Road Of Plenty is perhaps the most ambitious unofficial Neil Young release in recent memory. It is a comprehensive six disc collection of songs which have never been released (and probably never will). A majority are sourced from excellent live audience recordings (since that is the only source we have for them), but there are other excellent quality studio outtakes included as well.
The first four discs “are limited to unreleased songs. These songs would remain unheard by the public until now (June 2011). Many unreleased songs have only been heard by the select group of people very close to Neil, and are unlikely ever to surface to the world at large. Some songs Neil will write very quickly, just as the muse hits him, perform only once, then reject and abandon, leaving (if we are fortunate enough) a rare live tape to present the performance for posterity.”
Discs five and six collect “together some of the higher quality recordings of Neil Young live, some are recorded with his musician friends (1969 – 1984). Fifteen years of rarities from the once-played to the infrequently-played, all in one place. This set is all about the songs you haven’t heard that often and haven’t grown tired of, culled to create a listening experience. This was an ideal way for us to collect some great Neil Young performances that don’t easily fit on any other compilation….a great selection of high quality recordings.”
One or two tracks are taken from inferior recordings, but since they are the only source available they are included for completeness. Much like the official recordings, these songs reveal the eclectic nature of his composition and tendency to push the boundaries of musical styles. “You can call me erratic,” Young said when asked at the time about his tendency toward musical shape-shifting, “but I’ve been consistent about it, consistently erratic.”
The Unreleased Songs (1966 – 2010 – CD 1 & CD 2)
1-1 I’ll Wait Forever [Studio 1966] 2:37
1-2 Come Along And Say You Will [Detroit 8/1/73] 3:18
1-3 Sweet Joni [Bakersfield 11/3/73] 2:22
1-4 Greensleeves [NYC 16/5/74] 2:06
1-5 Hawaiian Sunrise [Westbury 8/9/74] 2:55
1-6 Homefires [Milwaukee 21/7/74] 2:49
1-7 Homefires [Upper Darby 22/3/92] 2:28
1-8 Love Art Blues [Seattle 9/7/74] 2:50
1-9 Love Art Blues [Antwerpen 11/2/08] 3:58
1-10 Traces [Studio 1973] 2:07
1-11 Traces [Oakland 14/7/74] 2:48
1-12 Mediterranean [Studio 1974] 2:10
1-13 Kansas [Amsterdam 18/2/08] 2:48
1-14 Try [NYC 16/12/07] 3:14
1-15 Separate Ways [Roskilde 1/7/93] 5:48
1-16 Separate Ways [Wien 22/2/08] 3:51
1-17 Give Me Strength [Chicago 15/11/76] 3:28
1-18 Give Me Strength [Somerset 1/8/97] 5:46
1-19 Evening Coconut [Springfield 26/6/76] 5:21
1-20 No One Seems To Know [Tokyo 10/3/76] 2:30
1-21 No One Seems To Know [18/5/03] 2:53
1-22 No One Seems To Know [11/2/08] 2:45
2-1 Sad Movies [Eppelheim 18/3/76] 3:08
2-2 Sad Movies [Antwerpen 11/2/08] 3:45
2-3 Lady Wingshot [Miami 12/11/77] 2:45
2-4 Lady Wingshot [Eureka 18/2/89] 3:04
2-5 Winward Passage [Santa Cruz 22/8/77] 8:56
2-6 Bright Sunny Day [Clarkston 19/9/78] 4:12
2-7 Turbine [Berkeley 3/10/80] 3:16
