Reprise

Oceanside Countryside is the latest of Neil Young's great "lost" albums to be released as part of his Analog Original Series. The album was recorded from May to December 1977, preceding the release of Comes A Time in 1978. The two albums share the same country/folk sound, and three songs ("Goin' Back", "Human Highway" and "Field of Opportunity") appear on both albums.<br/><br/>The vinyl release of Oceanside Countryside includes some tracks that are on the CD of the same name in Neil Young's Archives Vol. III. However, this track list is how Oceanside Countryside was originally planned to be released. Recorded on tape, these are the original mixes done at the time of recording. <br/> <br/>All the songs on the "Oceanside" are performed solo by Neil Young. On "Countryside" Young is joined by a band of his friends: Ben Keith (Steel Guitar), Rufus Thibodeaux (fiddle), Karl T. Himmel (drums), Joe Osborne (bass). On "The Old Homestead" Tim Drummond plays bass and Levon Helm plays drums. "Pocahontas" is Young solo.<br/><br/>Please note that while the songs on Oceanside Countryside appear on Archives Vol.III, the versions are not always the same and the track list is the running order for the original Oceanside Countryside album. On this Analog Original vinyl release, the versions of "Lost in Space," "Captain Kennedy" and "The Old Homestead" are from Hawks & Doves in 1980. "Sail Away", "Goin' Back", "Human Highway", "It Might Have Been", and "Pocahontas" are the same versions as on Archives Vol. III in digital. "Field of Opportunity" and "Dance Dance Dance" are the original versions that have Young on backing vocals instead of Nicolette Larson as they appeared on Archives Vol.III.

Young Neil: Oceanside Countryside (1977) [Digipack / CD]

Groban Josh: Gems 2001-25 [Digipack / CD]

For the past two decades, Toast has been whispered about in collectors' circles in hushed tones, as Young has dropped pieces of information about it here and there, especially as it contains three never-before-released songs.<br/>Last year, in his online daily newspaper, The Times Contrarian, Young wrote about the album in-depth. "The music of Toast is about a relationship," he said. "There is a time in many relationships that go bad, a time long before the breakup, where it dawns on one of the people, maybe both, that it's over. This was that time."<br/><br/>Aptly, Toast is heavy and distressed, brimming with electrifying tension. Even its sweet-sounding opening track, "Quit," features the refrain, "Don't say you love me." "Standing In The Light of Love" and "Goin' Home" let the Horse off the tether in fields of overdriven guitar; an out-of-work logger grapples with his faith on the breakneck "Timberline;" and on "Gateway of Love," Young dreams of a less painful future over a hypnotizing 10 minutes, leading into the somber, brokedown "How Ya Doin'?" The songwriter sums up the album best during its shadowy finale "Boom Boom Boom": "All I got is a broken heart, and I don't try to hide it when I play my guitar."

"Why do these old songs live so vividly now? They do to me."<br/><br/>Neil Young with Crazy Horse in all their "Ragged Glory". <br/>Neil & The Horse have played together for over 50 years and the performances of these songs is a true highlight of that long relationship.<br/><br/>9 songs, with the original song titles replaced with selected lyrics. ("Farmer John", being a cover, retains its original title.)<br/><br/>The album was recorded in 2023, with this line-up:<br/><br/>Billy Talbot - Bass, vocal<br/>Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal<br/>Micah Nelson - Guitar, vocal, piano<br/>Nils Lofgren - Guitar, vocal, piano<br/>Neil Young - Guitar, vocal, harmonica<br/><br/>Neil: "In the spirit it's offered...made this for the Horse lovers. I can't stop it. The horse is runnin'. What a ride we have. I don't want to mess with the vibe. I am so happy to have this to share."

On his new album, BEFORE AND AFTER, Young has approached a totally eclectic collection of mostly obscure songs like a painter with a new palette. Picking from a vast array of his originals, Young chooses favorites from his playbook like a trip into his music history and performs them mostly alone, taking a solo acoustic journey to a new place. Each of the songs blend and create one continuous flow, clocking in at a 48-minute pure and intimate listening experience. Produced by Lou Adler and Neil Young and mixed by Young and Niko Bolas, aka The Volume Dealers, this is unlike any other album he has released to date.<br/> <br/>Young describes BEFORE AND AFTER succinctly: "The feeling is captured, not in pieces, but as a whole piece - designed to be listened to that way. This music presentation defies shuffling, digital organization, separation. Only for listening. That says it all".<br/> <br/>New versions of the songs themselves seamlessly move and morph with mesmerizing clarity, beginning with his earliest Buffalo Springfield appearance, "Burned," to the recent "Don't Forget Love" (from 2021's BARN) and including the previously unreleased song "If You Got Love".

Bublé Michael: The best of Bublé 2001-24 [CD]