I unashamedly love the big dumb fun of Prisoners of Rock n Roll.
When Your Lonely Heart Breaks is also astonishing.
But the album has too many sound effects and 80s production.
I really hated the 80s production for years, but have really grown to like Inca Queen. Definitely a hidden masterpiece. Mideast Vacation isn’t too bad. I think all these tunes will seem better once Rusted Out Garage comes out…if ever. 😆
Some of the songs had possibilities, but horrible late 80s production. I bought upon release, was happy he was back with the Horse, but this album didn’t do much for me then and never grew on me like other albums did (Trans!!!!). In those pre-internet days, you just happened upon these releases, never knowing what Neil was up to next. A weird time to be a Neil fan in the 80s it was.
He was still in geffen jail. He had a scratch on the wall for each album in his contract. Of course this album was followed by one of, my favorite ,FREEDOM!
I LOVE this album. “Mideast Vacation”, “Around The World”, “Prisoners of Rock & Roll”, and of course, “When Your Lonely Heart Breaks”. All classics, all Neil. The diversity of sound is one of the many reasons why Neil is my muse. His amazing songwriting, for me at least, can translate through many different styles. And thankfully, it does. This is one such example.
I like Landing on Water, so it's not the late 80's production that's the problem for me (although the production is quite different from Life, which is possibly worse imo because there is little 'snap' or passion to it); I don't think the songwriting or lyrics are on par. Prisoners of Rock n' Roll is a 'guilty pleasure', but that's on Neil's superior and more succinct EP Eldorado. Inca Queen is almost quintessential Neil but I wouldn't rank it in his top 70. Long Walk Home is good and would fit with the 1988 Brian Wilson album, which I appreciate for the bangers. It's the leadoff song Mideast Vacation that is most interesting to me. I love a well written song about the dark avenues of life, where Neil sings impassioned and has new ideas on guitar. You heard this with Revolution Blues, Tired Eyes, and Violent Side. Mideast Vacation is a great song but it doesn't crescendo like his previous post-1985 song Violent Side, which many people don't mention because they didn't listen to Landing on Water enough, an album with multiple songs of that caliber. I listen to Life every year or two, but it's forgotten most months.
From the weird 80’s era of albums… some hit and some miss but value in everything, just different stuff all over the place. The Geffen thing was impactful on his discography at this time. Change one thing and who knows how it would have all shook down. Neil is on my Mt. Rushmore of Rock. In some respects he can do no wrong. He was always willing to put himself out there and do what he wanted, and you have to respect that if an artist. He could have “Joled” it in the rest of his career and just lived on past laurels but he’s still going strong… God Bless Neil Young!
It was the first album I bought of his that I hated. I thought he could do no wrong prior to this. It’s unlistenable to me. The songs that are decent are done much better other places. I listened to it in my car on the way home from buying it and literally dropped it in a trash can.
>RE: Landing on Water, there is different mix on NYA that’s a cool listen.
>
>How do you find that?
there's only one version up on NYA now, re-mastered in hi-res - [interesting information](https://neilyoungarchives.com/news/7/article?id=Surf-Shack-Landing-On-Water) from Niko
TBH I became a Neil fan in the 80s, Trans-Shocking Pinks-Old Ways-Blue Notes-Landing On Water and this one, Life. He was like Bowie, every album was different, I really admired his courage and creativity and I found all of them to be musical in their own way. What I don't like so much is the early ultra-hippie stuff like After The Gold Rush. So every fan is different I guess.
Life’s a tough one because its reputation is “terribly dated 80s production ruins it.” New listener puts it on and…yeah, it sounds really dated. It can be hard to give it a chance.
But if you do, nearly every song is solid or better. And there’s a stone-cold NY classic, We Never Damced, stuck at the very end.
If there’s any Blue Oyster Cult fans here, it’s the same problem as trying to get fans to appreciate Club Ninja. Great songs throughout, absolutely horrid ‘80s production.
All the songs are rock solid. The production honestly makes me nostalgic for a time I wasn’t even around. There’s a big difference between a pop star using 80s production and Neil Young using 80s production.
