Thursday, February 24, 2005

Update: Numbers Add Up To Something

Hey, Hey,

Yesterday, we crossed the 1,000th signature on the Release "Time Fades Away" Petition.

The 1,000th signature was submitted by Mark Nielsen. Mark comments:

"Release this already!!!"

Thrashette thinks we need to come up with something for Mark. Anybody have any suggestions?

As a footnote, the Release "On The Beach" Petition took approximately 6 months to cross the 1,000 signature mark between June and November 2000.

I had figured that the TFA petion would not do as well as the OTB petition given it's more favorable preference and being part of the whole missing 6 saga.

So not to bad for 2 weeks, folks!!! Way to go. This is pretty cool.

I've had a bunch of suggestions on keeping this going, so keep the ideas coming.

Hiding Behind Haybales,
Thrasher

ps - if you haven't signed yet, go to:
http://thrasherswheat.org/tnfy/tfa-petition.php

Friday, February 18, 2005

TFA Petition Update - Comments Highlights

Hey Hey,

Regarding the TFA petition, I'm just now getting around to reading some of the comments and really getting a tickle out of them. Some great posts, folks!

Here are just a couple of comment highlights I've pulled from the first few hundred signatures. If you see some gems that need highlighting, let me know.

Pontus - Neil, My LP is worn out, my tapes turned to rust and I was too young and lived too far away to see the tour. Please?

Sharry W - Time Fades Away way too fast. Help us fans take a Journey Through the Past. We love TFA!

Chuck D - Mr. Young, I've read that you're not too fond of this album, but I hope you reconsider the decision not to re-release it...it's a true classic! Your albums are like chapters in a book, but without Time Fades Away the story is incomplete.

Mark R - This historic recording deserves to be made available. I would much prefer to purchase an official release than to resort to lining the pockets of bootleggers.

Art S - My first Neil live experience was the TFA tour in Denver in March of 1973. Later that year, unemployed and broke I sold a pint of blood to buy this LP. Worth every drop.

Keith F - Long-time fan that has seen Neil in concert many times. Would love to hear this album without having to pay an exorbitant price to bootleggers. Am a firm believer that great live rock and roll may be the only magic left in the world.

Robert S. - This album has a ton of soul. You can hear it like you're there, edges, bum notes, LA, High A to High G intro of "Don't be Denied". We need for our sanity and to counterbalance the NY Greatest Hits.

idiot slowdown: I'm fortunate enough to have a really nice, clean vinyl copy of TFA, but I know that there are a lot of other people out there who don't, and they certainly deserve to hear the album. It's very rough and ragged music, but is completely essential to the overall picture of Young's career, and contains some great songs on it. The fact that songs like "Journey Thru the Past" and "Don't Be Denied" are officially unavailable today, even after having been released thirty years ago, is unconscionable. They are worth every bit of the praise that is heaped upon similar efforts on "On the Beach" and "Tonight's the Night."

Mike - This LP is 1 of my all time favs. So Raw and on the edge. This LP confirmed for me, in 74, that I was hooked. Like a big fat bass on the line. My friends used to give me shit about it , it was that bad. But I was right and they were wrong.
The only reason that I can think of that Neil won't release it is cause it's just too damn painful for him.
He still hasn't gotten over Dannys death and how it all went down and this Lp is a constant reminder of that painful time period for Neil. I'm sure he'd like to come to grips with it, but that's like tellin some one that black is blue and Red is yellow.All the unanswered questions and what could have beens. But, this is a step in the right direction,I'm sure that it will touch Neil, and for that I thank and salute you Mike. This is a great show of unity.
thank you my Rustie Brother.

Pauly (harpoondodger) - Time Fades Away stands as a light in the storm of a 21st century musical wasteland...A breath of truth amidst a cloud of lies. Please release it, so more folks can get exposed to it's brilliance~

Suite Lorraine - A classic album that is PURE NEIL....
"You can live your own life
Making it happen
Working on your own time
Laid back and laughin'
Oh no, oh no.
No, no, no."

b armstrong (aka aintnowall) - Neil, For it's energy, soul, and passion...please release it. I wore out the vinyl decades ago, and well, you know what happens to those freakin' cassettes.

dpenny on Steve Hoffman music board - I've been known to enjoy a Neil Young record from time to time, and as much as I love TFA, Neil clearly doesn't. If he had wanted to issue a high rez version of the album it would have come out with ON THE BEACH and the others in the recent batch of DVD-A's. That he didn't speaks volumes about the chances of a petition moving him to action (or licensing it for SH to work on). I do think it's unfair to those who have heard the album and adore it (and to those who haven't and would) but ce la vie.

barnyard pimp on Wilco's Via Chicago - I think one of the reasons the album wasn't released on CD/DVD-A along w/ "On the Beach" "American Stars n Bars" "Hawks & Doves" and "REACTOR", aside from Neil's general uneasiness regarding that era (yet he still loves Tonight's the Night!), is that the master tapes are essentially non-existant -- it was recorded straight to 2-track every night and they just picked the best versions. That said, it WAS mastered to HDCD 10 years ago, and was almost released (the CD exists in verrrrrry limited quantities), so it's not a totally impossible idea, just one that Neil doesn't seem to want to pursue (he probably gets a kick out of it still being unavailable).