2-8 I Wonder Why [Studio 1981] 4:22
2-9 If You Got Love [Studio 1982] 3:30
2-10 If You Got Love [Stockholm 9/10/82] 4:29
2-11 Johnny [Studio 1982] 4:18
2-12 Raining In Paradise [Studio 1982] 4:40
2-13 Berlin [West Berlin 19/10/82] 6:01
2-14 Love Hotel [Birmingham 24/9/82] 3:22
2-15 Rock Rock Rock [Santa Cruz 6/2/84] 3:34
2-16 So Tired [Santa Cruz 6/2/84] 3:13
The Unreleased Songs (1966 – 2010 – CD 3 & CD 4)
3-1 Your Love Is Good To Me [Santa Cruz 6/2/84] 4:26
3-2 Your Love Is Good To Me [Toronto 18/8/88] 3:38
3-3 Leavin’ The Top 40 Behind [Nashville 30/6/85] 3:32
3-4 Hillbilly Band [Nashville 20/4/85] 3:16
3-5 Time Off For Good Behaviour [Franklin 1/7/85] 3:35
3-6 Your Love Again [Nashville 26/4/85] 2:25
3-7 Road Of Plenty [Mansfield 21/9/86] 8:07
3-8 Welcome To The Big Room [San Francisco 12/11/87] 7:34
3-9 Last Of His Kind [Clarkston 3/9/87] 3:59
3-10 High Heels [San Francisco 12/11/87] 4:46
3-11 Find Another Shoulder [San Francisco 12/11/87] 6:07
3-12 Bad News [Toronto 18/8/88] 7:55
3-13 Crime Of The Heart [Detroit 4/9/88] 6:01
3-14 Doghouse [Detroit 4/9/88] 4:09
4-1 Sixty To Zero [Toronto 18/8/88] 18:27
4-2 Walking After Midnight [NYC 19/4/88] 4:40
4-3 Born To Run [Studio 1990] 5:23
4-4 Live To Ride [Torhout 3/7/93] 6:27
4-5 Modern World [Portland 13/7/97] 3:59
4-6 Standing In The Name Of Love [Berlin 26/6/01] 5:49
4-7 Gateway Of Love [Gent 18/6/01] 8:52
4-8 Sea Change [London 15/3/08] 4:00
4-9 Get Around [From Video 2008] 3:35
4-10 Mexico [London 15/3/08] 2:40
4-11 Leia [San Francisco 8/12/10] 3:23
4-12 You Never Call [San Francisco 8/12/10] 4:56
Live Rarities (1969 – 1984 – CD 5 & CD 6)
5-1 Mr Soul [Bethel 18/8/69] 5:08
5-2 Birds [Los Angeles 26/8/69] 2:40
5-3 Sea Of Madness [Big Sur 13/9/69] 3:35
5-4 Country Girl [Houston 18/12/69] 5:20
5-5 Helpless [Houston 18/12/69] 3:39
5-6 Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere [San Francisco 19/2/70] 2:14
5-7 Everybody’s Alone [San Francisco 19/2/70] 2:34
5-8 Dance Dance Dance [San Francisco 19/2/70] 1:33
5-9 The Loner [Cincinnati 25/2/70] 3:36
5-10 Southern Man [Inglewood 26/6/70] 12:34
5-11 Out On The Weekend [London 23/2/71] 3:55
5-12 The Bridge [London 27/2/71] 3:48
5-13 Alabama [Bakersfield 11/3/73] 4:19
5-14 Soldier [NYC 21/1/73] 2:33
5-15 Words [Detroit 9/1/73] 7:35
5-16 New Mama [San Francisco 4/10/73] 2:23
5-17 World On A String [Manchester 3/11/73] 2:32
5-18 Flying On The Ground Is Wrong [NYC 15/11/73] 4:11
6-1 Pushed It Over The End [London 14/9/74] 7:49
6-2 Let It Shine [Clarkston 23/6/76] 4:48
6-3 The Last Trip To Tulsa [Hamburg 21/3/76] 5:00
6-4 Homegrown [Boston 22/11/76] 2:32
6-5 Stringman [London 31/3/76] 3:33
6-6 Human Highway [Santa Cruz 12/8/77] 2:59
6-7 Like An Inca [Palo Alto 4/8/82] 9:15
6-8 Goin’ Back [Santa Cruz 5/1/83] 5:08
6-9 Coastline [Santa Cruz 5/1/83] 3:42
6-10 Cowgirl In The Sand [Santa Cruz 5/1/83] 4:37
6-11 California Sunset [Santa Cruz 5/1/83] 3:01
6-12 Country Home [Santa Cruz 5/1/83] 3:36
6-13 Barstool Blues [Santa Cruz 7/2/84] 4:18
6-14 Saddle Up The Palominos [North Hollywood 19/6/84] 3:09
6-15 Southern Pacific [North Hollywood 19/6/84] 6:36
