Ain't Got No Blu-Ray DVD: Spin The Black Circle

Rick Carlisle at Orpheus Records

All this talk of Blu-ray DVDs has really made us nostalgic.

Back in our college days in Washington, DC, we would occasionally trot off to Orpheus Records in Georgetown to peruse the vinyl for old rarities and anything else that caught our eye. A wonderful place to spend some time with other music lovers.

When the vinyl business started going south, Orpheus Records moved across the Potomac to Arlington, Virginia and managed to hang on as big box retailers grabbed market share, MP3's and iPods proliferated, and web music sites flourished.

So it was sad news when we learned that our acquaintance Rick Carlisle at Orpheus Records would be closing shop. Bummer.

As business faded, Rick didn't want to operate a web site. It was too impersonal and he liked talking to people.

Rick is quite a guy. And not just because he liked Neil. He'd run around the store in his bare feet and often could identify a song when someone would hum a few notes or sing a few lyrics.

With over 120,000 records, Orpheus will be liquidating its stock. So if you're in the area, you may want to catch some bargains. And they do have Time Fades Away (which -- as you know -- is still only available on vinyl).

Just remember: vinyl is final.

To read more on the demise of an independent record store.

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Rolling Stone Interview: Neil Young's Rough Ride - A Look Back at the Freedom of Speech Tour

From an interview with Neil Young in Rolling Stone on the film Deja Vu:

Rolling Stone: Do you think the country is in a better place now than it was when you made the film?

Young: I think there's been a shift. I think that time has a way of eroding things. The basis for this war was basically sand. The whole thing is a matter of how you look at it. And that's what the film is about. There's people who are looking at it one way and people looking at it another way. It's about what happens when a country does something like we're doing. There's very few times in American history this can compare to. Even though we tried to compare it to the Sixties in the film, it really doesn't compare to the Sixties. There are similarities, and yeah, we were there and we're still here and we're doing the same thing, and that's the 'déjà vu' part of it. But really, it's pretty different.

I think after 9/11, people got kind of raw. Their nerves were raw. Their emotions were raw. And we took a very positive sentiment in the world towards us. And were able to convert it into something else. And there's a lot of — I think a lot of loss associated with that, that people feel in their hearts.

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Comment of the Moment: CD-Less Archives

There's been a huge reaction to the news that the Neil Young Archives will not be released in a CD format both here at Thrasher's Wheat, over on Rust and across the 'net.

A lot of the reaction is frustration and confusion. We really feel that given how many times and how long we've gone through this, that one shouldn't get too worked up about this until it's actually released. Afterall, just a year ago (and even still today) the official Reprise Records site states 8 CD, 2 DVD.

As we stated in our previous post Neil, Elliot Roberts and the label have probably given this a great deal of thought over the years. From many angles. Certainly the label looks at this from a sales perspective. But our hunch is that Neil is doing this from a legacy and quality perspective. It's what Neil wants to hear and see.

While we can't say that we fully understand all the technical details, and the various pro and con choices, we're certain that when the Archives is released that there will be plenty of details about with which to make an informed decision about how to proceed with our purchase and any associated hardware. For all we know, there maybe some bonus MP3 download option or something equally appealing to the more casual, non-audiophile fan.

Long time fans understand this is all part of the Neil deal. He does what he wants. You're either on the bus or you're not. You either get it or you don't. It's virtually pointless to wail about anything Neil does. Whether it's ticket prices, Pegi as an concert opener, bonus tracks on Chrome Dreams, only one free CD for every four tickets, folks are going to be upset.

As we recall -- although we can't find the exact quote at the moment -- Neil said that he has, on occasion, "abused" his fans with all of his career detours. Of course, for many, this is what makes it interesting to be a Neil fan. Every year is a surprise.

So who knows? Maybe another year will pass with no Archives? Or as rko said...

You folks need to get a grip. We've waited 20 years for this. Finally Neil is ready to let us have it and all we do is bitch and complain.

I wouldn't be surprised if he just says "F- it, ungrateful bastards".

But I hope he doesn't.

Lastly, we're sure that Neil will have a lot to say about his reasoning as the release gets closer. We've waited this long so what's a few more months?

Which is a long way of saying, here's the Comment of the Moment on the CD-Less Archives news by Anonymous:

Two possibilities

1. he's stalling - who knows why anymore. If I didn't know better I'd think the archival material actually didn't exist.

2. he hates CDs so much that he's willing to take the risk of a DVD only music release. Less of a risk now; look at the increasing number of concert recordings that only show up as DVDs (e.g. Heart of Gold) without any audio soundtrack being released on CD. This is happening to studio recordings slowly. CDs are dying.

If it's Possibility 1, Neil has passed the BS line with me. Too many false starts and too much waiting for the perfect medium. Get it in the can and on the shelves so I can throw it down on the table at the bar and stop my friends from laughing at me about what will come first, the end of the Mayan Calendar or the Archives

If it's Possibility 2,
I'm OK with it but that's because I wrote CDs off last year - the format is clearly dying. In fact I sort of expected this when Neil started talking up the video elements. I can move the audio into another format quite easily

However, I have to question how audience friendly this move is. Most fans don't have the inclination or the ability to deal with a non-CD medium for music at this point. Neil's fan base is older and used to CDs.

At the least, the songs should be provided in CD format in some permutation of the box set.

I understand his point about audio quality and taken to the extreme that means Blu Ray.

