing both is just a pain.

It also appears that 1 of these NYAPS will be released each year, as we have had one in '06,'07,'08, and the next one in is coming in November '09.

Regards,

Donal

Good questions Donal. Thanks for writing. Like we said, we have no clue.

Also, are we bitter and feel ripped off that we ended up with 2 copies of Fillmore & Massey? No, we were glad to get it a year or so ahead of the box and enjoyed it while we waited for NYA. Likewise for DM. We'll enjoy it until we have to buy again in 2024 on super-duper BluRay MAX 9.0 for our SONY multi-media Gigatron enhanced Artificial Intelligence streaming center.

But, we're confident that those who have keen insight into Neil's thinking will jump in with a measured response.

Happy 9-9-9 day! (Tried to post @ 9:09, let's ee how it comes out...)

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22 Comments:

At 9/09/2009 10:34:00 AM, punkdavid said...: A part of me feels like a sucker, because I know I'm going to buy this album and I'm almost 100% confident that someday I'll be buying it again in Archives Volume 4. I'll buy the CD/DVD combo and then get the top o' the line whatever format in the future as well. I don't even like Harvest Moon very much.

But I've been figured out. I'm the fish who knows there's a hook inside that worm, but bites anyway. I'm the batter who knows he can't catch up with the heater, but I'm swinging anyway. Come November, NYAPS #12 will be a part of my collection because I won't be able to live without my own copy. Even stealing a download won't be an option for this obsessive fan. I've got to scrutinize the limited album art as well.

Oh well, I'd better lube up and just enjoy it...

--PunkDavid
At 9/09/2009 10:48:00 AM, Homesick in Paradise said...: No clue either, but good timing Thrasher! ANd Happy 9.9.9
At 9/09/2009 10:52:00 AM, Pinto (or Flounder) said...: The whole Massey/Fillmore in the Archives has been discussed to death. Brief summary - the price of the Archives was very supportable/reasonable without the previously released discs so quit yer bitchin'.

With regard to Dreaming Man - pretty clearly it's being released now because it's the music most likely to sell. Harvest Moon was Neil's best-selling album since Harvest and it stands to reason that they're going to tap into that with the Performance Series. Much as we would like Ditch-era performances, I'm guessing the record company's not all that keen on releasing stand-alone albums of material that didn't sell the first time.

As to whether or not Dreaming Man and/or subsequent performance albums will be included in upcoming Archives volumes - they either will, or won't... so buy, or don't buy accordingly.

Of somewhat greater concern is the fact that I was in Best Buy yesterday and they had two Blu-ray and three DVD Archive sets on the shelf. A quick check of Amazon shows that the Archives are not on the top 100 Box Sets charts (even though Decade still ranks fairly high.) Much as we might like to believe otherwise, economics plays a pretty big role in this whole Archives picture and it's going to be interesting to see if Neil has the freedom to continue the project on this level. Certainly running out and buying Dreaming Man and any other upcoming albums will help.

Maybe Rock Band-Neil Young?
At 9/09/2009 11:33:00 AM, Matthew Lintzenich said...: People, those 2 NYAPS #1 and #2 discs were included with the Archives FOR FREE.

They were a bonus, meant for people who bought the Archives but don't have those two discs.

So you haven't PAID TWICE for them. You still only paid once. So it's 2 for the price of one! Hey, give one away to a friend and stop complaining about getting free stuff!

I can't believe people have a problem with getting free stuff.
At 9/09/2009 11:42:00 AM, Rick A, NSB, FL said...: Only Neil can trick us into buying his stuff over and over and over. The man has realized he has a source of steady revenue in us, and is using it to his and his family's advantage.

God bless him...

Rick A
Chrome it if you own it...
At 9/09/2009 12:25:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I could be mistaken but.I'm pretty sure I read in more than one source (and at least a coupla interviews with Neil himself) that both the Fillmore and Massey shows were always meant to be included with Archives vol.1 when it evetually came out.Have yet to see where ANYBODY has said that other editions of NYAPS will be included with any other vol. of Archives.

