Neil Young's 'Young Shakespeare' is Available Now

At long last, NEIL YOUNG releases Young Shakespeare fifty years after the original performance. This intimate 1971 live recording and concert film has never been released until today. On this winter night in Stratford, CT from 1971 captures Young stripped down to the bare essentials-acoustic guitar, piano, and harmonica. The performance DVD is Young's earliest full concert film. Click here to view and share "Helpless" from Young Shakespeare.

Young Shakespeare features early recordings of "Old Man," "The Needle and the Damage Done," "A Man Needs a Maid," and"Heart Of Gold" which were then over a year away from being released on Young's classic 1972 record Harvest. The album is available on vinyl, CD via The Greedy Hand Store at Neil Young Archives (NYA) and music retailers everywhere. A stand-alone DVD of the concert will be available exclusively through The Greedy Hand Store at NYA.

A Deluxe Box Set Edition is also available and will include vinyl, CD, and the DVD and is available through the NYA Greedy Hand Store and all retailers. Click here to view the album trailer.

Just two months after the release of Young's seminal After the Gold Rush, he sat down for a performance at The Shakespeare Theater on January 22, 1971. The concert was recorded for presentation on German TV later that year but was not publicly available until now. The original 50 year-old analog tapes have been lovingly restored, making available early acoustic recordings of two After the Gold Rush songs, early Harvest tunes, and beloved favorites such as "Ohio," "Cowgirl in the Sand," "Helpless," "Down by the River,"and "Sugar Mountain."

Young wrote on NYA that Young Shakespeare is, "a more calm performance, without the celebratory atmosphere of Massey Hall, captured live on 16mm. Young Shakespeare is a very special event. To my fans, I say this is the best ever...one of the most pure-sounding acoustic performances we have in the Archive."

NYA is the only official portal for all things Neil Young. Only at NYA can you find Young's music in the highest possible digital audio resolution alongside a seemingly infinite store of archival files. It's also the home of Young's online daily newspaper, The Times Contrarian, and The Hearse Theater, home to rare footage and live-streamed shows. NYA is a fittingly sprawling repository for Young; few artists-perhaps none-have explored such a vast spectrum of sounds and styles. Young Shakespeare is a raw reminder of his roots.

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