"Neil Young" by NEIL YOUNG (August 2009 Reprise/Neil Young Archives/Original Release Series (NYA - ORS) HDCD Reissue - John Nowland and Tim Mulligan Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...The Loner..."

Over the last two decades in particular - Neil Young fans have had their reissue patience sorely tested by their moody overlord. Canada’s finest has famously resisted the remastered reissue of his huge catalogue on CD because of what he feels is the format's less than stellar representation of analogue tapes' 'original sound'. But you have to say right from the audio start of these August 2009 CD reissues/remasters - the wait for these first quartet of solo albums - "Neil Young", "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere", "After The Gold Rush" and "Harvest" - has absolutely been worth the endless delays and press hissy fits.

What a magnificent job his transfer teams have done here. JOHN NOWLAND carried out the Audio Tape Restoration and Analog-To-HDCD Digital Transfer of the Original Master Tapes (24-Bit 176 KHZ) with TIM MULLIGAN taking care of the Editing and Mastering. These remasters are not bombastically loud - trebled up to the nines for the sake of it - they're subtle - the music is just there in your speakers to a point where everything seems new and up for grabs again. Fans will love it and feel like they're revisited long cherished old friends - while newcomers will now understand what all the 5-star fuss is about.

Released August 2009 – "Neil Young" by NEIL YOUNG on Reprise 9362-49790-3 (Barcode 093624979050) is a straightforward transfer of his 10-track debut solo LP (36:25 minutes):

1. The Emperor Of Wyoming [Side 1]

2. The Loner

3. If I Could Have Her Tonight

4. I've Been Waiting For You

5. The Old Laughing Lady

6. String Quartet From Whiskey Boot Hill [Side 2]

7. Here We Are In The Years

8. What Did You Do To My Life?

9. I've Loved Her So Long

10. The Last Trip To Tulsa

Tracks 1 to 10 are his debut LP “Neil Young” – released January 1969 in the USA and UK on Reprise RSLP 6317 (reissued in 1971 in the UK on K 44059).

A nice touch on the outer jewel case is the sticker that came with original issues of the American LP that bore the logo “The Buffalo Springfield’s Neil Young” as well as the “A Classic Neil Young Album Remastered From The Original Analogue Master Tapes – Because Sound Matters” gold sticker that is generic with all four of these first reissues. The 12-page booklet reproduces the hand-written lyrics that came with original LPs and not much else unfortunately. This is Disc 1 of 4 and carries the HDCD code on the label and rear inlay (High Density Compact Disc). NYA ORS is the Neil Young Archives - Original Release Series. As these are the first four albums in a long reissue campaign - to identify them from older non-remastered CDs - the upper part of the outer spine has his new NYA OSR logo at the top and an 'issue' number beneath - D1, D2, D3, D4...on upwards of course.

His self-titled debut LP (written at the tender age of 23) has of course been eclipsed over the years by the more illustrious albums "After The Gold Rush" and "Harvest" from 1970 and 1971 - but real fans will want to start here. While I can live without the countrified "The Emperor Of Wyoming" - I still find "The Loner" astonishing in the way that the first Zeppelin album is - powerful, punchy and still rocking today. It's kind of shocking that even though Reprise coupled it with "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" as it's B-side - it failed as a UK 7" single on Reprise RS 23045 in September 1969.

I love the Jack Nitzsche arrangements on the magical "The Old Laughing Lady" with Ry Cooder on Guitar and the wonderful singer Merry Clayton on Backing Vocals. The channel separation is harsh (the way it was recorded) but the clarity is fabulous. "What Did You Do To My Life" sounds like a top Buffalo Springfield outtake from their patchy 3rd album while the acoustic guitars on the epic "The Last Trip To Tulsa" are so clear - as is his warbling treated vocals - frail and aching.

What I love about this remaster is that it’s somehow brought the album alive - and now begs rediscovery. And things only got better with the next three – “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”, “After The Gold Rush” and the mighty “Harvest” (which I’ve also reviewed along with the 2012 4-disc bundle “Official Release Series Discs 1-4”)...

