Neil Young Archives Vol. II: "LIVES!" Says Neil - Now Taking Pre-Orders
Neil Young Archives Vol. II: "LIVES!" says Neil on today's T-C on NYA.
A "deluxe" NYA#2 edition with subtle art differences is coming March 5 2021. Also, a "letter of authenticity" will be sent to those who purchased the original -- apparently non-deluxe -- edition.
No details on what will make the 2021 version "deluxe" other than "subtle art differences".
UPDATE: The Greedy Hand store is now accepting Pre-Orders.
For those just tuning in, lots of drama lately over Neil Young Archives Vol. II. A quick recap:
In October, all 3,000 units of the long awaited Neil Young Archives Volume II Limited Edition Boxset (@ $249 USD each) sold out in less than 48 hours -- somehow inexplicably and unpredictably -- demonstrating a huge pentup demand for physical Neil Young product by a global hardcore fan base. (See SOLD OUT: Neil Young Archives Volume II Blows Out in 48 Hours.)
Subsequently, auctions have appeared on sites like eBay.com with an unreleased copy of the sold out Neil Young Archives Vol#2 selling on eBay last week for USD$2,970.66.
Of course, we do hope that Neil Young enjoyed his 75th Birthday yesterday as the world celebrated his eternal music. The thrashers enjoyed the 40 minute Dangerbird Megamix which was delightful, especially the piano version. just wow. (See https://aquariumdrunkard.com/
But not all is well in rustdale as the tricks of disaster continue to come fast and hard.
Fallout continues over the fake, "CGI Poncho" in "Return To Greendale" by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse.
"Return To Greendale"
Finally received my Return to Greendale box set yesterday, and we watched the BluRay last night.I don’t know why Neil chose to transformed Poncho into a cybernetic doppelgänger, but I do know how it effected my enjoyment of the film.
Greendale is one of my favorite Neil Young albums, and it was such a joy to see it on NYA one song at a time a few months back. So perhaps it was naive of me to except the same experience on BluRay.
A fictional tale of a small town and the struggles of a loving family living there, all brought to life through a series of beautifully written songs. A story of humanities challenges with itself and the earth they live on. Portrayed lovingly by a group of people with the best intentions to communicate a difficult narrative in an entertaining way. All this successfully accomplished with the feel of a local theater company production Charming, and effective....... until the decision was made to de- humanize the entire event by adding a lifeless digitized replacement of a key member of the band.
Every time I saw the CGI version of Poncho, it took me out of the experience. His replacement resembled a lifeless caricature from a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character from the Flintstones. The technology used here is sub par in comparison to high quality CGI, and completely unconvincing of anything other than what it is. Stilted and lifeless.
To say that I am disappointed would be an understatement. Neil has taken what should have been a successful presentation of a wonderful concert, and turned it into a slap in the face. Thanks Neil.
With the NYA Vol. 2 fiasco, and the grossly over priced After the Gold Rush 50th box set, you currently seem to be on a rather self destructive path.
Peace
(Click photo to enlarge)
Labels: archives, neil young
by thrasher@PermaLink: 11/13/2020 01:43:00 PM
36 comments
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Pre-order link arrived on my phone in the UK an hour ago at 6pm.
Deluxe "reprint" and CD editions available.
A second edition Holy Grail is STILL a Holy Grail...
Concerning the "Deluxe" designation, I went back to check & in the original YouTube video posted, it does list the initial release as a "Limited Deluxe Edition" (3,000 Copies Worldwide). So this one is also "Deluxe", but not as "Limited"... maybe.
I am HAPPY that Neil has done this 2nd printing, although I did get my order in for one of the first 3,000.
I'm not going to worry about the fate of the Geffen years just yet. Since Volume III now picks up in 1976, there should be a couple years' worth of stuff to tide me over. And I hope to be busy with Volume II for some time yet anyway.
I don't understand why, for the retail version, the box will include 131 tracks and the deluxe one, 139... (see details on NYA Store)... I guess it's just a mistake...
I bet the person that paid 3000 for the box is pretty sorry right now, or he or she must be really anxious to get the first one.
The retail version is pretty decently priced, about 35% more expensive than vol. I, but two extra discs (10 vs 8). Plus a booklet and a poster.