Rancho Relaxo
At 9/09/2009 12:54:00 PM, sugarmtn said...: Regardless of whether you buy them in advance or wait for them to come out within their Archives box, I find each of the NYAPS releases so far to be critical portions of the Neil catalog and it is hard to imagine them not being in anyones collection. I'm listening to Massey right now I am still floored at how stunningly good it is. However they package them and however they number them (Dreamin' Man --- 12???), I hope they keep releasing them.
At 9/09/2009 02:04:00 PM, Lee said...: OH MY GOD! Who cares? Honestly people. It's fifteen freakin' dollars. We all have jobs (well, at least most of us I hope!) and this isn't a very big investment. Plus, wouldn't you rather be able to enjoy this over the next few years until that Archives box set comes out? Neil had said the next one wouldn't be out for at least two years - and I'm guessing that this disc wouldn't even be out until volume 3 seeing as it's early '90s. That's another 4 years at the EARLIEST. Stop being such tight-asses about spending money on a new CD. Or if you really care that much - don't buy it. Neil won't care. And neither will anyone else here.
At 9/09/2009 02:08:00 PM, SONY said...: My baby says shes travelin' on the one after 9:09!
At 9/09/2009 04:00:00 PM, Stefano Frollano said...: PSA
0 Canterbury
1 Riverboat
2 Fillmore
3 Massey
4 Time Fades Away II
5 TTN 1973
6 CSNY 74
7 C.H. 1976
8 TRANS SOLO/SHOCKING 1983
9 INT HARV/G.RIDERS 1984/85
10 RUSTED OUT 1986
11 BLUENOTES 1988
12 DREAMIN MAN 1992
At 9/09/2009 05:25:00 PM, Greg McGarvey said...: I wonder what will happen with that mid-80s country material. That's an incredible amount of work! Maybe we'll get the two (?) unreleased albums and the Farm Aid EP as originally planned? And scattered live/studio tracks? For instance, I think the live version of 'Hillbilly Band' creamed the studio version (despite Waylon's participation in the studio version). So... uhhh... let me join the growing chorus of "release the live version of 'Hillbilly Band'!" :P

It will be fascinating to get into later editions of the box (not that I've even bought the first one yet) and realize that big sections of the post-fame stuff is still as unknown to the general public as the "Early Years" material was! Homegrown is gonna be a revelation for even the most dedicated bootleg collector... Old Ways I is circulating in very very poor sound quality... and then there are "known unknowns" and "unknown unknowns" that Mr. Rumsfeld told us about...
At 9/09/2009 08:45:00 PM, TM said...: Geez, nobody is has put a gun to anybody's head. I haven't bought the Archives; I don't have the Blu Ray or the sound system or the time to deal with that now. I'll live, its there, I'll deal with it later. It took him long enough, I can wait.
At 9/09/2009 10:31:00 PM, ShittyHorse said...: Who cares though... really? I don't. I know I'm gonna buy it...twice if I have to. Aint the first time and wont be the last. What else should I spend my money on? I don't do the expensive drugs anymore. Might as well spend it on the next best thing!
Rock on NEiler!
At 9/09/2009 10:58:00 PM, Anonymous said...: what happened to the never ending tour?
At 9/10/2009 03:46:00 AM, Anonymous said...: I knew Neil wouldn't release the next PS disc in order. I'm surprised many are actually baffled by him planning to release it. Haven't you figured him out yet? You can always expect Neil to do something weird. But what would actually be groundbreaking is if he released them in order. Who would expect that? Anyway, I'm still getting this, it sounds good.
At 9/10/2009 05:21:00 AM, Anonymous said...: I think that the important thing to remember is that not every single person who likes Neil's music is going to invest in the Archives. In the example of something like Massey Hall, that was a good enough addition to his catalogue to stand in its own right and separate from the Archives box set. It gives the chance for the non-obsessives to purchase a great recording and possibly get into an artist that they may have otherwise ignored and/or previously not liked. I have no problem with paying for it twice, because I now know that it is inevitable that it will form part of the Archives. If it's important enough to be released separately, then it will certainly be deemed an important part of his audiobiography and will be in the Archives. It's common sense. I think, in hindsight, they may regret not making it clear that previous releases were going to form part of the Volume 1 package but we have to remember that they've been feeling their way in the dark over this project to a certain extent. They've been trying to explore the capacity of a new medium and provide a groundbreaking audio/visual experience. This has been extremely successful. I'd rather be a fan of Neil's and be in this rather exciting position, whereby we're arriving at a completely unique and original method of experiencing music (and related paraphernalia) than someone else who has a wealth of material but is resting on their laurels and letting others put out cds in a boring and orthodox fashion (as much as I love Dylan, he is guilty of this). I don't think that there's a business model for people who won't wait until the release of Volumes 3 and 4, yet complain about buying it twice. At the end of the day, everyone has a choice. Either wait for Volume 3/4, or buy it now in advance and have all these years of enjoying it (and it really probably will be years!). I don't think I've heard people complain about buying remastered albums (and the difference between, say, cd and blu ray is even greater than that of a remastered album)! Personally, I can't quite fathom why there is such a big furore about this. I don't normally post on here but thought I needed to wade in! Be grateful for what we're fortunate enough to be offered!
At 9/10/2009 06:40:00 AM, Jim Pearson said...: Hey Thrash,

