home

The Vinyl Press

  • Features
  • Records
  • Cleaning – Care
  • Editorials
  • Compendia
  • Ephemera
  • Phono
  • About
You are here: Home / Records / Early Neil on Reprise

Early Neil on Reprise

June 15, 2015 by Bill Hart

Neil Young is another polarizing figure, musically. It took me time to cozy up to him, and the albums I come back to now are his early solo records on Reprise: Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, After the Gold Rush and Harvest. These are, in my estimation, essential early Neil on Reprise.

Everybody Knows This is Nowhere has some hits that remained in Young’s repertoire for decades, including “Down by the River,” “Cowgirl in the Sand” and “Cinnamon Girl.” My copy is an early 1A pressing. IMG_0082

 

After the Gold Rush has more, including “Southern Man.” There is a fair amount of discussion over the best early pressings; mine include copies showing RE-1 and RE-2 which sound noticeably different: the RE-1 pressing is more vivid. A nod to the Hoffman board on this one, where you will find much discussion of the various pressings.

IMG_0083

 

Harvest is a grand album all the way around and contains some of his best songs. The early pressings, mastered by Lee Hulko are the best to my ears, though the later Chris Bellman remaster comes pretty close, sounds a little less congested and “clearer,” if you find the Hulko to sound a bit congested (on my system, the Hulko-mastered copies just “flow” but finding quiet copies is another matter).

IMG_0084

 

Neil Young Greatest Hits was released by Classic Records back in the day and has many of these tracks. To my ears, it is “tipped up” and sounds bit zippy, though it was mastered by Chris Bellman (a top mastering engineer who is currently very active). Bellman also did the remasterings of the Neil Young reissues by Warner/Reprise. Strangely, the Harvest re-do by Bellman for Warners has none of the stridency of the same tracks on the Classic Greatest Hits.

For a more interesting retrospective, my vote goes to Live at Massey Hall, which, while recorded in the era (1971), was not released until 2007. Here, the songs that we now know inside out were new, some having not yet been released and the acoustics captured on this recording are marvelous. A great time-capsule. Classic Records also did this one, but the standard Warner issue is not only just fine, but may be preferred. Bellman mastered, and it appears that they are essentially the same, but based on my experience described above with Greatest Hits v. Harvest, where I preferred the standard issue to the Classic version, this may also save you some money.

Young epitomized the folk-rock scene in L.A. in the 70’s and though his career has been long and varied, and spans many other notable recordings, from Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills and Nash, to becoming an inspirational figure for an entire generation of new rockers (ala “grunge”), these early solo records are, to me, his best.

Filed Under: Records

In Brief:

There Is No “Magic Bullet” in Hi-Fi

There Is No “Magic Bullet” in Hi-Fi No Magic Solutions I’ve spent some time on the audio chat fora over the years. Many popular threads these days are devoted to cheap improvements that can be made using audiophile “tweaks” or repurposed non-audiophile products. These can be applied to isolate gear, enhance the signals or connections or otherwise address some perceived problem that, once solved, offers to raise the level of music reproduction. It’s like a cheap solution to upgrade your system: from audiophile fuses, special wires (beyond simply having a high-quality interconnect, speaker wire or power cable) and other tweaks, to contact fluids and other things that you can attach to power sources, equipment, or place in the room (bowls, various harmonizers or active resonators, noise harvesters, etc.) This is apart from room treatment, which is sui generis; that is, every situation is … [Read More...]

Milt Ward Reissue-release date May 6, 2022

Milt Ward Reissue-release date May 6, 2022  Andreas Vingaard, of Frederiksberg Records, dropped me a note that the Milt Ward & Virgo Spectrum record about which much has been written here will be available on vinyl beginning on May 9, 2022. However, several promo emails today, Friday, May 6, 2022 say the record is available NOW via Bandcamp (see link below). The reissue was done with the participation of Milt Ward’s family and includes comprehensive notes in a booklet. Given the price of original pressings, this should be worthwhile even if not taken from the master tape. I plan to get a copy and we’ll do a shoot-out with my “OG” pressing. I’m sure some of you are willing to brook a little sonic compromise to get access to an otherwise very hard to find, expensive spiritual jazz rarity. At the time of this writing there is one copy on Discogs in NM condition for media for over … [Read More...]

Milt Ward Virgo Reissue Coming from Frederiksberg

Although I don't have all the details yet, I have learned that Frederiksberg Records, a small, eclectic label from New York, is in the process of reissuing the hard to find (and even harder to pay for) jazz obscurity, Milt Ward and Virgo Spectrum. You can find out more by keeping tabs on Frederiksberg's Bandcamp page, https://frederiksbergrecords.bandcamp.com   I'm told there is a bootleg out there so be careful. Frederiksberg is doing this project with the participation of the family of Milt Ward, which is to be applauded. Hopefully, this will give more access to a great jazz record at a reasonable price. The Roots album reissue from Frederiksberg (which is sold out on vinyl on the Frederiksberg Records bandcamp site) still appears to be available through some online retailers as a pre-order, so that's another one to jump on now if you can find it-- the original is extremely pricey and … [Read More...]

Clem Snide- Forever Just Beyond

Clem Snide- Forever Just Beyond With a name derived from a character in the same literary work as the band name so famously identified with the Walter Becker-Donald Fagen duo, Clem Snide has an extensive discography, typically cataloged as “alt country.” This latest release is the work of one of its founding members, Eef Barzelay, who was responsible for much of the songwriting and singing. According to his bio, Barzelay suffered some serious bumps in the road during the last decade, including a failing marriage and financial ruin. At the same time, he learned that Scott Avett was a fan and they found inspiration in each other, leading to this album- a collaboration of artistry where Avett and Barzelay share some writing credits and Avett produces. The result is a fresh, upbeat set of tunes that are appealing in their simplicity and refreshing in their sincerity. The band is first tier … [Read More...]

Muriel Grossmann- Reverence

Muriel Grossmann- Reverence Muriel Grossmann continues her quest for musical ascension on Reverence, which was released on vinyl in early December, 2019 on the RR Gems label as a 2 LP set. The compositions are Grossmann’s, and the band is much the same as the group of seasoned musicians with whom she has worked for some time (and detailed in the review of her Golden Rule), but for one notable exception: the addition of a keyboard player who brings that rich, woody Hammond B-3 sound to a series of compositions devoted to Africa. In some ways, Ms. Grossmann’s exploration of the roots of jazz deliberately eschews any superficial attempt to make African music. Instead, she draws inspiration from its influences, which are wide ranging and deep—you can hear rhythm and blues sounds mixed with more traditional African instrumentation and polyrhythms and come away with something that is both … [Read More...]

Terms of Use ·  Copyright © 2023 The Vinyl Press.com ·  Privacy Policy
A service of Flying Reptile Media Group ·  Contact


Register | Login to Comment | Comments FAQ

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in