Neil Young has announced yet another archival release. Young Shakespeare is a live album and concert film recorded in 1971 at the Shakespeare Theater in Statford, Connecticut. It features the earliest known live solo performance footage of Young known to exist. The acoustic set includes performances of “Old Man,” “Helpless,” “Heart of Gold,” “Down by the River,” and more. Watch the trailer and listen to the album’s rendition of “Tell Me Why” below.
The concert was recorded just days after his performance at Massey Hall in Toronto, which was released in 2007 on the Live at Massey Hall album. In a statement, Young called the new film and album “a more calm performance, without the celebratory atmosphere of Massey Hall, captured live on 16mm.” He continued: “To my fans, I say this is the best ever… one of the most pure-sounding acoustic performances we have in the Archive.”
The album will be available on CD and vinyl, and the concert will receive a DVD release. A deluxe box set featuring all three will also be available. It will also be released on hi-res digital audio via his Neil Young Archives website.
The new announcement comes just prior to the release of Way Down in the Rust Bucket—another concert film and live album captured in Santa Cruz, California of Young with Crazy Horse in 1990. Elliott Mazer, who produced Harvest, died earlier this week.
Young Shakespeare:
01 Tell Me Why
02 Old Man
03 The Needle and the Damage Done
04 Ohio
05 Dance Dance Dance
06 Cowgirl in the Sand
07 A Man Needs a Maid/Heart of Gold
08 Journey Through the Past
09 Don’t Let It Bring You Down
10 Helpless
11 Down by the River
12 Sugar Mountain
