Neil Young is releasing a new archival album — and he wants you to decide what's on it
The legendary rocker is allowing fans to choose his next record from a treasure trove of archival material
When you have more than 50 years of music, it can be tough to decide what exactly you should put out into the world.
But rather than hum and haw over what to release, when it comes to his new archival album, Neil Young wants his fans to decide.
"We have these projects in the can right now," reads a message on the Neil Young Archives (NYA) website. "We will be asking subscribers only to vote for their top 3 choices from this list, labeled 1, 2 & 3 as your preference."
Among the options are a collection of songs from when Neil Young and Crazy Horse first formed in the '60s (Early Daze), an album that Young recorded with Crazy Horse in 2001 (Toast), and a complete album that Young shelved in 1975 (Homegrown).
The offerings also include lots of film footage, including a solo performance at Connecticut's Shakespeare Theater in 1971; a Jonathan Demme-directed concert film from the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania in 2009; a film that follows Young's 2003 tour with Crazy Horse where they performed the rock opera Greendale; and a film chronicling the making of Young's latest album, Colorado.
You can find the full list below; voting hasn't begun, but the website says, "Watch for the official NYA announcement and your personal link to vote for what you think we should work on NEXT for the fastest release of your favourite project."
Young recently sat down with q host Tom Power to talk about his 50-year career, making music and his new documentary. You can listen to that interview here.
Here is the full list of options from "The Can":
STRATFORD SHAKESPEARE THEATER, solo film and LP, 1971
GREENDALE LIVE with CRAZY HORSE, stage production, film and LP, 2003
GREENDALE AT VICKAR STREET, solo film and LP, 2003
TOAST, Crazy Horse LP (limited film), 2001
MOUNTAINTOP, Crazy Horse film, 2019
CATALYST, Crazy Horse film and LP, 1991
ALCHEMY, Crazy Horse film and LP, 2012/2013
EARLY DAZE, Crazy Horse 1960s LP
HARVEST TIME, Stray Gators film and LP, 1971
MIRROR BALL LIVE DUBLIN, with friends from Pearl Jam, film and LP
DESERT TRIP, Promise of the Real film
MONSANTO YEARS, Promise of the Real film, doc and music, 2014
TRUNK SHOW, The Continentals film and LP, 2009
LINCVOLT CHRONICLES 1-5, documentary series
TOWER THEATER PHILADELPHIA, 2018 solo film and LP
POLAR VORTEX, solo film and LP, 2019
HOMEGROWN, original studio LP, 1975
CHROME DREAMS, original studio LP, 1977
BERLIN, Trans Band film and LP, 1982
OCEANSIDE COUNTRYSIDE, original studio LP 1976-1977
BOARDING HOUSE, solo film and LP, 1976
ISLAND IN THE SUN, 1982 LP
TRANS 2020, animated Trans film
BOTTOM LINE, solo 1974 LP
OVER THE RAINBOW, Live Tonight's The Night LP
ODEON BUDAKON, London/Tokyo, Crazy Horse/solo film and LP, 1976
DUCKS, Live in Santa Cruz LP, 1977
HOMEFIRES, various solo and band, LP, 1974
FILLMORE EAST, CSNY live/band/solo, film and LP, 1971