Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Neil Young Available Now
Notes from an early shootout.
I may be stating the obvious here, but After The Gold Rush this ain’t.
If you’re looking for a big and bold Neil Young rock record, this is not the one for you. This is Neil heading out to the sticks with friends including Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and other authentic country music figures, doing what Neil loves to do — making the music that HE wants to make, not the music that anyone else wants him to. Old friend Ben Keith (a huge part behind the sound of Harvest) shows up with his pedal steel guitar on a couple tracks.
Side one has big, open sound with exceptional presence, something we didn’t hear on too many copies. The overall sound is warm, smooth and sweet.
Side two is even better, with all of those same qualities and more. There’s an extra degree of energy here and the clarity is off the charts.
This probably wasn’t anyone’s favorite Neil Young album, but when it sounds like this it sure makes a lot more sense than it did when we heard it on the average pressing.