Neil Young to stream unreleased recordings
March 16, 2018
The 72-year-old Canadian musician announced on Thursday that in the future, fans will be able to access all the music he has ever recorded, whether previously released or otherwise, online at his archival website.
The digital music repository is one of the latest bursts of artistic activity from Young, whose thoughtful lyrics and blend of musical influences uniquely stamped the development of rock music over more than five decades.
"I like to get it out there so I'm alive to see how people like it," Young told news agency AP in a telephone interview from Austin, Texas.
Read more: Neil Young: An artist who has shunned Spotify
The Neil Young Archives site, which he launched in December, requires a user name and password login to access streaming recordings in the highest-quality possible audio. While the site is currently accessible at no cost, a digital sticky note on the homepage warns, "Free for now…" and points to a forthcoming subscription.
Young, who has released more than 50 albums including studio, live, and soundtracks, also said that he has 12 to 14 unreleased records made between the late 1960s and 2012 that he would like to release.
"When I made these records, I made them so fast that I couldn't put them all out," he told AP. "I finished one and I'd go on to the next one. That's just the way it was at that time."
The next planned album release, "Roxy – Tonight's the Night Live" from a 1973 concert with his then-band, is set for April.
'The Man in the Black Hat'
Young was in Austin attending the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival for the premiere of the film "Paradox," in which he plays a character called The Man in the Black Hat. He's also behind the film's music.
"Paradox," a time-bending fantasy-western film written and directed by Daryl Hannah, Young's girlfriend, will have a limited run in cinemas and will be released on Netflix on March 23.
Young was inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, first as a solo artist in 1995 and two years later as a member of the Buffalo Springfield Band. He has received numerous music awards, including the American Grammys and the Canadian Junos.
cmb/eg (dpa, AP)