Neil Young's relationship with his 1973 live album Time Fades Away has historically been a complicated one, but the songwriter's feelings haven't stopped him from bringing the release back to vinyl with a 50th anniversary reissue.
Time Fades Away 50 arrives November 3 via Reprise Records as a clear vinyl pressing, and tacks a recording of "The Last Trip to Tulsa" onto the LP's eight original inclusions. Previously, this bonus track could only be found on Young's massive Archives Vol. II box set.
Considered the first oeuvre in his celebrated "Ditch Trilogy" of albums, Time Fades Away captures early '70s performances by Young and his band in support of his vaunted Harvest LP. The songwriter reflects how it was "a tough time to go on the road," following the death of former Crazy Horse guitarist and longtime collaborator Danny Whitten, sharing in some new commentary, "The tour was about 3 months and it was my very first big tour, travelling throughout the USA and parts of Canada, playing full sized arenas with between 15 and 19 thousand people in the audience. We had never done this before and neither had many other people."
Young clearly had his relentless pursuit of outstanding audio fidelity on the brain those many decades before the Pono player, as he writes, "Our PA was lifted on towers on either side of the stage, not like today's tours where everything hangs from the ceiling of the building. The monitors, which were to allow me to hear what I was singing, were not big enough and I had to sing very loud just to hear myself. Again, no one had done this before at the time and we were blazing some new ground in 1973. You can hear it in my voice. We played a lot of Harvest songs on the tour but I wanted to make a live album of new material. That is what Time Fades Away is."
For many years, Time Fades Away remained the only Young album to not receive a CD release, and following CD and digital reissues in recent years, listeners have come to enjoy uncommon gems like "Love in Mind," "The Bridge" and "Last Dance." If you witnessed Young's 2015 headlining set with Promise of the Real at the inaugural edition of Ontario's WayHome festival, you'll surely recall him opening the evening's encore with "Don't Be Denied," which you can hear below.
"The whole tour was stressful and Time Fades Away does reflect that," Young now concludes."I am still uncomfortable hearing it even today, though I still hear from people who liked it. Thank goodness for these die-hard fans!"
Young recently dug into his vast archive to finally release his once long-lost Chrome Dreams album. Earlier this month, he put a pair of live performances in Japan on wax for live album Odeon Budokan.
Pre-order Time Fades Away 50
Time Fades Away 50:
Side A:
1. Time Fades Away
2. Journey Through the Past
3. Yonder Stands the Sinner
4. L.A.
5. Love in Mind
Side B:
1. Don't Be Denied
2. The Bridge
3. Last Dance
4. The Last Trip to Tulsa
Time Fades Away 50 arrives November 3 via Reprise Records as a clear vinyl pressing, and tacks a recording of "The Last Trip to Tulsa" onto the LP's eight original inclusions. Previously, this bonus track could only be found on Young's massive Archives Vol. II box set.
Considered the first oeuvre in his celebrated "Ditch Trilogy" of albums, Time Fades Away captures early '70s performances by Young and his band in support of his vaunted Harvest LP. The songwriter reflects how it was "a tough time to go on the road," following the death of former Crazy Horse guitarist and longtime collaborator Danny Whitten, sharing in some new commentary, "The tour was about 3 months and it was my very first big tour, travelling throughout the USA and parts of Canada, playing full sized arenas with between 15 and 19 thousand people in the audience. We had never done this before and neither had many other people."
Young clearly had his relentless pursuit of outstanding audio fidelity on the brain those many decades before the Pono player, as he writes, "Our PA was lifted on towers on either side of the stage, not like today's tours where everything hangs from the ceiling of the building. The monitors, which were to allow me to hear what I was singing, were not big enough and I had to sing very loud just to hear myself. Again, no one had done this before at the time and we were blazing some new ground in 1973. You can hear it in my voice. We played a lot of Harvest songs on the tour but I wanted to make a live album of new material. That is what Time Fades Away is."
For many years, Time Fades Away remained the only Young album to not receive a CD release, and following CD and digital reissues in recent years, listeners have come to enjoy uncommon gems like "Love in Mind," "The Bridge" and "Last Dance." If you witnessed Young's 2015 headlining set with Promise of the Real at the inaugural edition of Ontario's WayHome festival, you'll surely recall him opening the evening's encore with "Don't Be Denied," which you can hear below.
"The whole tour was stressful and Time Fades Away does reflect that," Young now concludes."I am still uncomfortable hearing it even today, though I still hear from people who liked it. Thank goodness for these die-hard fans!"
Young recently dug into his vast archive to finally release his once long-lost Chrome Dreams album. Earlier this month, he put a pair of live performances in Japan on wax for live album Odeon Budokan.
Pre-order Time Fades Away 50
Time Fades Away 50:
Side A:
1. Time Fades Away
2. Journey Through the Past
3. Yonder Stands the Sinner
4. L.A.
5. Love in Mind
Side B:
1. Don't Be Denied
2. The Bridge
3. Last Dance
4. The Last Trip to Tulsa