Neil Young - Neil Young ( VINYL )

Meticulously transferred from the original analog master tapes using the finest equipment. This is the world's introduction to bare, totally exposed Neil Young. Having left Buffalo Springfield, his collaboration with Stephen Stills, this 1969 solo debut is an album full of brooding but pretty songs including "The Loner." Neil Young was one of the first solo records by a rock and roll figure.

Though his only album not to chart - "The Loner" is the most memorable track - this is the record that bridged what was and what was to be. Neil Young marked the launching point of an illustrious solo career.

Produced by Young and his longtime associate David Briggs, Young's solo debut also continued his association with producer/composer/arranger Jack Nitzsche, with whom he had made "Expecting To Fly" on the Buffalo Springfield Again album. Young's folk-rock instrumentation is augmented by discreet string parts. Also onboard stylistically is the country and western overtones that were present in Buffalo Springfield's sound. Instrumentation includes a variety of guitars, pianos, organs and strings.

Hearing Neil Young's debut with the context of having heard 40 years worth of his material, it's exciting and revealing to literally hear him search for and at least partially settle on his voice on this record.