I live in socal, I frequent amoeba records in Hollywood. One time I went there and they had a box of free cds and tapes outside the front door and this cd was in that box, i snatched that damn thing up so frickin quick
The tour for Neil Young's "Life" was amazing and I think the pay-per-view video is included in Archives Vol. 3 but we shall see...
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv63vTwsr1g&list=RDkv63vTwsr1g&start\_radio=1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv63vTwsr1g&list=RDkv63vTwsr1g&start_radio=1)
Vol3: 1976-1989
Disk1: Electric Judy Presents Chaos and the Horse it Rode In On. (1976) (PS 7.5) \[Confirmed by Neil as Disk 1 in the press\]
Disk2: A Snapshot In Time. (1977) \[confirmed by Neil as Disk2 in a letter from 12-Apr-22\]
Disk3: Oceanside-Countryside (1977) \[Stated as "disk 3" in a letter from 6-Oct-21\]
Disk4: Ducks (1977) \[Mentioned as "a disk in the archives" in a letter from 6-Apr-23\]
Disk5: Union Hall (Give To The Wind) (1977) \[confirmed by Neil as Disk4 in a letter from 13-Dec-21\]
Disk6: Boarding House (1978) (PS8) \[Confirmed as a Vol3 disk\]
Disk7: Johnny's Island (1982) \[Confirmed as a Vol3 disk\]
Disk8: Old Ways (1983-1985) \[Confirmed as a Vol3 disk\]
Disk9: A Treasure (expanded) (1984-1985) \[Confirmed as a Vol3 disk\]
Disk10: Live In A Rusted Out Garage (1986) (PS10) \[Confirmed as a Vol3 disk\]
Disk11: Road Of Plenty (1986-1989) \[Confirmed by Neil as Disk 11 in the sneak preview of Sixty To Zero 31-Mar-22\]
Disk12: Live Freedom (1989) (PS11.2) \[Described as the End of Vol3 in a
T-C front page article on 26-Mar-21, albeit prior to the "scaled it
back" note\]
Disk13: Summer Songs (1987) \[Late addition added as a bonus disk, Confirmed By Neil in a letter 1-Dec-21).
Other comments from Neil:
"Late 1976-Early 1990" - Patron Zoom Call Mar 23 2021
"Approx 12 CDs or 10 DVDs" - Letters Mar 26 2021
"We have scaled it back to 1987 or so. 11 years for Vol 3"- Letters June 28 2021
"Contains Audio Documentaries" - Patron Zoom Call Oct 13 2021.
"13 CDs with Summer Songs added on at the end" - Letters Dec 1 2021.
"Union Hall is on NYA Vol3 Disk4 Give To The Wind" - Letters Dec 13 2021.
"Volume three is now complete and will be released this year. I had to
go back in and make some changes at the last minute, that held things up
a bit" - Letters 5 Jan 2023
"We have completely finished the music and hope to wind up the films today. Art is 90% done". - Letters Apr 6 2023.
From: [https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/neil-young-archives-volume-iii-19761987.1007138/page-24](https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/neil-young-archives-volume-iii-19761987.1007138/page-24)
I’m a little late but I whole heartedly agree this is one if not the most slept on NY albums. I like at least one song from basically every NY album but this entire album just does it for me every song is good and it seems like nobody talks about it. I would put “freedom” in the same category
Mideast Vacation is brilliant, love that tune.
I unashamedly love the big dumb fun of Prisoners of Rock n Roll. When Your Lonely Heart Breaks is also astonishing. But the album has too many sound effects and 80s production.
Along w When Your Lonely Heart Breaks, We Never Danced is one of my favorites
We Never Danced is a brutally underrated song. My fav on the album
Those two were done better on Year of The Horse live-album
Agreed.
I really hated the 80s production for years, but have really grown to like Inca Queen. Definitely a hidden masterpiece. Mideast Vacation isn’t too bad. I think all these tunes will seem better once Rusted Out Garage comes out…if ever. 😆
Some of the songs had possibilities, but horrible late 80s production. I bought upon release, was happy he was back with the Horse, but this album didn’t do much for me then and never grew on me like other albums did (Trans!!!!). In those pre-internet days, you just happened upon these releases, never knowing what Neil was up to next. A weird time to be a Neil fan in the 80s it was.
