Yes, it was quite a day, yesterday in the ever rustie Neil Young shakey deal world.
Pre-orders for the long awaited (going on 11 years + plus since Vol #1) Neil Young Archives Volume II (1972 - 1976) began at the Greedy Hand Store and much drama among fans ensued as the announcement link went live and then poof. Gone. Were all 3,000 of the Limited Edition Boxset already too far gone? Or just another glitch in the Shakey Matrix?
Fortunately, the pre-order link reactivated and much joy and angst in RustDale ensued. (BTW, as noted here in comments, when you subscribed to NYA, you received a 15% discount code for one time use at the Greedy Hand Store.)
So onto our TW Comment of the Moment on Pre-Order - Neil Young Archives Volume II (1972 - 1976) by tomatron:
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Tomatron’s Take:
This box set release perplexes. Musically, the Archives 2 is super exciting.
I mean, almost the entirety of The Old Homestead disc is unheard recordings, and the other new discs are loaded with new takes and buried treasure too. But putting it out on CD?? It’s higher quality just to stream it on NYA, where it all will be. My Vol 1 box set is absolute enjoyment. Just throw in a DVD (not even blu-ray, still amazing), fire up the projector, hit Play All, and watch the tape spin. Massey Hall is a gorgeous assembly of film, Journey Through The Past is trippy as can be, and even Crazy Horse Fillmore is wonderfully rewatchable with its abundance of classic photography synced up to the quality audio.
Now, the Vol 2 promo on YouTube features clips of this same type of archival and art footage. It is possible these are only short snippets made just for the commercial, but it’s highly unlikely. That means a full video edition of Vol 2 probably exists! And it will either be released in a future edition, or will all be available on NYA at some tier or another.
I totally get why fans are preordering the CD set. It is limited edition, we’ve been waiting for it for anywhere from 11 years to multiple decades, and it will sit nicely beside the big Vol 1 box. But considering that the music will be available in higher resolution online, what you end up with is a $250ish box. A cool box with a book, yeah, but still. Listening to Homegrown on CD? Never gonna happen. I have that goddamn masterpiece of an album on vinyl. In the car, it’s on my phone in the highest possible streaming quality. And all the artwork for the individual discs will be there too, zoomed in to more detail than you could get with a magnifying glass.
For a while, it seemed like maybe the video Archives set format was gone with LA Johnson no longer around to mastermind it, but this new promo clip proves that the audio-visual version of Vol 2 is a thing, somewhere, somehow. It’s just plain silly that Neil Young, of all people, is releasing a box set on compact disc.
Come November, I’ll be cooking up some honeyslide-worthy playlists on NYA and FEELING THE MUSIC.
Thanks for sharing here Tomatron your thoughts on NYA Volume II.
We had a noteworthy day here @ TW has comments exceeded 100 for the first time in quite a while. So much wheat and so little chaff. Thanks folks.
Here's what we encountered at the Greedy Hand Store yesterday. We did get a kick
back/rejected order b/c our shipping and billing address didn't snyc. We
have a login registration w/ Greedy Hand store but hadn't logged in 1st.
So it would seem that you need to login into your Greedy Hand store accnt 1st. This is diff than your NYA account.
Once logged into GH store, all of your info is retained or can be updated. then you order.
so, neil giveth, we taketh and the circle goes around.
And 11 years later, only 1 month to go before ... just as we posted back in 2009 on NYA Vol #1 ...
And I've been waiting for you.
For such a long time now.
Normally, we say tonight's the night. But, today's the day.
Hell freezes over. Peace in the Mid-east. World hunger is solved. Poverty erased.
Somehow, in the miracle of all miracles, the Holy Grail arrives!
My Little Box at the Top of the Stairs: The Archives Finally Arrives!
NYA Vol #1 - 2009
For such a long time now."
We should mention also that we just rec'd a random confirm #. No idea whether Box #0002 or Box #0143 or Box #1010 or what.
ReplyDeleteAnother missed opp to reserve # or have orders filled in sequence. Similar to Greendale Box Set.
As perverse as this all seems, fans are literally begging The Greedy hand to take their $'s but ...
