New / Old Neil Young

Has anyone else heard the "New / Old" Neil Young album that was just released this weekend. I have given it a few spins this weekend and I have really enjoyed it. It is called "Homegrown" and the tracks were all recorded between 1973 and 1975 around the same time that Time Fades Away and On the Beach was recorded. The tracks were assembled and a planned release was scheduled back in '75. He decided to release Tonight's the Night instead and this has sat on the shelf for the last 45 years.

Three of the tracks have popped up in re-recorded versions on future albums and one track, Star of Bethlehem, was on Decade. The rest of the tracks are unreleased and this album was never bootlegged so they are all new to me. The tone is melancholy and the music is mostly acoustic with the subject matter mainly concerning his failing relationship with actress Carrie Snodgrass. If you are a fan of Young's "ditch period" definitely check this out.

I listened to the song "Vacancy" last week, which I thought was pretty good. I'm not a big Neil Young fan, but there are a number of his songs that I enjoy. "Vacancy" is as good as anything else I've heard from that time period. I might listen to the album just to see what's been sitting on the shelf for so long.

Have not heard it yet, but want to. I spent a lot of time with the ‘decade’ album around the same time I was discovering the music we typically discuss here. Over the years I’ve picked up used lp’s of just about all of his 70s output.

I like that Neil has been willing to put out a lot of his older material that had never been properly released (this, the hitchhiker album a few years ago, live performances).... for an artist who’s always changing directions and onto the next new project, at least he understands that people want to hear this stuff. He could just turn his back on it completely.

Hey, if someone like say Tears for Fears had an unreleased album from 1984, wouldn’t you at least be curious to hear it (if not clamoring?)

I've enjoyed it more than most of the new Neil Young records from the past decade or so, but I can't say I think it's a classic. Most of the best tunes were re-recorded or re-sued later, and there's some fairly obvious filler. But I do like "Separate Ways" and "Vacancy" - they're reminders that no one does what he does better than he does it.