PS: have also reviewed the 3LP set "Decade" from October 1977 on Reprise Records. It covered 1966 to 1976 and included five Previously Unreleased tracks as well as single-side rarities from CSNY and a Buffalo Springfield cut featuring Dr. John. See other review... 

"Truth: The Columbia Recordings 1969-1970" by THE FLOCK (September 2017 UK Esoteric Recordings 2CD Reissue - Ben Wiseman Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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PROG ROCK, PSYCH, AVANT GARDE...
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Covering 1967 to 1977 - It Also Focuses On

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"...Big Bird..."

Reading the liner notes on the rear cover to "The Flock" - you knew your were in good hands - they'd been penned by the much-admired and musically trusted British Bluesman John Mayall. He talked of their July 1969 "Whiskey A Go Go" live debut in the famous Los Angeles musical bolt hole - and how only two months later with the US September 1969 release of their self-titled debut album on Columbia Records - it was time for both the British Press and Public to wake up to their Chicago based Fusion-Rock headed by the Vocals and Guitar of Fred Glickstein and the wild bow magic of Violinist Jerry Goodman.

The Bluesbreaker mainman was of course right. Sporting a seven-man line-up, The Flock joined with the likes of Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears in that initial flowering of Fusion-Based Rock coming out of America in 1969 - a sound that encompassed a little bit of Blues, complicated and challenging Rock, Jazz, Psychedelic and even Gospel. In fact along with the Latin Fusion of Santana – Columbia Records was the big-label home of innovation and this kind of music at the time. And how good is it to see their small but tasty legacy of Art Rock be treated so well by England's champions of all things complex and well 'Flocky' - Esoteric Recordings. Let's get to those high-flying big birds...

UK released Friday, 29 September 2017 - "Truth: The Columbia Recordings 1969-1970" by THE FLOCK on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 22606 (Barcode 5013939470644) is a 2CD anthology which offers both of their studio albums - "The Flock" from 1969 and "Dinosaur Swamps" from 1970 – six outtakes first issued in 1993 (two from the debut and four from an abandoned third album) and six US and European single sides/edits (Previously Unreleased on CD). This new twofer plays out as follows...

Disc 1 (65:30 minutes):

1. Introduction [Side 1]

2. Clown

3. I Am The Tall Tree

4. Tired Of Waiting

5. Store Bought - Store Thought [Side 2]

6. Truth

Tracks 1 to 6 are their debut album "The Flock" - released September 1969 in the USA on Columbia Records CS 9911 (Stereo) and April 1970 in the UK on CBS Records S 63733 (Stereo). Produced by JOHN McCLURE - it peaked at No. 48 in the US LP charts and No. 59 in the UK.

7. What Would You Do If The Sun Died?

8. Lollipops And Rainbows

Tracks 7 and 8 first appeared on the April 1993 CD compilation of Remasters - "Flock Rock: The Best Of The Flock" (Columbia CK 53440 – Barcode 74645344027). Both were unreleased outtakes from the debut album sessions recorded 6 June 1969.

9. Tired Of Waiting (Single Version, 2:40 minutes)

10. Store Bought - Store Brought (Single Version, 2:41 minutes)

Tracks 9 and 10 are edits (for both sides) released as a US 45 on Columbia 4-45021 in October 1969 and in the UK in April 1970 on CBS Records 4932 (Previously Unreleased on CD)

11. Clown (Part One)

12. Clown (Part Two)

Tracks 11 and 12 released as two-part 7” single in France only (with a picture sleeve) on CBS France 4965 (Previously Unreleased on CD)

Disc 2 (65:19 minutes):

1. Green Slice [Side 1]

2. Big Bird

3. Hornschmeyer's Island

4. Lighthouse

5. Crabfoot [Side 2]

6. Mermaid

7. Uranian Sircus

Tracks 1 to 7 are their second and last studio album "Dinosaur Swamps" – released October 1970 in the USA on Columbia Records C 30007 (Stereo) and in the UK on CBS Records S 64055 (Stereo) – both in Gatefold Sleeves. Produced by JOHN McCLURE – it peaked at No. 96 in the US charts but didn’t chart in the UK.