I read that some people already know the number of their deluxe vol. II box. How? I haven't heard anything about shipping yet.
As for the pricing, according to Neil in LTE, reprise sets the price not him. Besides, why send a letter to the editor complaining about the cost. I'd much rather hear if the CD and vinyl / hi-res are mastered the same, or if more compression has been applied to the CD to increase loudness and decrease dynamic range, which I do suspect.
Finally, I wonder if Vol. II will be on Spotify next week, or that it will be an NYA exclusive for 3 months. March will be a long wait for some...
Must be the raps on Roxy: Tonight's the Night Live.
But that might mean no raps on the studio TTN?
I think the stuff he recorded at Broken Arrow with the Horse and later added the synclavier stuff to is still ok to use in it's raw form. Thing is, he seemingly didn't record a lot in 79-81. By my estimate about 20 songs. I'm doubting Chrome Dreams will be in there too. And no repeat discs either (Songs for Judy and Hitchhiker). That doesn't leave a whole lot: Oceanside Countryside, Stars n Bars stuff with the Bullets. Some gone with the wind orchestra stuff, Boarding House, RNS, Hawks and Doves and re-ac-tor. But I agree that including 77 and 78 would have made vol II to big.
The "retail" version of Archives II is fine. I want to get one for the car. The new deluxe limited edition box set with a couple color changes is fraud - "Volume II will be released as a deluxe limited edition on March 5, 2020". If the original "3000 deluxe limited edition box set" or however it was billed (taken off the site now) was sold as just a limited edition with no number, that would be fine too. Then the limited is only limited to how many you make before whatever you made sells out. No problem. Make another edition. Books do it all the time. But once you assign a numbered amount to a limited edition, and make more ..... even with the bogus color changes to pretend you aren't, then that is the fraud. Value is created by a limited number. Once you apply that number and market your product..... that has to be fast and true, or you are lying, and the value created by the limited number is compromised/ and was a ruse, whether intended or without malice.
Learn from mistakes and make sure subsequent offerings are more well thought out. The point is to get your music out. Don't have a limited number assigned. But to walk back the limited number like this, and make more of the same product when you can accomplish what you want by selling the book separate, and releasing the "retail" version of all the music in a very different box and package. This is misrepresentation, fraudulent, and darn it, just lying to the market.
I am sure glad you made it and finally released it, though. That is for sure. I'm a collector, not a seller. But I still hate to see value robbed, from me, or anyone, really.
Neil struggled with how to respond to this Volume 2 shortage/sell-out, and he clearly went back & forth with what the solution would be.
If the choice is between making another 5,000+ die-hard Neil fans happy or making flippers on eBay happy (people re-selling the set before it’s even shipped), I think he made the right choice.
It will still sell-out again within months & be going for big money on eBay; just like Vol.1 is now.
As far as I know, there has been no mention of archive volume two being individually numbered. Only that it was limited to 3,000 copies, and now a promise of a “letter of authenticity” sent to those who were lucky enough to purchase the limited edition version. This whole affair has been handled poorly to the extreme, and I’m more than a little disappointed with Neil passing off the total blame on his record company. After all, this was his baby, and he should own up to the fact that he dropped the ball. If it is all on his record company, then Neil needs to renegotiate his record contract so nothing like this will happen again.
Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, The Beatles, Pearl Jam, and Joni Mitchell have all successfully released archival releases without any of the drama that has plagued NY Archives Vol. 2. These and many other artists have been more than capable of getting their music to their fans, so Neil & Reprise needs to get their act together. Neil’s fans deserve to be treated with the same respect these other artists have shown to their fan base.
The current solution posted today on NYA is okay with me, I just hope that the lesson has been learned and we won’t be repeating this situation with volume three.
Peace 🙏
.....P. S. The Return to Greendale vinyl sounds incredible!!!
Peace 🙏
The "subtle art differences" appear to be, according to pictures published for marketing them......
the II is black on the 3000 Deluxe Limited Edition,
and orange on the unlimited Deluxe Limited Edition.
Oh yes, I noticed that too. Where it says Vol. II near the top of the box, the II is either orange or red
on the new ones. Could that be the only change?
