Neil Young To Release Acoustic Live LP From ’76 ‘Songs For Judy’ November 30th

Neil Young is set to release Songs For Judy on CD and digitally on November 30, while the vinyl edition will follow on December 14. Songs For Judy is the debut release on Shakey Pictures Records, Young’s own imprint distributed by Reprise Records. The album is available for pre-order beginning today. Songs for Judy is available in hi-res at NYA, Neil Young Archives.com. Those who pre-order will receive an instant download of the track “Campaigner”, recorded live in Boston, November 22, 1976 .Click here to read Notes About The Recording, courtesy of Cameron Crowe and Joel Bernstein, who curated this collection.

Songs For Judy is a thoroughly engaging collection of live acoustic performances culled from Neil’s November 1976 solo tour and features twenty-two songs recorded at various cities along the tour. This song cycle of live recordings is particularly powerful and unique. Young had spent much of the year traveling around the world on tour with Crazy Horse. When touring on his own, he recharged and focused on songs that would not surface in recorded form for several years. Of the albums many treasures, “No One Seems To Know” would not see the light of day until now and it remains unreleased in any other iteration.

The raw versions of the tracks found on Songs For Judy reflect an artist completely unvarnished and unafraid to allow the songs to breath and to find their own shape when performed in a solo setting. Songs written in that era would come into focus and then seemingly disappear only to re-enter Young’s orbit somewhere down the road. “White Line” and “Give Me Strength” are such examples of finding the light in 1990 and 2017 respectively. It’s also fascinating to hear Young revisit early gems such as Springfield’s “Mr. Soul” (’67), “Here We Are In The Years” (’68), and “The Losing End” (’69) from some of his earliest solo recordings which remain as timeless as ever.

Songs For Judy captures lightning in a bottle, illuminated for all time and available on vinyl, CD and on Youngs’ Xtream hi-res streaming service exclusively found o on neilyoungarchives.com.

Photos by Marc Lacatell

Songs For Judy Tracklist:

Songs For Judy Intro                          Atlanta, GA                 Nov 24 (late show)

Too Far Gone                                     Boulder, CO                Nov 06

No One Seems To Know                    Boulder, CO                Nov 07

Heart Of Gold                                     Fort Worth, TX            Nov 10

White Line                                          Fort Worth, TX            Nov 10

Love Is A Rose                                   Houston, TX               Nov 11

After The Gold Rush                           Houston, TX               Nov 11

Human Highway                                 Madison, WI               Nov 14

Tell Me Why                                       Chicago, IL                 Nov 15 (late show)

Mr. Soul                                             New York, NY             Nov 20 (early show)

Mellow My Mind                                  New York, NY             Nov 20 (early show)

Give Me Strength                                New York, NY             Nov 20 (late show)

Man Needs A Maid                              New York, NY             Nov 20 (late show)

Roll Another Number                           Boston, MA                 Nov 22 (late show)

Journey Through The Past                  Boston, MA                 Nov 22 (late show)

Harvest                                                Boston, MA                 Nov 22 (late show)

Campaigner                                       Boston, MA                 Nov 22 (late show)

Old Laughing Lady                              Atlanta, GA                 Nov 24 (early show)

The Losing End                                  Atlanta, GA                 Nov 24 (late show)

Here We Are In The Years                 Atlanta, GA                 Nov 24 (late show)

The Needle And The Damage Done Atlanta, GA                 Nov 24 (early show)

Pocahontas                                        Atlanta, GA                 Nov 24 (late show)

Sugar Mountain                                  Atlanta, GA                 Nov 24 (late show)