Neil Young Surprise Drops Previously Unreleased Album Summer Songs

Even though fans of Neil Young will have to wait until the pandemic is over to get live show, Young has brought a Christmas surprise to all of his fans. While not being able to do shows on the road due to his view on concerts being super-spreader events, he still cares about his fans and wants to bring some cheer to the holiday season. With blog post written on Christmas Day, Young released the previously unreleased album “Summer Songs”. The album consists of 8 tracks and while most of the songs got released on other albums such as “Freedom” and “Harvest Moon”, Young explains that the songs in “Summer Songs” are different from the ones that were eventually released to the public stating that “the words of these originals are significantly different from their subsequent master album releases in many cases.”. While the exact date of the recordings is unknown, it is believed that the album was originally recorded back in 1987 at Broken Arrow Ranch. Young teased the collection in November and mentioned that he found the songs while looking through vaults of his studio recording sessions. The songs all share the same unique sound based around piano and acoustic guitar and provide less polished and laid back sound than the mastered versions eventually released with other albums. Never taking a day off, Young also released an album on December 10 called “Barn” via Reprise. In “Barn”, Young once again teams up with fellow “Colorado” collaborator to bring a harder rock edge to Young’s usual acoustic and folk influenced sound. It is unclear if Young will do live shows or tours for either of the albums due to the pandemic. Young has expressed concern regarding live performances due to people becoming exposed to the virus which forced him to cancel his Farm Aid show earlier this year.