I'm delighted that more people are now able to get a physical copy of volume 2, and I speak as someone who has been able to get one of the original 3000 copies. I couldn't care less about limited numbered editions, as long as everyone who wants one can get one, (surely that philosophy is hard wired into Neil's Woodstock era DNA??) and by doing this Neil has hopefully stopped dead in their tracks the ebay opportunists.
However, a lesson needs to be learned here. Increasingly, Neil's products are being offered in a multitude of configurations, each getting more and more ridiculously expensive, at a time of economic crisis unseen in our lifetimes, Return to Greendale being a prime example, and ATGR50 is insanely priced for what people will receive.
There was nothing previously wrong with the performance series being offered in cd or cd/dvd/ or cd/blu-ray packs or vinyl. I don't remember many complaints. Similarly I don't remember the release of archives vol 1 being remembered for all the wrong reasons like vol 2 will be, you just went to your record store or ordered online and voila!, you got it and enjoyed it!
I'll say it again, the Joni box is readily available on the High street, and, whilst this may be a contentious point which is unable to be proven, I would imagine that as Neil is still an artist who is releasing new material and touring (ok, not this year!) as opposed to Joni who has, I think it's fair to say, retired on health grounds, he is less likely to need to release things in limited numbers, in short he's not so much of a niche artist. So moving forward there really shouldn't be any need to make things so bloody difficult!
I love you Neil, your work has not only been the soundtrack to my life but something I cling to in uncertain times, and I'm sure many many others would agree with that sentiment, but it's not only listening to music that should be a pleasure, obtaining it should be too.
But hey! Happy birthday for yesterday you cantankerous, contrary old git, I've spent the evening listening to Return to Greendale.......it was fabulous.
Good news, order placed and that should get rid of the profiteering on e bay.
Reduced by £500.00 overnight but still charging £166.00 additonal costs !
Neil Young - Archives vol. 2, limited edition box set, 1 of 3000
5 bids | 5d 14h
Approx.
£549.84
+ £166.61 Addl. Costs
US $722.00
This is a good outcome. I got one of the 1st batch and would have been gutted if I had missed out. Bit puzzled at the letter of authenticity which I'll be getting, I'd assumed the box would be numbered, but guess it won't be, hence the need for the letter. Just need Neil to instruct Reprise to sort the pricing for ATG50 now, I buy pretty much everything NY puts out but even I'm baulking at that price.
Roll on 20/11/20 when I can finally delve into this box.
I'm confused!
The Retail Edition pre-order page says:
"ARCHIVES VOL. II: 1972-1976 (RETAIL EDITION)
BUNDLE INCLUDES:
ARCHIVES VOL. II: 1972-1976 (DELUXE EDITION)
..."
Surely a typo?
Am I confused here or has Vol. II's release date suddenly and silently been pushed back from six days from now to MARCH, four months later? Why is that hardly being mentioned? Or is the first edition still coming out on November 20?
My understanding the original (limited to 3000)delux box, had been pre arranged into plant production schedules, so that will be released on November 20th, as stated.
Neil has specifically mentioned that there is a huge pileup in plants, huge demand, everything is backed up, and this is why the next batch of Delux Archives 2 boxes are being delayed. This has also affected many other artists, and indeed other Neil Young releases, which he had originally planned for 2020, such as “Young Shakespeare”, a live Neil Young album from 1971, which was supposed to be released this year, but now, postponed to next January
Honestly, after listening to the old Greendale CD last night, I think this whole album is open to fairly brutal parody. The problem seems to the appropriate development of a character. It is not really possible in this context? The transition to a sustainable future (in the US), if it happens at all, is going to be a treacherous and tedious course of events. The tensions between liberal democracy and communal will are high voltage. Just note the sheer unwillingness of US to really come together and flatten COVID. Instead, we are seeing a radical spike. And now many people are going ahead with all sorts of family plans for the holiday. Now imagine a communal will to transition intelligently from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources? Neil just barely touches the edge of the darkness in Greendale. I think more focused effort on the songs and the ideas would have made the album into an uncontroversial masterpiece. But Neil did not do this.
For me, the released version of Greendale was a disappointment. I 8 of the Euro shows and 4 of the US shows. The songs were developed on the road. As NY said at the time half the time he wrote the songs on the way the studio.
