Neil Young has salvaged yet another 'lost' album from his seemingly bottomless archive. Oceanside Countryside will be released via Warner/Reprise via Young's Analog Original imprint on February 14, and was recorded between May and December 1977. It’s billed as a companion release to 1978’s Comes A Time, and contains three songs that feature on that album: Goin’ Back, Human Highway and Field Of Opportunity. The latter track is available on streaming platforms now.
"This Analog Original album was recorded in 1977 and unreleased," says Young. "These songs are the original mixes done at the time of the recordings in the order I planned for the album. I sang the vocals and played the instruments on Oceanside in Florida at Triad studios and Malibu at Indigo studio.
"I sang the vocals and recorded with my great band of friends, Ben Keith, Joe Osborn, Karl T. Himmel, and Rufus Thibodeaux at Crazy Mama’s in Nashville on Countryside. I hope you enjoy this treasure of an Analog Original recording, recorded by Tim Mulligan, as much as I do. Listening to it now, I think I should have put it out back then."
Oceanside Countryside is the latest in a series of previously unreleased albums that how now been officially sanctioned for public consumption.
The others include Homegrown (recorded in 1975), Hitchhiker (a solo session recorded in 1976 that was rejected by Young's label), Chrome Dreams (originally put together in 1977), Johnny’s Island (a renamed version of 1992's unreleased Island in the Sun), Summer Songs (recorded in 1987) and Toast (recorded with Crazy Horse in 2000-2001 and rejected in favour of Are You Passionate?).
Earlier this month Young pulled out of this year's Glastonbury Festival, citing "BBC interference", but swiftly reversed his decision.
"Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury festival, which I always have loved,” said Young. “Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing! Hope to see you there!"
Young will now headline Glastonbury, which will be held at its traditional home at Worthy Farm in Piltdown, Somerset, England, between Jun 25 and June 29. Tickets are sold out.
Neil Young: Oceanside Countryside tracklist
Side One: Oceanside
Sail Away
Lost in Space
Captain Kennedy
Goin’ Back
Human Highway
Side Two: Countryside
Field of Opportunity
Dance Dance Dance
The Old Homestead
It Might Have Been
Pocahontas