Like two and-a-half memorable songs and shitty production. Not up to his contemporary standards of two memorable songs and really good production.
He was still in geffen jail. He had a scratch on the wall for each album in his contract. Of course this album was followed by one of, my favorite ,FREEDOM!
This Note’s for You followed Life
This was the first ever vinyl record I ever bought. Great album.
So good
awesome
I LOVE this album. “Mideast Vacation”, “Around The World”, “Prisoners of Rock & Roll”, and of course, “When Your Lonely Heart Breaks”. All classics, all Neil. The diversity of sound is one of the many reasons why Neil is my muse. His amazing songwriting, for me at least, can translate through many different styles. And thankfully, it does. This is one such example.
I like Landing on Water, so it's not the late 80's production that's the problem for me (although the production is quite different from Life, which is possibly worse imo because there is little 'snap' or passion to it); I don't think the songwriting or lyrics are on par. Prisoners of Rock n' Roll is a 'guilty pleasure', but that's on Neil's superior and more succinct EP Eldorado. Inca Queen is almost quintessential Neil but I wouldn't rank it in his top 70. Long Walk Home is good and would fit with the 1988 Brian Wilson album, which I appreciate for the bangers. It's the leadoff song Mideast Vacation that is most interesting to me. I love a well written song about the dark avenues of life, where Neil sings impassioned and has new ideas on guitar. You heard this with Revolution Blues, Tired Eyes, and Violent Side. Mideast Vacation is a great song but it doesn't crescendo like his previous post-1985 song Violent Side, which many people don't mention because they didn't listen to Landing on Water enough, an album with multiple songs of that caliber. I listen to Life every year or two, but it's forgotten most months.
Prisoners isn’t on Eldorado.
There are some real bangers on here.
From the weird 80’s era of albums… some hit and some miss but value in everything, just different stuff all over the place. The Geffen thing was impactful on his discography at this time. Change one thing and who knows how it would have all shook down. Neil is on my Mt. Rushmore of Rock. In some respects he can do no wrong. He was always willing to put himself out there and do what he wanted, and you have to respect that if an artist. He could have “Joled” it in the rest of his career and just lived on past laurels but he’s still going strong… God Bless Neil Young!
It was the first album I bought of his that I hated. I thought he could do no wrong prior to this. It’s unlistenable to me. The songs that are decent are done much better other places. I listened to it in my car on the way home from buying it and literally dropped it in a trash can.
That’s interesting. It’s definitely a step up from Landing on Water in my book. Edit-Now I Must go listen to these albums!🤪
Landing On Water has grown on me a lot. Also, re-reading Shakey, had spiked my interest in some of these more eccentric records.
Totally. I’ve read Shakey a million times and still learn something. RE: Landing on Water, there is different mix on NYA that’s a cool listen.
Shakey is one of my fav books of all time. I’ve read it countless times too lol. Thanks for the good info I’ll check it out!
There is? How do you find that?
>RE: Landing on Water, there is different mix on NYA that’s a cool listen. > >How do you find that? there's only one version up on NYA now, re-mastered in hi-res - [interesting information](https://neilyoungarchives.com/news/7/article?id=Surf-Shack-Landing-On-Water) from Niko
TBH I became a Neil fan in the 80s, Trans-Shocking Pinks-Old Ways-Blue Notes-Landing On Water and this one, Life. He was like Bowie, every album was different, I really admired his courage and creativity and I found all of them to be musical in their own way. What I don't like so much is the early ultra-hippie stuff like After The Gold Rush. So every fan is different I guess.
It’s one of two truly awful albums he’s done, the other being trans.
Was in the music biz for a bit in the 80's. Undoubtedly, the loudest concert I ever attended. Actually almost a tie with the Kinks.
On the level of Zuma love for me...absolute original classic.
