For greying Gen X indie kids like me, slipping back into 1970s Neil Young records feels like stretching our arms into the sleeves of our old checked shirts. As the Godfather of Grunge, his raw, plaintive, ornery spirit underpinned the Nineties indie scene and any party that ended with guitars out likely included singalongs of “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” (covered by St Etienne in 1990) or “Hey Hey, My My”. Equal parts sensitive acoustic strummer and snarling electric cynic, he was the elder statesman who allowed us to indulge our hippie dreams and sneer at them.
But has this latest collection of Young’s “lost” recordings been released to indulge fans, or to sneer at us? In the wake of his self-important shilly-shallying over appearing at this year’s Glastonbury Festival (at last check, he’s coming) it seems greedy to drop an album containing no new songs. Versions of these 10 tunes have already come out in the relentless flood of confusing, multi-format material that flows from Young’s archives (they have appeared on Rust Never Sleeps, Hawks and Doves, Comes a Time, Live At Massey Hall 1971 and Archives Vol III). Online fan forums are filling up with annoyed collectors admitting that “Neil’s really trying my patience with this one”.
