Reprise Records has released Neil Young‘s long-out-of-print Decade anthology today (June 23) to commemorate its 40th anniversary. Originally released on October 28, 1977 on a triple vinyl set and compiled by Young, Tim Mulligan and David Briggs, Decade, according to a press release, “has long been considered the definitive 35-song collection of material covering the years between 1966-1976.”
The collection features Young solo and with Crazy Horse, Buffalo Springfield, CSNY and the Stills-Young Band. Each of the tracks has been remastered with the original artwork and restored with inside photos by Joel Bernstein, Gary Burdan, Henry Diltz and Tom Wilkes.
Decade was the first Neil Young compilation dedicated to his own career and thus the first Young compilation to chart. It entered the Billboard LPs chart on Nov. 26, 1977, and rose to #43, remaining on the chart for a total of 18 weeks. Young participated in the track selection and wrote the liner notes himself . It included the then-unreleased tracks “Down to the Wire” (a Buffalo Springfield recording with Dr. John on piano); “Love is a Rose” (which became a hit for Linda Ronstadt); “Winterlong” and “Campaigner.”
Neil Young in the ’70s
Decade remained the only Neil Young compilation on the market until 1993’s Lucky Thirteen.
Recently, Decade was re-released to its original three-LP vinyl configuration for Record Store Day 2017 in a limited pressing. It is now widely available once more on vinyl, as a two-CD set and digitally.
Related: Neil Young will no longer host the annual Bridge School benefit concert
Purchase Decade on CD or vinyl.
Track listing for the two-CD edition:
DISC 1:
- Down To The Wire
- Burned
- Mr. Soul
- Broken Arrow
- Expecting To Fly
- Sugar Mountain
- I Am A Child
- The Loner
- The Old Laughing Lady
- Cinnamon Girl
- Down By The River
- Cowgirl In The Sand
- I Believe In You
- After The Gold Rush
- Southern Man
- Helpless
DISC 2:
- Ohio
- Soldier
- Old Man
- A Man Needs A Maid
- Harvest
- Heart Of Gold
- Star Of Bethlehem
- The Needle And The Damage Done
- Tonight’s The Night (Part 1)
- Tired Eyes
- Walk On
- For the Turnstiles
- Winterlong
- Deep Forbidden Lake
- Like A Hurricane
- Love Is A Rose
- Cortez The Killer
- Campaigner
- Long May You Run
2 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationA classic collection from Young’s prime. There’s not a bad song in the set. What a shame that Young releases so very much mediocre work now. A brief resurgence (’89-’95) has long been overshadowed by a deluge of weak work that does not stand up. Decade stands the test of time with songs that still resonate. Decade is essential and should be a part of any music lover’s collection.
There are few other “hits” packages that can stand-up against “Decade”. Hits, unreleased music, and deep album tracks proved to be the perfect recipe and has definately stood the test of time. Very seldom do we celebrate the 40th anniversary of any album, let alone a “hits” package. By their very nature, “hits” albums tend to lack continuity and for the most part feel thrown together (which they are). Thankfully, due to the recipe mentioned before, “Decade” is not the usual “hits” album.