DON'T YOU KNOW "TIME FADES AWAY"

A recent issue of one of my favorite magazines, the UK's Uncut, had a cover feature on the 50 best out-of-print albums.  Their number 1 would have been my pick as well, Neil Young's 1973 classic Time Fades Away. It's never been available on mp3 or CD.   I don't even know that it was ever released on cassette or even 8 track! Vinyl or bust!

It was recorded live in concert, but it is all new songs.  It features mainly the same guys that Neil used on his prior album, Harvest, but what a difference a year makes. Where Harvest was his biggest hit ever, Time is totally different.  As I think Neil put it, "the middle of the road became boring, so I headed for the ditch."

But why has it been out of print for so long?  One reason, I think, is because they don't have a board feed of the audio, just what the cameras captured, so it is hard to remaster the audio.  More likely, it is that Neil has referred to it as his worst album, which is weird.  I think it is a great album. It really is a reaction to the mellow, post-hippie, west coast thing I think.  It's ragged and glorious, to borrow the term that Neil would later use for an album title.

So where do you find it?  At anywhere that sells used LPs.  Or google it.  But do check it out, it is worth your time and money.