Today, two of music’s most important figures announced 50th anniversary editions of landmark albums.  Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush will be reissued on CD and LP with two bonus tracks, while Elton John has announced a green vinyl edition of Tumbleweed Connection and a special single featuring two unreleased recordings.  We’ve got all the details below.  First up, Neil Young.

Neil Young’s After The Gold Rush was a game-changing album for the Canadian singer and songwriter. The multiplatinum album remains a high-water mark in his career with such timeless songs as “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” “Southern Man,” and, of course, “After The Gold Rush.”  With heavy rockers, folk- and country-inspired ballads, and wistful side-closing ditties, the album shows every side of Neil Young.

Today, Neil Young and Reprise announced a new 50th Anniversary edition of the album, which will be available on CD and digital providers on December 11 with a deluxe vinyl box set to follow on March 19.  The 50th Anniversary Edition features new art based on Gary Burden’s original album cover design.  The vinyl will be presented in a box set with the LP and a bonus 7″ single in a newly designed picture sleeve.  This includes two different versions of the After the Gold Rush outtake “Wonderin’.”  The A-side version was recorded in March 1970 in Topanga (previously heard on his Archives Vol. 1 set) while the B-side is a previously unreleased performance.  The box is rounded out with and exclusive 12″x12″ lithograph of the front cover art.  The CD edition will feature the new album art and both versions of “Wonderin'” added as bonus tracks.  No matter your preferred format, you’ll also get access to high-resolution audio files of the album and bonuses.

Elton John was also mining folk and country influences for his 1970 album Tumbleweed Connection, his third studio LP.  Recorded at Trident Studios with producer Gus Dudgeon, Tumbleweed featured orchestral arrangements by Paul Buckmaster and an eye-opening roster of musicians and guest singers including Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson (appearing for the first time together on “Amoreena”), Caleb Quaye, Roger Pope, Herbie Flowers, Lesley Duncan, Madeline Bell, Tony Hazzard, and Dusty Springfield.  Featuring “Country Comfort” (recorded the same year by Rod Stewart), “Come Down in Time,” and a beautiful cover of Duncan’s “Love Song,” the album was Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s love letter to Americana and the American West.  The lush yet organic and rootsy set yielded a top five berth on both the U.S. and U.K. album charts.  Today, John announced two limited edition releases to mark its 50th.

First up is a new vinyl reissue, pressed on 180-gram green vinyl.  It’s accompanied by a new 10-inch single featuring two previously unreleased tracks.  The A-side is the “Jazz Version” of “Come Down in Time,” presumably with a different arrangement to the familiar version on the record.  On the flip is a demo for Elton’s then-home of DJM Records of “Ballad of a Well-Known Gun.”  Both sides have been mixed by Greg Penny and mastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road.

Both of these limited edition titles are exclusive to Elton’s online shop along with a variety of bundles featuring Tumbleweed Connection-themed t-shirts, slipmats, and more.  Elton’s website also has a new feature on Tumbleweed Connection at 50 with a timeline, track-by-track notes, and more.  You’ll find links to purchase both releases below!

Neil Young, After the Gold Rush: 50th Anniversary Edition (originally Reprise LP , 1970 — reissued 2020)

CD: Neil Young Online Store US / UK / Canada
LP + 7″ + litho box: Neil Young Online Store US / UK / Canada

1. Tell Me Why
2. After the Gold Rush
3. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
4. Southern Man
5. Till the Morning Comes
6. Oh, Lonesome me
7. Don’t Let It Bring You Down
8. Birds
9. When You Dance I Can Really Love
10. I Believe In You
11. Cripple Creek Ferry
12. [Break]
13. Wonderin’
14. Wonderin’ (previously unreleased version)

Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection (DGM DJLPS 410, 1970 – reissued Mercury, 2020)

Side One

1. Ballad of a Well-Known Gun
2. Come Down in Time
3. Country Comfort
4. Son of Your Father
5. My Father’s Gun

Side Two

1. Where to Now, St. Peter?
2. Love Song
3. Amoreena
4. Talking Old Soldiers
5. Burn Down the Mission

Elton John, Come Down in Time (Jazz Version) b/w Ballad of a Well-Known Gun (DJM Demo)

• 10-inch black vinyl single available at EltonJohn.com