Knowing how this goes around the Shakey Deal operations, the folks who order last will get low #'s and those who pre-order 1st will get high #'s.
but -- as everybody knows this is a the shakey deal -- numbers add up to nothin'! ☮️♥️
the last shall be first, and the first shall be last ....
~Om-Shanti to all of the meta rckers out there!
Indeed..... yesterday was quite a day. Because of my new job, I was up at 12:30 am and of course the first thing I did was check for the pre order on my phone. Not that I expected it to be up that soon, so off to work I went.
ReplyDeleteI got home just after noon and checked the Greedy Hand and saw nothing, so off to Thrashers Wheat I went for some reliable information, only to read post after post from panic stricken rusties. Well, I was running on fumes by then and had yet to have eaten anything all day, so my lovely wife took me out for some sustenance. After lunch I checked NYA on my phone and clicked the link to the Greedy Hand only to find nothing. Then it dawned on me that perhaps I needed to log in on the store, so I did just that and low and behold...... there it was. Neil Young Archives Volume 2, available for pre order. Once we received our order confirmation and PayPal verification we both looked at each other and let out a huge sigh of relief.
Now that the dust has settled and I can reflect on how this all went down, I must admit I really feel like this all could have obviously been handled better. I know with hindsight it’s always easy to make judgments, but I wonder if those at the Greedy Hand were properly prepared. From what some have said here, the product was up, and then just vanished for hours on end. This of course was cause for alarm and assumptions were rapidly created, and panic ensued. I honestly don’t blame anyone for the panic, as we have all waited for so very long for this thing to finally be released. I do feel like an apology is certainly in order here. But, perhaps those involved aren’t aware of the stress this all created, who knows. Hopefully word will get back to everyone involved what the most loyal of fans were put through. I am convinced that this was the last thing Neil would have wanted, and if word gets back to him, and he will address it in his own unique way.
For now, we can just relax and wait one more month for something we’ve all been looking forward to for over eleven years.
Peace 🙏
P.S. I checked this morning (Saturday October 17th 5:30am Idaho time) and Archive Volume Two is still available for pre order.
@Thrasher, This was a worthy CotM. I know I've been a bit critical/circumspect on CoTM choices in the past, but this one offers useful perspective on the situation at hand. As do Dan's comments. To wit: I don't find the level of stress and panic Dan is describing to be worth the energy when there appear to simpler, less costly options in the offing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the little shout out at the foot of your OP. I *am* wondering whether individual CDs will come up for sale, like discs of NYA1 were initially available through Neil's store. A lot has changed since then, but it could be a useful option for those who would like a physical product but are trying to dodge unnecessary duplication.
NYA flies rings around us all. "With destinations unnamed, it's hard to leave the traces for someone to follow."
"Little wing, don't fly away when the summer turns to fall... some people say the winter is the best time of them all."
I'm a little surprised that it's CD only myself, but it's worth pointing out that it also comes with a 192kHz/24 bit digital download, the same quality as what was on the bluray of volume 1. This is great news because the online archive is cool and all, but streaming at that high a quality is not always practical. And silly me but I prefer to own my music, the good stuff at least. As far as the audio visual UI experience of the bluray I guess in Neil's mind the online archive replaces that.
ReplyDeleteThe hi-res files definitely add some value to the package. That is an aspect of this set that is stepped way up from the mp3s that came with Vol 1. I typically prefer to own mine too. I got a great deal on a new vinyl copy of Cellar Door shipped to my porch last week; brilliant sets those were, with all the tunes he played on that Steinway.
DeleteWhat a very bad policy of Neil Young and his recordcompany to release only 3000 boxes
ReplyDeleteof the Archive Vol. 2 issue and only via the Greedy Hand Store. Ten thousand worldwide fans are very interested in a great part of the released songs and are now forced to get the songs on a illegal way. Please release the box worldwide!!! There are enough fans in the world who are very interested in the box!!