8. Chanja

9. Atlantians Truckin’ Home

10. Afrika

11. Just Do It

Tracks 8 to 11 first appeared on the May 1993 US CD compilation of Vic Anesini Remasters - "Flock Rock – The Best Of The Flock" (Columbia/Legacy CK 53440 – Barcode 074645344027). They were outtakes to their unreleased third album recorded 16 December 1970.

12. Mermaid (Single Edit, 2:43 minutes)

13. Crabfoot (Single Edit, 2:48 minutes)

Tracks 12 and 13 issued a US 45 7” single in January 1971 on Columbia 4-45295 (Previously Unreleased on CD)

The 16-page booklet has new liner notes from noted writer MALCOLM DOME featuring photos of the band, the outer and inner gatefold sleeve to "Dinosaur Swamps" and of course that famous photo of Jerry giving it some wired violin. MARK POWELL of Esoteric did the compilation and archiving whilst long-standing Audio Engineer BEN WISEMAN handled the superb Remasters. Last time Columbia/Legacy handled the Flock was 25 years ago on the "Flock Rock...Best Of..." CD compilation from May 1993 – which featured Vic Anesini Remasters of 15 tracks – here we get comparable Audio – beautifully clear and powerful.

THE FLOCK was:

FRED GLICKSTEIN - Lead Guitar and Vocals

JERRY GOODMAN - Violin and Vocals

RICK CANOFF - Tenor Sax

TOM WEBB - Tenor Sax

FRANK POSA - Trumpet

JERRY SMITH - Bass

RON KARPMAN - Drums

JERRY GERBER on Saxophones, Flute, Banjo and Vocals replaced Tom Webb for "Dinosaur Swamps"

Most British fan's introduction to The Flock came not through the belatedly released debut album in April 1970 - but through a 6 March 1970 double-album sampler designed to promote CBS UK's roster of artists - the David Howell compiled "Fill Your Head With Rock - The Sound Of The Seventies". CBS Records SPR 39/40 was the third release from the British side of Columbia Records capitalising on the June 1969 chart-placing of their first two budget LP samplers - the fondly remembered "Rock Machine I Love You" and "The Rock Machine Turns You On". I mention all this because on the front cover of the 6 March 1970 2LP sampler "Fill Your Head With Rock" was Jerry Goodman of The Flock giving it some full-colour bare-chested Rock-God Prog-Jazz-Fusion Violin-Virtuoso (yeah baby). The image had graced the back cover of the debut album "The Flock" - but in black and white. Here he looked amazing - the 2LP set contained the album-cut of their Ray Davies and The Kinks cover "Tired Of Waiting". Although the double wasn't issued Stateside - it was a hit across loads of European and Asian/Australian markets. The Flock played Rotterdam 26 June 1970 on the back of it - only to stand naked and tall two days later at the Bath Festival in the UK where a certain Led Zeppelin made a pivotal impression. On that bill were other Prog acts like Pink Floyd, Colosseum and The Nice as well as Rock acts like Rory Gallagher's Taste, Ten Years After and their British pal/champion - John Mayall.

I must admit it’s been decades since I played their debut and I’m struck by how damn good most of it sounds after all these hairline-receding years. Opening sweetly with Acoustic strums - "Introduction" – the first of five original band compositions - soon succumbs to Jerry's ever-present Violin - sounding not unlike Fiddler On The Roof on acid. For sure the overly long "Clown" has some very dated vocal passages before the music takes over and romps to its 8:49 ending - but Glickstein proves himself a rocking guitar player – battling it out with Jerry Smith’s Bass lines (they released the wildly un-radio-friendly "Clown" as a two-parter single in France with a picture sleeve – wow – them was the days!). "I Am The Tall Tree" features some toe-curling lyrics vying for space with soulful playing - while it’s not surprising that Columbia and CBS both tried the band’s cover of The Kinks 1965 hit "Tired Of Waiting For You" (shortened to "Tired Of Waiting") as a 45 to plug the album – it’s probably the most (dare we say it) commercial cut on the record. Unrecognisable here – The Flock do the tune proud with some suitably grungy guitar work that ups the garage feel of the Kink Size original (the single edit is particularly impressive). Side 2 has only two tracks – the guitar-laden "Store Bought – Store Thought" which features wicked guitar and brass passages – and the seriously challenging but brilliant fifteen and half minutes of this compilations namesake - "Truth". Part Blues, part Prog, part Jazz Rock – it’s an amazing tour-de-force of Violin vs. Guitar vs. Brass - even if by the end the Bluesy jam – the song threatens to overstay its welcome. Having said that - if I were asked to point a singular finger at an example of this American band’s brilliance – it would be at this musicianship-showcase track "Truth".