The live shows were incredible. The studio album just didn't have the same va va vooom.
Return to Greendale redresses the balance and, for me at least, it's essential and I love it.
Account for 131 vs. 139 tracks, the track listing does not include the Roxy "raps". I assume they're still present and correct, but it's more honest not to include them in the tally of songs. The track listings on the two editions appear identical.
I will likely go for the "retail edition". The only remaining question: will the Greedy Hand manage to sell the deluxe book individually, as earlier hinted?
@Abner, can't argue with any of that, sadly. How can one encapsulate these heavy, complicated ideas in the concise form of a pop or rock song? Even a sprawled out Crazy Horse jam is dealing with limitations of form that don't necessarily facilitate topical commentary.
Much topical and political music is open to parody for this reason: in the rush to get across an unambiguous Aesop within a relatively unsubtle musical form (when have NY+CH ever been accused of subtlety?), the result can sound a little heavy-handed and simplistic. Although I enjoy Greendale in and of itself, I wonder if Neil's heavy reliance on riffs here doesn't exacerbate the problem? No matter what he's saying about corruption on the highest floor and being the rain, one can't help but hear "Got mashed potatoes! Ain't got no t-bone!" in the back of your mind much of the time.
From the band that once sang, "That's why we don't want to be good!", and had tongue firmly in cheek with tracks like Welfare Mothers and Piece of Crap, the tonal shift to trying to tell a serious story with developed characters can be a bit jarring.
@Ian Kertis, I'm pretty sure the Vol II book will still become available in the Greedy Hand store separately. The book for Vol. 1 was available separately from his store for awhile; I remember I bought an extra copy of it a few months after I bought the 1st boxset.
Ian, good point about the riffs. I never thought of that point. The music seems redundant to me and not in any good way. I did, however, enjoy listening again and Bandit is worth the whole album. I can imagine a different record with a back and forth between electric and ballads, something maybe more abstract and poetic in the lyrics. The danger here I think is monotony, not a happy thing for any art form.
I smell potential lawsuits over the Limited Edition being advertised as only 3000 copies & it turns out that's not true.
We shall see.
As posted a few days ago, I was fortunate to order the "true" "Deluxe" Edition of Archives Vol. II in the Canadian store.
Some more confusion followed:
(im-)perfection in every detail :-)
Some days ago, I received an e-mail from the merchant in Canada letting me know that I could download the additional song files. Excellent and I am excited to do it next.
However, I was puzzled with the subject of the message:
PRE-ORDER] Hybrid Theory: 20th Anniversary Edition Super Deluxe Box Set has been updated.
Was it too far gone?
I thus sent back a message to tell that it might have been a wrong subject.
Minutes later, I got a new message with finally the correct subject:
PRE-ORDER] ARCHIVES VOL. II: 1972-1976
I was relieved :-)
I am now waiting for the Archives to be sent and delivered by early December, at least for the Original Deluxe limited version...
Hopefully they will come dancing across the water to my home.
Indeed I am glad to hear that a new deluxe edition will be made available again to all fans.
Yet too much adrenaline recently...
Sorry for the basic question, but will subscribers to the NY Archives have automatic (streaming) access to NY Archives Vol. II when it gets released later this month?
Thanks.
CK - Yes, we will, and it’ll be the one of the only places to hear it on release day.
Has anyone in the UK had notification that their vol 2 box has been sent to them yet? When I ordered it I was told that as a pre-order item it would be with me on release day, which of course is tomorrow. I've heard nothing. I also paid a bit extra for tracking, and I haven't received a tracking number either. I posted yesterday in another thread asking if anyone knew how to log in to the greedy hand store, and despite very kind help from people on here, I'm still unable to access the store to check my order. "Quality whether you want it or not" should apply to more than just the music....
I was able to access my account using that link. Checked the status of my box set order, it said 'Packing'
10 hours later it still says 'Packing' so don't hold out any hope for delivery tomorrow
UNKNOWN, thanks, I finally was able to access my order. Now I wish I hadn't been able to! "Item not shipped / packing"......the vol 2 debacle continues....
Update: only Disc 1 of Vol II will be streaming for members tomorrow.
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