One of the many moments that cemented Neil Young’s legendary status in my mind was when the Godfather of Grunge was sued in 1984 by his label at the time, Geffen Records, for allegedly making “uncharacteristic and uncommercial music.” During this period, Young fearlessly shifted from making rockabilly records (Everybody’s Rockin’) to a truly bizarre electronic LP (Trans) to old-school country (Old Ways). Now Young and his mid-’80s live band, the International Harvesters, will revisit this period for an archival live album called A Treasure.
Thrasher’s Wheat reports that the 12-track effort features “songs recorded during Young’s 1984-1985 U.S. tour and contains five previously unreleased songs. Among those, Grey Riders’ will be the first track serviced to radio.” The International Harvesters include the late, great slide guitarist Ben Keith, fiddle player Rufus Thibodeaux, piano legends Spooner Oldham and Hargus “Pig” Robbins, drummer Karl Himmel, and bassists Tim Drummond and Joe Allen.
A Treasure will arrive on Blu-ray, vinyl, deluxe CD, MP3, and more, alongside original video from the performances on the appropriate format. For a preview of what’s to come, check out a clip of Young discussing the project — alongside the tracklist — below:
01 “Amber Jean” (9/20/84) Nashville Now TV Nashville, TN*
02 “Are You Ready For The Country?” (9/21/84) Riverbend Music Center Cincinnati, OH
03 “It Might Have Been” 9/25/84 Austin City Limits TV Austin, Texas
04 “Bound For Glory” 9/29/84 Gilleys’s Rodeo Arena Pasadena, TX
05 “Let Your Fingers Do The Walking” (10/22/84) Universal City, CA*
06 “Flying On The Ground Is Wrong” (10/26/84) Greek Theater Berkeley, CA
07 “Motor City ” (10/26/84) Greek Theater Berkeley, CA
08 “Soul Of A Woman” (10/26/84) Greek Theater Berkeley, CA*
09 “Get Back To The Country” (10/26/84) Greek Theater Berkeley, CA
10 “Southern Pacific” (9/1/85) Minnesota State Fair St. Paul, MN
11 “Nothing Is Perfect” (9/1/85) Minnesota State Fair St. Paul, MN*
12 “Grey Riders” (9/10/85) Pier 84 New York City, NY*
* Previously Unreleased Song