But we are talking about masters that are 40 years old and likely in many cases somewhat roughly recorded (hence their rarity). Does this type of recording really warrant a DVD only release, if the tradeoff is that the majority of the fan base cannot access the music in the format they want? Does The Sultan in Blu Ray really sound that much better than the The Sultan in WAV?

Will be interesting to see if Archives can be purchased by song on Itunes. Top quality there is sub-CD.

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The Archives Will Come Out This Year ... Except...

Over the years, we've written quite a bit about the twists and turns with the legendary Neil Young Archives. So nothing really ever surprises us about the quest. That is, of course, until the next tantalizing clue surfaces.

So the following news really has folks in an uproar -- as usual -- about the latest development. From Billboard (via Hollywood Reporter) Neil says from Sundance:

"'I know it's in technical production now, but it's only coming out on Blu-ray and DVD. There won't be CDs. Technology has caught up to what the concept was in the first place [and] how we're able to actually present it. But there's no doubt it will come out this year.'"

That's right: no CDs, a format Young has long despised due to its audio limitations. Instead, Young is utilizing DVD capabilities to present an interactive "time line" for the music, allowing users to experience articles and film clips from a song's given era as well as ephemera like lyric sheets.

So no CD's for the Archives?! What could this mean??? And what is this Blu-Ray thing? Another disruptive format similar to the relegation of 8-tracks and vinyl to the dustbin? The horrors. Or could it be that once again Neil is ahead of curve?

To some extent, it's old news regarding the BlueRay DVDs.

Here's a small sampling of the reaction.

From Glorious Noise Derek posts:

I am rounding up a posse. We're going to storm Neil's ranch and seize all archival material. It's a matter of the National Trust and Neil can no longer be trusted as guardian of such important material.

From Steve Hoffman Music Forums rjp posts:

why on earth would a musician not want his art to be able to be heard on a CD, the main source of listening to music by most of the world?

neil really is a strange cat.

From Glorious Noise Jake posts:

It's just a delay tactic. Guess what, Neil: next week there's going to be a new technology that's even better than Blu-ray. Better push it back again!

Plus, now I have to go out and buy a Blu-ray disc player? F that.

Neil is insane and has proven that he's no longer competent to make decisions in regards to his archival material. He needs to pass it over to Joel Bernstein and recuse himself from the project entirely.

From Steve Hoffman Music Forums jb foreverchange posts:

"No Cds ? No buy! I'm not going to rush out & buy a blue Ray player just to see the 2 that might be the same that came out already on DVD. This is a sure way to kill sales on a box that no one knows is coming out soon.If I want to copy the first 4 albums to other CDrs this make it impossible. The record companies are commiting suicide. Why don't they just burn all the tapes in their vaults since they no longer need them!"

From Glorious Noise DJMurph posts:

I don't know if I wanna join this posse; part of me just wants to see the shit released. If the actual songs are coming out, and if he is choosing to release it on Blu-Ray and DVD for the HIGHER resolution sound those formats can offer (as opposed to ... mp3), then I'm okay with that. I can make my own damn CDs if that's the case. Neil has always been persnickety, harping about his belief about the shortcomings of CD sound quality. DVD-Audio offered a higher potential sound quality, before that format died. Maybe the implementation of his archive project on Blu-Ray and DVD will be the next logical extension of that higher resolution sound. If so, Neil's entitled to be persnickety, and if we get the music in SOME viable audio format, who the fuck cares if it isn't CD?

From Aquarium Drunkard Mike posts:

"I have come to the point that I give Neil the benefit of the doubt. Most likely, he feels that a CD release doesn’t really add much to what is out there, whereas a DVD is something entirely new. We know that he will only release things that add something real to his catalog (ie the whole One the Beach CD release issue). If his CD copies of shows he is releasing aren’t up to snuff, at least a DVD brings something else."

As far as we know, Neil, Elliot and Reprise have all thought about this for a long and hard time. And this is what they've come up with. This isn't about making a quick buck or maybe even something for all but the most hard core fans.

This is really about leaving a legacy. A quality legacy. And this format will allow for a transition into some future unknown technology someday. That's Neil. In it for the long run.

Also, a case can be made that the decision is also based on piracy concerns. A Blu-Ray DVD is going to be a lot harder to rip to MP3.

As far as we're concerned, as long as Neil is making great music like the wonderful Chrome Dreams II and touring with some of his best performances in years, we're quite happy to wait for the eventual release in whatever shape or format.



More on the tortured history of the Neil Young Archives.

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Premiere of 'CSNY Deja Vu' at 2008 Sundance Film Festival

Photo Gallery by Andrew "Perfect Echo" Madsen

Over on Rust Jon "rustiehwy395" posted on his reaction to the film: "This has to be the most I've laughed and cried in 24 hrs, ever."


Neil Young, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash
Premiere of 'CSNY Deja Vu' at 2008 Sundance Film Festival
Eccles Theatre,Park City, Utah - January 25, 2008
Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images





Thanks Andrew!

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Deja Vu Preview Footage on YouTube

Writer/Director Neil Young (AKA Bernard Shakey) and writer Michael Cerre discuss the premiere of CSNY DEJA VU at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

And here's a look back at the 2006 Freedom of Speech Tour on YouTube. Lots of great footage!

Also, see reviews of 2006 Crosby Stills Nash & Young Tour.

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