Neil Young unearths old tracks on ‘Tonight’s the Night’ 50th anniversary edition
Neil Young is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his 1975 classic Tonight’s The Night with a reissue featuring unreleased recordings from the original album sessions.
On the tracks, Young is joined by his backing band, which includes guitarist Nils Lofgren, pedal steel player Ben Keith, bassist Billy Talbot, drummer Ralph Molina, and others. The recordings hail from S.I.R. Studios in Los Angeles from 1973 sessions. However, a couple of the songs on the official album were finished at Young’s own Broken Arrow Ranch.
The 50th anniversary reissue will include an unreleased version of ‘Lookout Joe’ that’ll be slotted in, in place of the Broken Arrow version from the original album. Another of the unreleased bonus tracks from the S.I.R. sessions is a rendition of ‘Walk On’. This was cut again at Broken Arrow for the singer’s 1974 album, On The Beach.
The final unreleased track is a previous take on ‘Tonight’s The Night’. The reissue will also include ‘Everybody’s Alone’, ‘Raised on Robbery’ with Joni Mitchell, and ‘Speakin’ Out Jam’, though these were all included on Neil Young Archives Vol. II.
Young first started bringing key tracks from Tonight’s The Night back into the fold for the first time in five decades during his appearance celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles on September 20th, 2023.
Exploring the emotional resonance of the album, Far Out observed, “Perhaps his most raw release of the period, the 1975 album is wrapped up in despair and is grief-stricken throughout, and much of the pain that Young is attempting to exorcise was due to tragic incidents happening around him.”
The reissue will be released on November 28th on streaming platforms, as well as enjoying a vinyl and a CD release.
Recently, Young and the Chrome Hearts headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival in the UK. The festival’s co-creator, Michael Eavis, has since revealed, “My top act was Neil Young on the Saturday night. He was so good. He really loves performing here and he played such a great set.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.