9-9-09 is memorable day for me... Mum's Birthday (may she still be resting in peace). She'd a been 84.. lost in 2001... She once asked me to turn down the music when I was visiting in her last years, and it was 'Clancy' I was hearing... Next morning she asked what it was and I told her it was Neil Young and she said she knew of him and that she had read that he was hugely influential and asked, how long have you been listeming to him? I told her since EKTIN about 1970 and she smiled and said, 'I thought so..." Sydney Jim
At 9/10/2009 10:54:00 AM, Jacob said...: Can you really call it "getting duped" if two decades pass between releases.
I mean, if APS #12 is part of a future Archive volume than it's safe to assume that it'll probably be included in Volume 4 (maybe 3).
And I'm not expecting Volume 3 or 4 to be released until sometime post 2020 and by that point the music will be directly injected into our brains instead of put onto cd/dvd.
So yeah, I have no hesitation in regards to buying "Dreamin' Man".
At 9/12/2009 08:29:00 AM, Homesick in Paradise said...: Come on people, no-one here ever bought a 45 knowing the song(s) would end up on the LP they would also buy?
At 9/13/2009 09:02:00 PM, D.I. Kertis said...: On a semi-related issue, I've been wondering about the Official Releases Series. The thing is, I bought the Neil Young and Everybody Knows this is Nowhere remasters earlier today. They sound great-- in fact I'm listening to the former right now. These are wonderfully improved from their past versions and I'll probably be picking up After the Goldrush and Harvest next weekend. I'm greatly satisfied with them and I'm convinced their worth my money. But I've been wondering, when Archives 2 eventually roles around, I'd imagine the albums covered by the set will be restored and reissued, and the same will be done for all future Archives volumes. But the Digital Masterpiece series from 2003--On the Beach, American Stars 'n' Bars, Hawks and Doves, and Re-Act-Or--sound as great as can be. So I'm guessing Neil won't be reissuing those again as part of the Official Release Series, since they're definitely up the standards of these new remasters. If he does, I won't have any reason to buy them. At the same time, albums that would fall into the presumptive Volume 2 time period--Tonight's the Night, Comes a Time, Rust Never Sleeps, and Live Rust--would likely get the ORS treatment, right? Then there's Time Fades Away. I'm curious to see how that will be handled as I've heard about this Time Fades Away II business and it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. Where will the Stills-Young album and Decade fit into this? Will Decade be superseded by the Archives series once it has covered those ten years? Then there's Toast... and Journey Through the Past STILL hasn't seen CD release, in spite of the fact that it's within the time period Archives 1 covers.

I guess we won't have real answers to these conundrums until (if it ever happens) the Archives series is completed to date. I'm guessing Toast will be released in Volume 4, or whatever number we're at by that point in the chronology and like I said I'd think the DMS wouldn't be reissued. But those are just guesses. I'm also guessing Neil has more of this planned out than he's let on so far, but we'll see...
At 9/14/2009 12:42:00 PM, Anonymous said...: By the time Neil gets around to offering Vol 2, VERY FEW people will actually be buying CDs (remastered or otherwise).

That horse has left the stable...
At 10/15/2009 01:21:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Is Dreamin' Man still coming out? I can't find any pre-order sites, and it isn't even up on Amazon.