By the time the band reached mid 1970 – a chemically enhanced visit to Boston became the basis for their ELP vs. The Mahavishnu Orchestra second album – the ambitious and occasionally brilliant "Dinosaur Swamps". With a doomy fade in - "Big Bird" then suddenly and unexpectedly becomes the Fiddle of Area Code 615 meets the Brass section of Blood, Sweat & Tears. By the time the voices arrive – it may have lost its way a tad – but structurally its impressive stuff nonetheless (and the Audio is fab). The near nine minutes of "Hornschmeyer’s Island" offers more of the same – our seven-piece heroes floating jazzily upstream in a musical canoe. The bopping "Crabfoot" is almost a single similar to Chicago’s "25 or 6 to 4" and the mad "Uranian Sircus" ends the album on loony laughter and dense rhythms that sound like they’re too stoned for their own creative good. Of the four jams that were to make up the unreleased third album supposedly to be entitled "Flock Rock" – the short "Chanja" offers up wild Zappa-like guitar – while the trumpet-soloing of "Just Do It" shows how far they’d veered towards Jazz and away from Rock.

For sure The Flock won't be everyone's idea of a fun night in with a bottle of Chardonnay and a scented Michael Buble candle. But if your like your Prog Rock and Fusion with a dash of Jazz Brasso and some Vim Violin as a chaser – then this wicked reminder of headier days is the "Fill Your Head With Rock" bare-chested brat for you...

"Decade" by NEIL YOUNG (July 2017 UK Reprise Records 3LP Set Remastered onto 2CDs in Card Slv - John Nowland and Neil Young NYA Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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1976

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"...Both Feet On The Ground..."

When I worked in the Rarities Dept. of Reckless Records in both Islington and Soho's Berwick Street - Neil Young's "Decade" was the kind of booty you hoped would be in a collection sold in across the counter. Once out in the racks - it had a shelf life of point six of a par-second or two electrons in a geo-dimensional quantum entanglement (whichever is quicker). And on hearing this 1977 triple-LP set transferred onto these shiny-new 2CD remasters in 2017 - it's easy to know why. What a winner...

"Decade" referred to 1966 to 1976 but was delayed because Young changed two songs and it eventually arrived in the autumn of 1977 as a 3LP set in an elaborate gatefold sleeve complete with inner flap and (barely legible) handwritten liner notes. While retrospectives and anthologies are passé nowadays - back in the kick-em-in-the-goolies one-chord wonder of Punk and New Wave's 1977 - a triple album roundup by an old fart might not have seemed to be the wisest move commercially. But Neil Young's combo of new versions, rarities (five unreleased), fan faves, latest stuff and clever sequencing made for more than an impressive listen (even the critics at the time thought so). I can remember £25 being the price for this set secondhand (when others barely pushed £15) long before such sums became commonplace. Expecting to fly indeed, let's get to the AADs...

UK released Friday, 21 July 2017 - "Decade" by NEIL YOUNG on Reprise 9362 49154-5 (Barcode 093624915454) offers a 35-Track 3LP set Remastered onto 2CDs (without extras) in a gatefold card sleeve with Insert and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (74:24 minutes):

1. Down To The Wire - BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD (Previously Unreleased, features BF's Stephen Stills and Richie Furay with Dr. John as a Guest)

2. Burned - BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD (from their 1966 debut album "Buffalo Springfield")

3. Mr. Soul  - BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD (from their 1967 second album "Buffalo Springfield Again")

4. Broken Arrow - BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD (from their 1967 second album "Buffalo Springfield Again")

