Neil Young CDs - worth the purchase?

Hydroman52
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Fri Jul 30, 2010 11:51 am

Hey all,

I am contemplating upgrading my Neil Young CD collection. I already have Harvest (my favorite), but I see that there is a newer remastered version released on July 14, 2009. I have the older (crappier?) version and am wondering if the audio difference is really noticeable. I had the vinyl pressing when it was first released, and that went out when I switched over to CD. It took a while before I picked up a copy of it on CD and I was a bit let down on the quality. Anyone have any comments on the remastered version?

Also looking at picking up a copy of his Live at Massey Hall CD/DVD combo. Any comments there?

Thanks,
Hydroman52


BigBear
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Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:23 pm

One thing most people don't know about Neil Young is he has always been at the forefront of audio technology. So unlike most artists and record labels I think there could be some advantages from the original Harvest CD to now.

But the better question is how are you going to listen to the music? If you playing the CD through a high quality audio system with really good speakers you may notice the difference.

But if you put the CD on your iPod and listen to it that way you won't get much, if any, benefit. The reason is iPods only play MP3 files which is the most popular digital compression format. But the key word is "compression" because by compressing the original WAV files (to make them much smaller) some fidelity is lost. The theory is we can't hear the parts that are lost due to compression.

As we get older our high frequency hearing tends to decrease (too many rock concerts in our youth! lol!) so many of us don't really notice the drop off. But I remember reading that some albums recorded in WAV format were produced with frequencies above 22,000khz. But humans can only hear to about 20,000khz with good hearing and usually much less with age. MP3 generally cuts off frequency response above 18,000khz to save file space. I'll avoid the bit rate discussion here.

So the short answer to your question is- it depends! With Neil Young who was always at the front of the audio technology movement I would say it wouldn't be worth it to me.

Cheers! :cheer:


TGMatt
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Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:27 pm

I just asked Neil to come on and comment on this as well if it helps


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TGNeil
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Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:45 pm

Hi,

I haven't heard the remastered Harvest but I can tell you the Live At Massey Hall is one of the best things I've ever heard out of Neil. His performance was incredible and the sonic quality is unbelievable. I probably have to give a little background on this opinion though-

One of the most prized and played possessions I have from my teenage days is a live album of his called 'I'm Happy That Y'all Came Down', a recording from a February 1971 solo concert in Los Angeles. He introduced a few songs that later appeared on Harvest, including Old Man, although the bootleggers (Rubber Dubber) titled it Look At My Life.

The Massey Hall concert was recorded a few weeks before and is basically the same show in state of the art quality. Definitely worth the investment!

Neil (just another one)


mcfingers
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Fri Jul 30, 2010 5:05 pm

I just checked Amazon and they have Live at Massey Hall in CD/DVD with commentary by Neil from 1997 a kind of retrospective. Sounded pretty cool. I'm ordering one.

Thanks Neil(the other one)


MarkM
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Fri Jul 30, 2010 5:23 pm

I agree with Neil in that Live at Massey Hall is a FANTASTIC album/CD/Itunes or whatever your pleasure is. The audio quality is outstanding for a one man show. You'll really enjoy this.


MarkM


Hydroman52
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Fri Jul 30, 2010 7:39 pm

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the great feedback. I really didn’t need much persuading. You’ve pushed me way over the edge on the decision to purchase and do my bit for the economy. If anyone is interested, here is Neil (the other-other one) Young’s WEB site where I found out about the Massey Hall recording:

The other-other Neil's WEB site

There are a couple of songs (Old Man and Ohio) that you can listen to here. Also a trailer you can watch. I’ve seen him in concert a few times and he’s played the songs different every time. I really like the Massey Hall versions of the samples on his site.

Thanks again,
Hydroman52


dleewebb
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Sun Aug 01, 2010 10:53 am

I know that this is somewhat off-topic, but if you haven't seen the recent Jonathan Demme film called, "Heart Of Gold" you should put it on your must do list. The only reason that I haven't bought it is because I'm waiting for the blu-ray.



Hydroman52
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Mon Aug 02, 2010 7:25 am

dleewebb,

I have seen that video and enjoyed it.


pbraun
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Mon Aug 02, 2010 8:01 pm

I picked up Live at Massey Hall in a Starbucks just after it was released. I get anything that NY will put out. It was a long drive back home and besides the coffee I needed something to keep me awake ( worked all night). I don't think that CD came out of the car for a month or more, then I bought the DVD hoping I could learn someting from it!. The DVD isn't as good as I had hoped but I do watch it from time to time...
I probably listen to something off the CD monthly.
Pete


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