Before the Goldrush

Uncut magazine’s web-site is reporting, a bit optimistically I fear, that Neil Young’s much-delayed “Archives” project looks likely to finally be released on November 3.

Notice how they carefully do not mention which year.

Neil’s ‘Archives’ have been ‘about to be released’ since Methuselah was a boy. In fact, at the time when they were first mooted the intended cutting-edge format was 8-track cassette.

Now, it is said that “Archives Volume One 1963-1972” will be released as a 10-disc Blu-Ray and DVD collection and is expected to feature previously released live sets including “Live At Massey Hall”, from 1971, and “Live At The Fillmore East”, from 1970, as well as never released studio tracks, demos and artwork.

What is the point in including live records that were just released a year or so ago? I’ve already paid for these discs. I don’t want to pay for them again.

But, more to the point, does anyone have the foggiest idea what Blu-Ray is? Please don’t tell me that we’ll have to invest in expensive new hardware just to hear this stuff – thank the Lord that I’ve got most of it on bootleg anyway.

Meanwhile, it is also reported that Young is also apparently due to release “Sugar Mountain” on September 29. Exact details of what this album will contain are unconfirmed, but it’s widely presumed to be another set of vintage live material.

A bootleg album, “Live On Sugar Mountain”, recorded at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles on the last night of Neil Young’s early-1971 solo tour, has long been in circulation, and it’s likely the material for this official release may well be drawn from that show.

So, like Dylan a few posts ago, there’s lots of goodies to look forward to, but with some trepidation about the price.

It Was 39 Years Ago Today

15 August 1969

By the time we got to Woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere there was song and celebration
And I dreamed I saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
And they were turning into butterflies
Above our nation
We are stardust
Billion year old carbon
We are golden
Caught in the devils bargain
And weve got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

Quiz Time

Nae prizes.

This is just a wee nostalgic quiz for readers of the old Heart Monitor blog – I apologise if you find yourself locked out of it now, but it’s due to circumstances really beyond my control.

Here are some pictures from the old blog – can you identify them and, where appropriate, say what story was illustrated by them? -

How Local Government Works – Part 112

OK – the above leaflet was delivered to 360,000 homes in Birmingham last week, and it’s a message from the City Council congratulating the citizens on embracing the Council’s recycling policy.

The leaflet was delivered to the citizens of Birmingham.

Birmingham, England.

If you look at the cityscape in the photograph containing the words ‘Thank You Birmingham’, you will see that it is indeed of Birmingham.

Birmingham, Alabama.

Return of the Song and Dance Man

I’m rather late in reading the news from bobdylan.com that ‘Tell Tale Signs’ – the Bootleg Series Volume 8 – is to be released on 7 October.

If you go to that site you can download one of the tracks (Dreamin’ Of You) in its entirety.

This is the track-listing -

Disc One
1. Mississippi 6:04 (Unreleased, Time Out of Mind)
2. Most of the Time 3:46 (Alternate version, Oh Mercy)
3. Dignity 2:09 (Piano demo, Oh Mercy)
4. Someday Baby 5:56 (Alternate version, Modern Times)
5. Red River Shore 7:36 (Unreleased, Time Out of Mind)
6. Tell Ol’ Bill 5:31 (Alternate version, North Country soundtrack)
7. Born in Time 4:10 (Unreleased, Oh Mercy)
8. Can’t Wait 5:45 (Alternate version, Time Out of Mind)
9. Everything is Broken 3:27 (Alternate version, Oh Mercy)
10. Dreamin’ of You 6:23 (Unreleased, Time Out Of Mind)
11. Huck’s Tune 4:09 (From Lucky You soundtrack)
12. Marchin’ to the City 6:36 (Unreleased, Time Out of Mind)
13. High Water (For Charley Patton) 6:40 (Live, August 23, 2003,Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada)

Disc Two
1. Mississippi 6:24 (Unreleased version #2, Time Out of Mind)
2. 32-20 Blues 4:22 (Unreleased, World Gone Wrong)
3. Series of Dreams 6:27 (Unreleased, Oh Mercy)
4. God Knows 3:12 (Unreleased, Oh Mercy)
5. Can’t Escape from You 5:22 (Unreleased, December 2005)
6. Dignity 5:25 (Unreleased, Oh Mercy)
7. Ring Them Bells 4:59 (Live at The Supper Club, November 17, 1993,New York, NY
8. Cocaine Blues 5:30 (Live, August 24, 1997, Vienna, VA)
9. Ain’t Talkin’ 6:13 (Alternate version, Modern Times)
10. The Girl on the Greenbriar Shore 2:51 (Live, June 30, 1992,Dunkerque, France)
11. Lonesome Day Blues 7:37 (Live, February 1, 2002, Sunrise, FL)
12. Miss the Mississippi 3:20 (Unreleased, 1992)
13. The Lonesome River 3:04 (With Ralph Stanley, from the album Clinch Mountain Country)
14. ‘Cross the Green Mountain 8:15 (From Gods and Generals Soundtrack)

If you’ve got another £55 or so then you can upgrade to a so-called deluxe edition which features glossy booklets and a 7″ single etc and includes this 3rd disc -

Disc Three
1. Duncan and Brady (Unreleased, 1992)
2. Cold Irons Bound (Live, Bonnaroo, June 2004)
3. Mississippi (Unreleased version #3, Time Out of Mind)
4. Most of The Time (Alternate version #2, Oh Mercy)
5. Ring Them Bells (Alternate version, Oh Mercy)
6. Things Have Changed (Live, Portland, Oregon, 2000)
7. Red River Shore (Unreleased version #2, Time Out of Mind)
8. Born in Time (Unreleased version #2, Oh Mercy)
9. Tryin’ To Get To Heaven (Live, London, England, 2000)
10. Marchin’ to the City (Unreleased version #2, Time Out of Mind)
11. Can’t Wait (Alternate version #2, Time Out of Mind)
12. Mary and the Soldier (Unreleased, World Gone Wrong)

The 3-disc deluxe edition seems ridiculously expensive and only a madman would consider paying that price.

I think that’s the one I’ll be going for.

Money doesn’t talk – it swears. Wanna buy the deluxe edition?

Defibrillating