Published 2024-01-23 06:00
When Neil Young assembles a special edition of his songs, the delight is in the details. "Dume" is a new limited edition all analog vinyl pressing of 16 songs originally collected for "Neil Young’s Archives Vol II" release in the fall of 2020. The recordings, some part of the historic "Zuma" album sessions by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, and others previously unreleased, are a detailed look at one of the most exciting periods in Neil’s life.
"Dume" captures the live wire spark of Young's music during those years, and this full bore attack is somewhat of a turning point for Young and the band. The mid 70’s were an era when new high water marks were appearing everywhere. Ampage and attack were being pursued, and the songs on "Dume" are prime examples of what lay ahead. The 1960's had opened the floodgates on solo artists and groups using the freedom they had earned when they took control of their own musical destinies. The 70's had begun on a high note and kept growing in creative leaps and bounds. Artists had found a way to move in their own direction and follow a path that opened before them.
These 16 tracks from the "Zuma" recording period on this limited edition vinyl pressing turn into a somewhat kaleidoscopic view of the era, and really present an album that becomes its own being. The freshness of never heard before versions of well known songs, along with the original songs themselves on newly pressed high quality vinyl from the original analog tape masters, is like an audio reset for everything gathered. In the always evolving efforts of Young, the past and the future meld into one never ending presentation of his musical life in the highest audio sound quality available, and in new collections that allow an original light of what he's accomplished so far.
Reprise Records and Warner Music, February 23rd, 2024.