PRE-ORDER BOX SET FROM AMAZON.COM
Neil Young fans have a lot to look forward to. Over at his official website, Neil has written about an upcoming bootleg series, Archives Vol. 2, and at least 20 other projects in various states of gestation. Today, Neil officially announced a new title in his Performance Series, Return To Greendale. This audiovisual document of a Toronto stop on his 2003 tour will arrive in 2-CD, 2-LP, and deluxe box set configurations on November 6.
Greendale remains one of Neil Young's most ambitious concepts. The project encompassed all forms: an "audio novel" album with Crazy Horse, a film, a book, a live tour, and later a graphic novel from DC Comics' groundbreaking Vertigo imprint. All tell the story of the Green family who for generations lived in a fictional small town of Greendale. The idyllic residency is eventually beset by greed, corruption, police violence, political intrusion, and environmental catastrophe - all relevant themes that Neil continues to explore to this day.
The tour in support of Greendale, documented in this new set, was staged as a full production with its own cast to enact the story and contribute to Neil and Crazy Horse's performances. Return To Greendale combines the actor portrayals and Neil Young & Crazy Horse concert performances of ten songs (no encores, though) with scenes from the 2003 Greendale film to tell a more complete story. The audio of the same performances will be available as a 2-CD or 2-LP set. For collectors, Neil will also release a limited-edition numbered box set that collects the CDs, vinyl, a Blu-ray with the complete Return To Greendale concert film, and a DVD with the Inside Greendale making-of documentary previously available a special edition of the original album back in 2004.
There's no question that Greendale has a love-it-or-hate-it reputation among Neil Young fans and music critics. But it's also clear Neil is eager to offer a chance at reappraisal more than 15 years later, as our world continues to fight some of the very forces discussed in the folk-rock opera. Now's your chance at a return trip of your own.
Return To Greendale arrives from Reprise Records on November 6. You can find a complete track listing and pre-order links below!
Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Return To Greendale (Reprise Records, 2020)
2-CD/2-LP/Blu-ray/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Your Local Record Shop
2-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Your Local Record Shop
2-LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Your Local Record Shop
CD 1:
- Falling From Above
- Double E
- Devil's Sidewalk
- Leave The Driving
- Carmichael
- Bandit
CD 2:
- Grandpa's Interview
- Bringin' Down Dinner
- Sun Green
- Be The Rain
Blu-ray: Complete concert film featuring the tracks above + "Be The Rain (Live At Vicar Street)" over credits
DVD:
- Inside Greendale making-of documentary
DVD contents previously available on special edition of Greendale, Reprise Records CD/DVD set 9362486992, 2004
The Weekend Stream Extra: A Guide to 'MTV Unplugged' on Paramount+ (Part 1)
Dancing Barefoot: The Feelies Collect Old Covers for New Album
Give It to Me Baby: Rick James' 'Collected' Goes Deep
Release Round-Up: Week of April 25
What do you think Neil's press release means by "a Blu-ray with the complete concert film"? The complete concert included an encore of non-Greendale music (Motorcycle Mama, Powderfinger, Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, I Believe in You). But Greendale is obviously the focus here, so I can see them considering *only* the Greendale tracks to represent "the complete *Greendale* concert film"...but not the complete concert.
The Blu-ray and the audio components have the same 10-song track listing. The only difference is that the acoustic Vicar Street version of "Be The Rain" plays over the credits in the film.
While I love Neil Young's music and the Greendale project, restricting the Blu-ray to the expensive, limited addition box is a real disservice to fans. I'm guessing most fans would want either vinyl or CD, not both, but to get the Blu-ray you have to buy it all. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and other artists have also taken this approach. I wish record companies would make more of these items available individually, especially 5.1 mixes or concert performances on Blu-ray.
Update: At neilyoungarchives.com, Neil confirmed that the "Return to Greendale" Blu-Ray will be available separately. A release date has not yet been announced.