Neil Young

That Neil Young’s been working on his career retrospective for 23 years says something about the songwriter’s longevity. But it raises a question: Can anything be worth that long a wait?

We say: Sort of. Neil Young Archives Volume 1 (1963–1972), which came out this week as a boxed set of ten (10!) DVDs, is absurdly lavish. The tracks date back to Young’s earliest recordings, with a Winnipeg folk-rock band called the Squires; they include two excellent (but previously released) concert performances and dozens of previously unreleased recordings. You’ll also find Young’s quasi-watchable film Journey Through the Past as well as interviews, lyric sheets, demos, and other ephemera. There’s plenty to explore here, and thanks to Young’s gearhead tendencies — which explain his insistence on audio DVDs rather than CDs — the sound quality is pristine. (You can also get an eight-CD version of the set, but it all but comes with a warning sticker from the man in charge.) That said, Archives is expensive — $200, with the Amazon discount — so its appeal is directly proportional to your degree of obsessiveness. For most of us, the $70 set of CDs will suffice.

Source: Veryshortlist.com