Well, after watching the sale for the last couple of days, my mind isn't on the format or the content or the price of Vol 2. It's on something else pretty specific that irks me. This box set has literally been marketed for the last 10 years by Neil and his management. For those who have been paying attention, there have been 10 years of anticipation. And how did Reprise address their long waiting fans after 10 years of hype? 3000 copies sold over 24 hours. That's just plain wrong. A gross misjudgement. And there is no hint as to how the rest of die hard fans will get a physical copy now. I hope they won't be forced to go onto the secondary market. Why did Reprise/NYA decide to press 3K copes at $250 per box instead of 10K at $200 per box? I didn't buy this thing so that I could have a limited edition. I could care less about that. I wanted the content. But what's done is done. What we need is a quick pivot on the part of Reprise and NYA to get the second edition out there, in larger volumes, at lower prices. I know that we always have NYA at $20/month for streaming, so anyone who wants the music can hear it at a reasonable prices. But the fact that the Box sold out so quickly tells me that the demand/supply planning was way off. Think about it again. 10 years, 3000 copies, 250 dollars, 24 hours.
ReplyDelete@ LRR - ya know, we hear you and so many.
ReplyDeleteour simple observation is that Elliot has left the building.
As ER's decline began several years ago, so did the rise in F Ups.
We're the not the 1st or last to say that neil needs better mgt decisioning. altho everyone associated w/ neil -- even Elliot himself -- consider the artist to be un-manageable.
so for us, this is the shakey deal. you pay for this and they give you that. for the turnstiles. greedy hand and all. that's the package.
you buy your ticket, you take the ride.
for us here @ tw, we err to the side of art ... not commerce.
this all comes w/ the territory,
someone posted on another thread about the new Elton John box and how it totally caters to the fanbase and their very wish and desire. awesome for Elton fans. good for them.
but we'll take our shakey neil deal any day. the ditch life isn't for everyone for sure.
don't be denied
peace & love
For those still wanting to pre order a copy - More are available at the Canadian Greedy Hand store right now!
ReplyDeleteIn 2020, it's possible to purchase the hi-res individual files each individually; that should have been on offer as well; That way, if you only care about the music, you buy what you don't have for yourself - I have no interest in a box, or booklet or trappings; and maybe there will be that option soon enough, but after the 3000 pre-orders sold out, NYA should have been ready with an announcement paul dionne
ReplyDeleteWell put LRR. And not even telling people there was going to be a limited run until the day they go on sale. Think of all our heroic healthcare workers, working long days and nights over the weekend. What about service personnel, posted overseas. What about people who thought “if I start saving now, I might be able to buy it for X for Christmas”?
ReplyDeleteOr indeed, the literally millions of newly unemployed people due to the Covid pandemic, who would love this but obviously cannot afford it right now?
On a separate note, What about Neil Young’s legacy? All the fans of the future who, like me, will painstakingly try to buy every album he’s ever made, then try to find the more obscure stuff like Eldorado? Obviously I could have got them all in minutes online, but it’s not the same (not even on NYA, as cool as that site is). Those future fans will have a big box-shaped hole in their collection too.
I’m quite happy for artists to put out limited editions of things that really will only attract hardcore fans (A Letter Home box set being the perfect example), but for such a cornerstone collection that the artist has dedicated most of their career to curating, it makes no sense at all, it’s actually insulting to fans and to Neil Young himself in a way.
Can you imagine if the Beatles Anthologies were limited editions? That’s what’s happened here, and although I know I’m very lucky to have secured a set for myself, I think the whole release has been poorly thought-out and mismanaged. Maybe it’s because Elliot Roberts is gone, maybe it’s because everyone is working remotely, maybe (and fair enough) the world has bigger problems than this right now. But it still rankles.
If the Archives Team thinks again and announces another run/pressing (maybe in the smaller format Like the Vol I CD set) I really hope nobody complains that their ‘limited edition’ has lost value, because there is a bigger picture here. Come on Neil, please print some more copies for your fans and for posterity!
Thrasher, you say “the ditch life isn’t for everyone” but with such an exclusive strictly-limited product it might soon end up as “the ditch life isn’t for anyone!”
ReplyDeleteNewsflash, Times-Contrarian says a second edition is being planned. Phew, thanks Neil!