5. Expecting To Fly - BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD (from their 1967 second album "Buffalo Springfield Again", only Neil Young plays on this)

6. Sugar Mountain - NEIL YOUNG (non-album B-side to the 1969 7" single "The Loner", recorded Live at Canterbury House, Ann Arbor in Michigan)

Tracks 1 to 6 made up Side 1 of the original triple album

7. I Am A Child - BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD (from the 1968 third and final album "Last Time Around", features Neil Young and Dewey Martin only)

8. The Loner - NEIL YOUNG (from his debut 1968 solo album "Neil Young")

9. The Old Laughing Lady - NEIL YOUNG (from his debut 1968 solo album "Neil Young", full version at 5:58 minutes, previous 2Cd set used an edit)

10. Cinnamon Girl - NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE (from the 1969 album "Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere")

11. Down By The River - NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE (from the 1969 album "Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere", full 9:19 minutes version)

Tracks 7 to 11 are Side 2 of the 3LP set

12. Cowgirl In The Sand - NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE (from the 1969 album "Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere")

13. I Believe In You - NEIL YOUNG (from the 1970 album "After The Gold Rush")

14. After The Gold Rush - NEIL YOUNG (from the 1970 album "After The Gold Rush")

15. Southern Man - NEIL YOUNG (from the 1970 album "After The Gold Rush")

16. Helpless - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG (from the 1970 album "Deja Vu")

Tracks 12 to 16 are Side 3 of the 3LP set

Disc 2 (71:21 minutes):

1. Ohio - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG (non-album June 1970 7" single with "Find The Cost Of Freedom" on the B-side)

2. Soldier - NEIL YOUNG (from the 2LP 1972 Set "Journey Through The Past", an edit - see notes below)

3. Old Man - NEIL YOUNG (from the 1972 album "Harvest")

4. A Man Needs A Maid - NEIL YOUNG (from the 1972 album "Harvest")

5. Harvest - NEIL YOUNG (from the 1972 album "Harvest")

6. Stars Of Bethlehem - NEIL YOUNG (from the 1977 album "American Stars 'N' Bars - recorded 1974 - features Emmylou Harris)

Tracks 1 to 6 are Side 4 of the 3LP set

7. The Needle And The Damage Done - NEIL YOUNG (from the 1972 album "Harvest", recorded live)

8. Tonight's The Night (Part 1) - NEIL YOUNG (from the 1975 album "Tonight's The Night" - recorded in 1973 featuring Nils Lofgren)

9. Tired Eyes - NEIL YOUNG (from the 1975 album "Tonight's The Night" - recorded in 1973 featuring Nils Lofgren)

10. Walk On - NEIL YOUNG (from the 1974 album "On The Beach")

11. For The Turnstiles - NEIL YOUNG (from the 1974 album "On The Beach")

12. Winterlong - NEIL YOUNG (Previously Unreleased)

13. Deep Forbidden Lake - NEIL YOUNG (Previously Unreleased)

Tracks 7 to 13 are Side 5 of the 3LP set

14. Like A Hurricane - NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE (Previously Unreleased version)

15. Love Is Like A Rose - NEIL YOUNG (Previously Unreleased)

16. Cortez The Killer - NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE (from the 1975 album "Zuma")

17. Campaigner - NEIL YOUNG (Previously Unreleased)

18. Long May You Run - THE STILLS-YOUNG BAND (Previously Unreleased mix that features all of CSNY - the 1976 "Long May You Run" album version excluded David Crosby and Graham Nash on Vocals)

Tracks 14 to 18 are Side 6 of the 3LP set

By now everyone will know of Young's insistence on 'exact' replicas of the original packaging - but here the 2017 gatefold card sleeve and the gatefold insert maybe sweetly repro'd but are unreadable making them somewhat useless and irritating. This is absolutely one of those occasions where someone in NYA should have gone the extra mile and filled this with a separate booklet - a brilliant release that deserves it (way better than the single disc "Greatest Hits"). In fact - although these are part of the JOHN NOWLAND and NEIL YOUNG ARCHIVES (NYA) CD Remasters - it doesn't tell you that anywhere on the packaging - you're left to guess. What's not in doubt is the AUDIO - amazing on every song after 1969. Re-listening to the "American Stars 'N Bars", "Tonight's The Night" and "Zuma" tracks anew like this is hair-raising stuff - AAD baby. Let's get to the music...

