For the better part of the past few years, Neil Young has been actively tapped into his archives. Now, Young is looking back at his prime singer-songwriter years by unearthing Young Shakespeare, a set that took place at the Shakespeare Theater in Stratford, Connecticut on Jan. 22, 1971. The show took place two months after the release of After the Gold Rush.
The collection is billed as some of the earliest live performance footage of Young to exist. As for the set, it features very early versions of classic cuts like “Old Man,” “The Needle and the Damage Done,” “A Man Needs a Maid” and “Heart Of Gold”
“Young Shakespeare is a very special event,” Young said in a statement. “[It’s] a more calm performance, without the celebratory atmosphere of Massey Hall, captured live on 16mm. To my fans, I say this is the best ever… one of the most pure-sounding acoustic performances we have in the Archive.”
The set comes in vinyl, CD, DVD formats, along with a deluxe edition. Preorder it here.
As for his other archival releases, a few weeks ago, Young announced that his lost 1982 album Johnny’s Island is on the way as is a live bootleg from 1974. Young also reissued After The Gold Rush for its 50th anniversary and his Archives Vol. 2 box set last year.
See the tracklisting below:
1. Tell Me Why
2. Old Man
3. The Needle and the Damage Done
4. Ohio
5. Dance Dance Dance
6. Cowgirl in the Sand
7. A Man Needs a Maid/Heart Of Gold
8. Journey Through the Past
9. Don’t Let It Bring You Down
10. Helpless
11. Down by the River
12. Sugar Mountain