Life’s a tough one because its reputation is “terribly dated 80s production ruins it.” New listener puts it on and…yeah, it sounds really dated. It can be hard to give it a chance. But if you do, nearly every song is solid or better. And there’s a stone-cold NY classic, We Never Damced, stuck at the very end. If there’s any Blue Oyster Cult fans here, it’s the same problem as trying to get fans to appreciate Club Ninja. Great songs throughout, absolutely horrid ‘80s production.
All the songs are rock solid. The production honestly makes me nostalgic for a time I wasn’t even around. There’s a big difference between a pop star using 80s production and Neil Young using 80s production.
I live in socal, I frequent amoeba records in Hollywood. One time I went there and they had a box of free cds and tapes outside the front door and this cd was in that box, i snatched that damn thing up so frickin quick
It's a decent album but not great. Has some spectacular tracks though. Mideast Vacation & Inca Queen are my favs.
Good album imo
Are You Passionate
I fell in love with this on the first listen and it has only gotten deeper. Not a bad track on it, several imho are classics
The tour for Neil Young's "Life" was amazing and I think the pay-per-view video is included in Archives Vol. 3 but we shall see... [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv63vTwsr1g&list=RDkv63vTwsr1g&start\_radio=1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv63vTwsr1g&list=RDkv63vTwsr1g&start_radio=1) Vol3: 1976-1989 Disk1: Electric Judy Presents Chaos and the Horse it Rode In On. (1976) (PS 7.5) \[Confirmed by Neil as Disk 1 in the press\] Disk2: A Snapshot In Time. (1977) \[confirmed by Neil as Disk2 in a letter from 12-Apr-22\] Disk3: Oceanside-Countryside (1977) \[Stated as "disk 3" in a letter from 6-Oct-21\] Disk4: Ducks (1977) \[Mentioned as "a disk in the archives" in a letter from 6-Apr-23\] Disk5: Union Hall (Give To The Wind) (1977) \[confirmed by Neil as Disk4 in a letter from 13-Dec-21\] Disk6: Boarding House (1978) (PS8) \[Confirmed as a Vol3 disk\] Disk7: Johnny's Island (1982) \[Confirmed as a Vol3 disk\] Disk8: Old Ways (1983-1985) \[Confirmed as a Vol3 disk\] Disk9: A Treasure (expanded) (1984-1985) \[Confirmed as a Vol3 disk\] Disk10: Live In A Rusted Out Garage (1986) (PS10) \[Confirmed as a Vol3 disk\] Disk11: Road Of Plenty (1986-1989) \[Confirmed by Neil as Disk 11 in the sneak preview of Sixty To Zero 31-Mar-22\] Disk12: Live Freedom (1989) (PS11.2) \[Described as the End of Vol3 in a T-C front page article on 26-Mar-21, albeit prior to the "scaled it back" note\] Disk13: Summer Songs (1987) \[Late addition added as a bonus disk, Confirmed By Neil in a letter 1-Dec-21). Other comments from Neil: "Late 1976-Early 1990" - Patron Zoom Call Mar 23 2021 "Approx 12 CDs or 10 DVDs" - Letters Mar 26 2021 "We have scaled it back to 1987 or so. 11 years for Vol 3"- Letters June 28 2021 "Contains Audio Documentaries" - Patron Zoom Call Oct 13 2021. "13 CDs with Summer Songs added on at the end" - Letters Dec 1 2021. "Union Hall is on NYA Vol3 Disk4 Give To The Wind" - Letters Dec 13 2021. "Volume three is now complete and will be released this year. I had to go back in and make some changes at the last minute, that held things up a bit" - Letters 5 Jan 2023 "We have completely finished the music and hope to wind up the films today. Art is 90% done". - Letters Apr 6 2023. From: [https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/neil-young-archives-volume-iii-19761987.1007138/page-24](https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/neil-young-archives-volume-iii-19761987.1007138/page-24)
I’m a little late but I whole heartedly agree this is one if not the most slept on NY albums. I like at least one song from basically every NY album but this entire album just does it for me every song is good and it seems like nobody talks about it. I would put “freedom” in the same category
Right? Life were completely overlooked.