While this set allowed fans and curious newcomers alike to re-appreciate forgotten songs like "Cinnamon Girl", "The Old Laughing Lady", "Cowgirl In The Sand" and "Down By The River" - it also reminded punters of his distinctive contributions to Buffalo Springfield and CSNY. His sequencing worked. The 'Neil Young' lone acoustic rendition of "Sugar Mountain" done live in Michigan (the non-album B-side of "The Loner" 45) ends Side 1 - but is followed perfectly by Buffalo Springfield's "I Am A Child" as it opens Side 2. You don't jump back - yet they match and suit. Things start to cook as he rocks it out with "The Loner" and the nine-minute wig-out "Down By The River" offered here in its full album version of 9:19 minutes and not the nine-minute edit used for the first 2CD reissue of "Decade" back in the Nineties. "Cowgirl In The Sand" sounds fantastic too - beautiful Bass clarity and those guitars chugging and soloing. But its songs like "The Old Laughing Lady" that remain so moving - a gorgeous melody and observation of life even if it is sad - "I Believe In You" is exactly the same. Although I find "Southern Man" overplayed - I'm always moved by his "Helpless" on CSNY's magisterial "Deja Vu".

Young wrote the 'four dead in' "Ohio" as a stand-alone 7" single for CSNY with the fabulous Stills composition "Find The Cost of Freedom" on the flipside. "Ohio" opens CD2 perfectly - their collective rage at Nixon and his Vietnam heavy-handedness screaming out of the lyrics (still such powerful stuff). A hissy but haunting “Soldier” follows it from the 1972 double-album "Journey Through The Past". Famously edited down to 2:27 minutes from the LP's 3:39 minutes - and given that their is space - it's odd that Young hasn't taken the chance to reinstate it fully here like he has done on those other unnecessary chopped-to-fit tracks? But I suspect he likes this version - maybe the "Jesus I saw you walking on the river...' edit is all the more powerful for being shorter. Certainly when the studio brilliance of "Old Man" kicks in - the contrast between it and "Old Man" is both stark and effective. Speaking of "Harvest" - the four from it featured on "Decade" only hammer home his brilliance at that time - each one sounding spectacularly good. Emmylou Harris guests as a second-vocalist on the lovely "Star Of Bethlehem" - forgotten on 1977's "American Stars 'N Bars".

The acoustic slightly stoned ramshackle miserable-git feel of 1975's "Tonight's The Night" was in fact recorded in 1973 (most of it in one day apparently but only released two years later). Featuring Grin's Nils Lofgren (Guitar and Lead Vocals on the title track), Crazy Horse's Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot alongside multi-instrumentalist sessionman Ben Keith - "Tonight's The Night" is all the more potent for its Ryan Adams sloppiness. Along with On The Beach's stayed-up-all-night "Walk On" (Neil rocks out) and the fabulous plucker "For The Turnstiles" (Ben Keith on Dobro with Neil on Banjo) - the combo of that early to mid Seventies material makes for a fabulous listen that still somehow feels new and fresh. Those are smartly followed by a previously unreleased double-whammy - an Americana Alt-country rocker called "Winterlong" and a beautiful Acoustic Guitar and Pedal Steel ballad called "Deep Forbidden Lake" - both cuts surely being the big prizes here and both sounding huge without being over-trebled for the sake of it. "...Even Richard Nixon's got soul..." Young sings on the campaigned-all-my-life towards-that-goal song "Campaigner" - another unreleased winner. It ends on the four boys harmonising on "Long May You Run" - beautifully rendered here.

"...We missed that deep ship on the long steep climb..." - Neil Young sings on "Long May You Run" with his old sparring partner Stephen Stills.

At a frankly paltry eight pre-Brexit quid on Amazon - don't miss out on this 2CD Reissue of new Remasters. It's a balls-to-the-wall mountain of goodies...a Harvest indeed...