Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music One of the biggest challenges for any artist is knowing when a creation — a song, a story, a painting — is finished and ready to be shared with the world.
More than many, Neil Young has shown a willingness to wait, recording songs and full albums — and even performing them in concert — and then sitting on them for years… or decades.
In just one of many examples, “Winterlong,” one of his greatest songs, was previewed in concert as a work in progress in 1968, recorded and performed live with Crazy Horse over the next two years, then re-recorded and slotted for inclusion on at least two different albums before finally being released on his “Decade” compilation in 1977.
Likewise, his legendary 1970 Fillmore East concert with Crazy Horse was almost released several times before he finally issued it thirty-six years after it was recorded; his “Chrome Dreams” studio album was considered for release in 1977 but didn’t come out until last year.
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