Neil Young is launching a new online archive here (which is "coming soon"), along with a new streaming service. There's also a new note he's posted, but there is no mention of physical media. There was already some dialogue about this on the Hitchhiker thread, but this deserves its own, I'm thinking.
I do care. The whole premise of Vol. 1 was that Vol. 2 was coming soon. For a guy who has been so outspoken about the value of vinyl and other physical media, NY is sure letting down a lot of his fans in terms of the archives. It's been 8 years since the first set.
This is definitely a cool development, for sure! The fact that we'll finally be able to sift through his entire recording history and sessions (information of which doesn't really exist at all post Archives Vol. 1) is pretty spectacular. I'm curious, however, to see what he means by "once they are completed" in regards to unreleased albums. Does this mean that any unreleased album that's in a finalized state will be available once this opens up? Or does completed mean released to the masses physically, ala Hitchhiker.
So what is an appropriate price point for a streaming service that grants you access to the work of a single artist?
Maybe... hopefully... now that he's got everything organized, physical releases will follow on some sort of regular schedule. Perhaps he was just completely handcuffed in trying to get it all sorted out, and just couldn't bring himself to release Archives 2 knowing he may have missed something.
I don't care if the rest of the Archives ends up streaming only, as long as the material is out there. All the unreleased albums will eventually be ripped for all to consume anyway. Neil's earned the right to monetize his music however he damn well pleases. And good on him for being a pioneer once again. Can't wait to dig into this!
Maybe he's realizing that he's getting older and that, the older he gets, the less likely he'll be able to have control over how it's released. But I agree with FourFeathers; as much as I would like to have this stuff on vinyl, I would rather have his Archives out there in some capacity so that I can listen to and enjoy it. Plus digital can still sound really good if it's uncompressed, and I'm sure that his Archives will offer some sort of uncompressed streaming option.
Exactly my thought, Shawn. I'll put the over under at three new video clips, plus all the stuff that's already available...
I've already purchased the Pono Brain Microchip Insert so that as the music is released it streams directly into my brain. This is gonna be AMAZ... This is gonna.... Be... AMAZIN.............. g
If he's partly promoting this with Hitch Hiker, doesn't that suggest that CDs will be available for other unreleased albums?
Cd please. Doesn't need any massive elaborate box, just something like the CSNY live 1974 box (which was still pretty nice) or the Dylan 1966 box please.
What I want from the archives. This is pretty much the stuff I would buy without hesitation: Time Fades Away II Alternate 'Tonight's The Night' studio recording Oceanside/Countryside Odeon/Budokan Homegrown Island In The Sun (but it has to include 'Johnny' please!) Chrome Dreams Boarding House 1978 A Live 'Trans' show (with the Trans band) Maybe a 1989 'Restless' show Is there another lost 'Homegrown' era album? Probably enough material for another album to be compiled. Is there a solo 'Comes A Time'/'Give To The Wind'?
I just wish he'd re-press the Blu-Ray version of Archives, which has been out of print for years. It was the last time I ever bought a DVD of anything when a Blu-Ray was available, and have wished to correct that mistake ever since, but it went out of print immediately after release.
I can see all the original albums being released on the website plus Hitchhiker first, then the unreleased stuff steadily getting released every couple months or so (or am I being a bit naive, this is NY we're talking about ha). Can't see everything getting dumped on the website in one go.
All good choices. I have no idea if they were recorded but I'd love to hear the two California November 1990 shows: Sugar Mountain Sugar Mountain
And there’s been a radical transformation of music distribution and consumption in the past 8 years. I want all those unreleased albums and live recordings and Archives 2 stuff too, and whatever vinyl I can get (the Hitchhiker LP I ordered June 27 is now shipping on September 8, two days after the Harvest full moon God willing) — but I’ll take it anyway I can get it. I’m format-agnostic. I’ve got a mountain of physical Neil Young media — pretty much everything — but I don’t subscribe to the school of Neil Young broke his promises and owes me more physical media. He owes me nothing and keeps on giving. Sign me up.
If this really happens, and that's a HUGE if, I wouldn't mind if you could download the material you wanted, rather than having to purchase an entire big box with a bunch of material you have already. Ideas like this usually fizzle out though, plus we're talking about Neil.
Not really. It's been pretty stagnant after MP3 basically sunk the universe, which happened prior to Archives Vol 1 release, and had Neil claiming to be a staunch physical media guy. According to what I've read, the hold has been Neil Young needing to CREATE A WEBSITE cataloging all this. WTF is he smoking? Who is asking for an entire website and graphical interface? He had solved that issue so elegantly with Archives Vol 1. Just repeat the formula. If fans want a website, that can be a separate project, but to make Archives 2 contingent on the website is just loopy. In 2010 and then in 2014 archives vol. 2 was supposed to be imminent. It's not about owing anything, it's about what you tell your fans and releasing the first of what is supposed to be a series.