(hennemusic) Neil Young will release an archival live album, "Tuscaloosa", on June 7th. As Rolling Stone notes, the project captures Young and his backing band the Stray Gators in concert at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on February 5, 1973.
"It's from the period right around Harvest and Tonight's the Night," explained Young earlier this year. "For me, it's edgy. It's like those mellow songs with an edge. It's really trippy to be down in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and singing those songs from Harvest and the songs that we were doing for Time Fades Away before it came out. I found this thing and it had such a great attitude to it. I just loved the whole night, so I put that together with [engineer] John Hanlon."
"Tuscaloosa" delivers just 11 songs from the show - short of the regular 20 at the time - as Hanlon confirms the full set wasn't captured on tape, and that "The Loner" was out of tune and "On The Way Home" was simply on too many other live albums.
In a letter to a fan on his Neil Young Archives website, Young defended his decision to release the show with songs missing. "We don't like to release a lot of songs on many albums, so 'On The Way Home' went by the wayside," responded Young to fan inquiry about the incomplete recording. "'The Loner' was just not good enough. I still make those decisions because I am here on the planet. However, those two versions will be available in the archives for members to hear. I have no plans to release everything I have ever recorded. Some of it is just not good enough."
Young is previewing the package with an audio stream of the closing track, "Don't Be Denied." "Tuscaloosa" will be available in multiple formats, including digital, CD and a three-sided vinyl album with etched artwork on side four. Check out the song and tracklisting here.
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