ReplyDeleteFront page news on the Times Contrarian today.
ReplyDeleteA second edition of Volume Two is in the works right now and there will be an update soon. Neil states that it will be unique....... whatever that means. He also said he was surprised that the box set sold out so fast.
I think Neil needs someone close to him explain why they decided a limited edition was such a smart move. They easily could have tripled their sales by now if they had passed on the whole limited edition thing. This music should be made available to everyone who wants it in a physical format, and I’m hoping that this second edition will make that possible for those who couldn’t secure the limited edition version.
Even though I’m one of the 3000 who was able to acquire one, this whole approach has left me feeling extremely disappointed in the whole affair.
Peace 🙏
And Neil says Volume III is into production and a new another edition of Volume I is under consideration...
ReplyDeleteWell, wait and see...
Ny said vol3 will be different , perhaps he will release all the discs in the years before release
ReplyDeleteI can only echo many of the preceding comments: Neil and co. seem to have underestimated demand for their product. I suspect, however, that a large part of the problem is economics: these Archives box sets have always been prohibitively expensive to produce. NYA#1 on blu-ray had a suggested retail price of $300, if memory serves. At these prices, Reprise can't be expecting to sell too many units. Yet setting the price so high can only make this a self-fulfilling prophecy.
ReplyDeleteSo, given that the manufacturers appear to be anticipating low return on investment, the limited edition approach both limits their financial commitment (cost of making the box sets) and, perhaps, works to stimulate demand by leverage scarcity to inflate the value of the product--that is, both its market value and the special use value and sentimental value it has to us Neil Nuts.
In other words, it's an equation of supply and demand. Only the calculations seem to have been made with the assumption of a much lower demand than actually exists for the commodity (NYA#2 box set). This was either 1) Misjudgement, based on preemptive panic that sales would not break even or 2)Deliberate manipulation of the consumer base (us), designed to artificially inflate demand outlined above. Perhaps it is a combination of aspects, with the former triggering the latter.
Of course, the bad optics are exacerbated by the pandemic and resulting economic crash. Squeezing people for cash when many, including some of NY's most ardent fans, are struggling financially for reasons beyond anyone's control, is not a good look.
To be honest, I had misgivings from the word "go" about the limited edition and selling exclusively through Neil's website. It seems to be going out of its way not to give the consumer choices--just when it seemed like NYA was opening up a new, buffet-style business model based on choosing your own adventure from multiple upcoming releases. For an operation that had been doing a fair job of giving people options, this is a disappointing move.
Moreover, we knew it was going to be a limited edition, but it was not clear how limited until the 11th hour. Which feels like another manipulative decision, designed to stimulate a buying frenzy. Best case scenario: the NYA folks have learned that 3,000 is not as many as it may look like on paper. Worst case: The Greedy Hand is strong-arming us at the most inopportune of moments.
That said, maybe Neil is doing what he has to to get his product and vision out there in any form. I'm curious to see/hear how the second edition will materialize. Don't count me out. I wield a greedy hand of my own, as perhaps do we all.
~Om-Shati.
Dane - THANK YOU for posting about the CANADIAN Greedy Hand store. I wouldn't have even thought there was such a thing. Neil's Team - "Let's make it even MORE confusing. We'll have different stores in each country!!"
ReplyDeleteThe good news is - I got one!! Use the code NEILYOUNG150, and get free international shipping (that's me, in California), which was a whopping $65 (CA). Very grateful for your note.
SO, now I wonder - were there really only 3,000 worldwide? How many were set aside for Canada, his birthplace? Why weren't they sold out too? It's so damn confusing...
Thanks again Dane!
The audio/visual preview of CAASYW that just dropped on NYA backs up what I typed above; the Vol 2 songs will have video accompaniment just like the Vol 1 box set discs presented. As of now, only available online, unless Neil and co. decide Blu-Ray isn’t too expensive to produce after all!
ReplyDeleteGreedy Hand is an appropriate name for Neil. Why include 3 discs people have? Explain that to me Mr. Greedy Hand. You make Trump look like a piker.
ReplyDelete