Lefty

Pop Notes
Night at the Museum
by Ben Greenman (The New Yorker)
June 8, 2009

It’s been thirty years since Neil Young first sang “Hey hey, my my / Rock and roll can never die,” and he’s certainly done his part to preserve the form, remaining a vital and even controversial artist well into his sixties. But he’s also become a trailblazer in the art of the curated career retrospective. In 1977, Young released the triple-album compilation “Decade,” and, within a few years, he began to discuss the possibility of a sequel, a massive release that would recapture every detail from every phase of his long career. The project has been whispered about for at least twenty years, and in the last two years several release dates have been set and then reset. Now it’s finally here, and to say that it’s mammoth is something of an understatement, like saying “Live Rust” is loud.

“Archives Vol. 1 (1963-1972)” (Reprise) comes in three formats: an eight-CD version, which goes for around a hundred dollars; a ten-DVD set, for around two hundred; and the ne plus ultra, a ten-disk Blu-ray box, for three hundred. The CD version, an audio-only tour through Young’s early albums, outtakes, demos, and live performances, is underwhelming, a 2008 format in a 2009 world. The broader vision becomes clear in the multimedia versions, which supplement each song with photographs, concert footage, radio interviews, and images of everything from tickets to posters to sheet music. The set tracks Young from his earliest professional efforts—the 1963 surf-rock instrumental single “The Sultan”—to early-seventies landmarks like “After the Gold Rush” and “Harvest.” The Blu-ray version has more sophisticated navigation; the DVD set matches the hardware capabilities of more fans. And while the switching of disks can grow tiresome—if you’re listening to an early demo of “Sugar Mountain” and want to hear “Tell Me Why,” you’ll have to eject the first disk and insert the seventh—the wealth of material available is staggering. There are plenty of diverting hidden features, too, like footage of the present-day Young looking through his own memorabilia.
There’s a paradox here. Earlier this year, on “Fork in the Road,” Young lamented economic pressures, self-centered thinking, and corporate greed; now he’s charging through the nose for the most self-aggrandizing product imaginable. But, as music becomes more and more difficult to monetize, the rock-and-roll world must grapple with new profit models. Young’s fusion of history and commerce may point the way out of the cul-de-sac. The question is how many artists will amass a body of work that rewards this kind of treatment. Here’s one, at least.

OK, the video’s bizarre, but this song kicks ass…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz4DjL7jRcI&feature=channel

My pleasure, Tim.

Thanks, LWj, for the link.

More on NEIL!:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-neilyoung31-2009may31,0,2941222.story

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/05/neil-youngs-philosophy-on-recording-lets-roll.html

Thanks for the heads-up, LWj.
Now – – is there even the slightest chance that Neil will find a way to have this broadcast postponed?!
tonyg: your thoughts? 😉