Neil Young remains one of the most prolific artists in music today. While he continues to put out previously unreleased live and studio recordings from his vast archives and reissues of albums from his full catalog, he also records new studio albums, releases live concert recordings from recent tours, and puts out soundtrack releases. Two recent must-have Young releases, from the many that came out in roughly the last 15 months, are Oceanside Countryside and Coastal.
Oceanside Countryside is an album Young shelved, consisting of songs he originally recorded by himself in 1977 in Florida, as well as several tracks he recorded with additional musicians in Nashville. Except for one song, all the music here would eventually be released in fuller versions. On the tracks with band backing, the core players are Ben Keith on dobro, Rufus Thibodeaux on fiddle, Joe Osborn on bass, and Karl T. Himmel on drums. There are also contributions from Tim Drummond, Greg Thomas, Dennis Belfield, and Tom Scribner, with Levon Helm of the Band on “The Old Homestead.”
This was the Comes a Time period, and most of the music has a wistful, acoustic country feel, with the quintessential ’70s classic Neil Young sound. “Goin’ Back,” “Human Highway,” and “Field of Opportunity” would come out on Comes a Time. “Dance Dance Dance” appeared on Harvest. “It Might Have Been” appeared on A Treasure. “Sail Away” would turn up on Rust Never Sleeps. “Lost In Space” appeared on Hawks and Doves, and “The Old Homestead” would appear on Hawks and Doves.
“Captain Kennedy” has been released in different versions on American Stars and Bars, Hitchhiker, and Chrome Dreams. “Pocahontas” would appear on Rust Never Sleeps, Hitchhiker, and Chrome Dreams. “Human Highway” would also appear on Hitchhiker and was intended for an aborted Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young album.
This album is an Analog Originals offering from the Neil Young Archives, Special Release Series, mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on clear vinyl, and comes with a four-page insert. It’s a thrill to listen to these, in some cases, early sketches of songs. These are songs Young clearly covets, as he would often release them in various forms and include them in many of his live shows over the years. Also, hearing these recordings on vinyl, as they were meticulously mastered from the analog tapes, is a deep, intimate, and organic listening experience.
Coastal is a soundtrack album to a tour film of Young performing solo in 2023, his first tour since Covid. Throughout Young’s career, he has been quite active through his Shakey Pictures, producing over 30 movies since 1972. For all of Young’s admirable musical contributions as a solo artist and as part of many groups, he has quietly become one of the most prolific music film producers of the past 50 years.
If anything, the volume and quality of his film production have only increased since he has been with Daryl Hannah. She has directed almost a film a year related to Young’s music in the past ten years, ranging from conceptual works to concert films. Directed by Hannah, Coastal is an intimate look at Young on his bus, on the road, and backstage, with a few guest cameos from the likes of Joni Mitchell, amidst the backdrop of grappling with the world post-Covid.
The film was released in 2024, and the soundtrack album came out in 2025. The set list is an unpredictable, eclectic, and idiosyncratic collection of Young’s songs—in other words, vintage Neil Young. He makes the newer songs sound like instant classics and renders older songs something completely new. “Comes A Time” doesn’t stray too far from the original, but “Expecting to Fly” and “I Am A Child” are completely re-imagined. “Expecting To Fly” and “Song X” are soundcheck recordings. It’s puzzling why more musicians don’t release the odd recording from their soundchecks.
“Vampire Blues” was originally recorded for On The Beach. Interestingly, Young chose “Song X,” “I’m the Ocean,” and “Throw Your Hatred Down” for this tour, all from Mirror Ball, which came out in 1995. “When I Hold You in My Arms” originally appeared on Are You Passionate? “Don’t Forget Love” was from Barn.
This is an intimate, gritty, and unvarnished live document that works as a soundtrack film companion and a live concert souvenir.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
Oceanside Countryside
B+
Coastal
B