Sortasexy on Phish Hook Board - "My dad, who is the biggest Neil fan I will probably ever know asked me to pass this along to my "Phishhook friends" and while he knows that it is unlikely for Neil to release it, he and his "rusties" still have hope. Please sign the petition everyone! It can't hurt."

But my favorite signature so far is #795 from Bill who claims to be the guy on the cover of TFA flashing the peace sign. OK, right. Well if it really is you, I for one would sure like to hear more about your thoughts on the concert that night!

Neil,
You know on the cover that guy flashing a peace sign by the stage?
Well, I think that's me. But I need an album cover to know for sure.
Please release this so I can tell my kids!
Bill in Philly

I mean the cover photo was taken by Joel Bernstein at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, afterall. And the signer says he's from Philly (short for Philadelphia, you know?)

Next thing will be the person who threw the rose onstage signing the petition...

Well that's a few of the innaresting comments out there.

If you haven't signed yet, then go sign the petition today!

If you have already, thank you very much. And also, please take a moment to thank the good folks who are supporting our project (see Thanks and Credit below petition announcement), pass along our appreciation to the group members at the other sites and encourage others to participate. Spread the word.

Thanks everyone in the Neil community for your support of this project!

Because, you can make a difference if you really try.

Numbers add up to nothing,
Thrasher

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Update on TFA Petition - Thanks & Support

First, I would like to especially thank Rustie Expecting to Fly and the entire Neil Young Internet community.

Also, need to give a big hand for the inspiration on this project, to the Neil Young Appreciation Society's fanclub and Broken Arrow Magazine. The November 2004 issue, edited by Scott "Surfer Joe" Sandie, really caused me to give off the couch and turn off that MTV. And Pete Long for the historic articles and details on the TFA album and tour. (Sorry Pete for omitting on the original web page, but that's corrected now).

Thanks to the following for linking to the petition:

Mark on Mansion on the Hill radio,

Frank on Chromewaves,

Some Depression Podcasts blog,

Dave on Large Hearted Boy and the LHB Bitorrent Brunch,

Mark at the Rock & Roll Report,

Lorraine over on the CSNY site Suite: Lorraine,

Rusted Sister over on the Greendale Tour Photos site,

Sharry on Human Highway,

MoMo over on the French Neil site Les Gens Ordinaires,

Joanne on Rusted Highway,

bh & Baron on Bad News Beat,

Barrel of Laughs on the Bob Dylan site DylanPool,

Sortasexy on Phish board Phish Hook

Dannn on the RadioHead site At Ease,

Vincent on the Frank Zappa site,

Sedan Delivery on the Robert Randolph & The Family Band site,

A Furry Thing on Pearl Jam's Message Pit board,

Barrel of Laughs on the Grateful Dead group rec.music.gdead,

David P. Hill posting on the Steve Hoffman Music Board,

Germany's Neil Archive,

The German metal site Metalius,

The Wilco board Via Chicago,

Cowboy Junkies message board,

Neil Young Group,

Rock Town Hall discussion group,

Led Zeppelin forum :: Voir le sujet - Neil Young

Rolling Stones Forum :: Connexion

Nick on the Eat My Justice blog.

Blogcritics.org has picked up the story, also.

Big thanks to Jef at Sidestreet Records.

Also, Dust Congress, Golden Fiddle, Blues for a North Arrow, Luddite Robot, All Night Surfing, German music blog it's always the quiet ones, Claude Pate, POSSO OUVIR UM DISCO? : Discos Desaparecidos, Hasharat, MUSIC HISTORY: Latest Listenings, HeadSpace, Memphilter and

Linkfilter, (comment and vote on this link to sustain & refresh, see link stats, it's already been voted as a Hot Link!)

Radio Paradise Forums - eclectic online rock radio discussion.

And after tracking about 100 incoming links, I've given up. Here are other sites supporting the Time Fades Away petition.

Well that's a few of the sites that I've tracked but probably still missing a bunch. So let me know of any other sites. Drop a comment below with link.

Finally, thank you Colin Young for starting the Release "On The Beach" petition site and showing us all what our collective power can accomplish.

If you haven't signed yet: Go Sign The Petition Today!

If you have, thank you very much. And also, please take a moment to thank the good folks above, pass along our appreciation to the group members at the other sites and encourage others to participate. Spread the word.

Thanks everyone in the Neil community for your support of this project!

Because, you can make a difference if you really try.

Hiding Behind Haybales,
Thrasher
ps - of course, thanks Thrashette for all of your support.