I have been listening to Mirrorball lately. The record Neil recorded with Pearl Jam as his backing band. No hits, but a very solid record nonetheless. Neil gels real nicely with PJ's rhythm section.
Best Neil Young Vinyl Recordings
Tough to find.
TIA
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Neil’s output is consistently good-to-great from a sound stand point. He’s long been committed to capturing the best sound possible and it shows. So, it’s hard to go wrong whether you get originals, remasters, or new ones. I’ll throw out a few: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (remastered), Tonight’s The Night (original/early first); Barn (new). When it comes to originals/firsts you’re always taking a chance even if it’s near mint. You just never know. But they can be incredibly good—if you clean them (the more the better). If you like his stuff, then it’s definitely worth digging into his discography. |
I have Landing on Water on Quiex vinyl. Sounds great and it was recorded with the drummer up front in the mix. The mix reminds me of The POLICE album Ghost In The Machine where Stewart Copland is up front in the mix. When Neil was with Geffen the promo albums were recorded on Quiex vinyl. I have Trans,Old Ways,Neil Young and The Shocking Pinks and Landing on Water on Quiex. |
Clean OGs are tough today. Harvest, cut by Lee Hulko, is outstanding, even more than a decade ago, finding a quiet copy wasn't easy. There is a more recent Bellman recut that is popular and was cheap when issued. My preference for sound is the Hulko though (I probably went through more than half a dozen copies to find a quiet one). After the Gold Rush- the early ones had a remix on one track. RE-2 in the dead wax. The earlier cut was much harder to find even back in the day in clean, quiet condition. I do have the Greatest Hits (I think pressed for Classic, I'd have to check) and it sounds different than the tracks from the original albums. Brighter, moments of sibilance and my systems do not sound analytical or bright. Zuma is one that doesn't get as much mainstream attention- it's "dirty" in the distorted sense. Have no idea of market for an OG now. It's a great rocker album though. Massey Hall is a no brainer. Beautiful performance- acoustic, and previewing a lot of stuff that became famous, extremely good sounding recording. I forget all the NY I have- I wasn't a big fan back in the day, but the bug bit me in the early oughts, and you could then find records, if you took some care, that were in excellent condition without "pay for a hostage" pricing. FWIW, I'm not an OG always guy- I will often compare various pressings, though these days, given grading and price inflation, I don't do that so much. Good luck on your NY quest. He is worth exploring. SHF has a ton of stuff about the pressings if you dig into the early threads. |
Neil Young – Greatest Hits (2005, 200 Gram Quiex SV-P, Vinyl) - Discogs This is utterly outstanding in all respects. Cheers, Crazy Bill |