Neil Young – Countryside by the Ocean

      A fun and intriguing yet non-essential look into the archive...

      13 · 02 · 2025

      Earlier this year, during a visit to my parents' house, I decided to take a look in their loft and see what was stored up there. It had been nearly ten years since I had last ventured into those damp, cramped spaces. I was taken aback by the sheer volume of… well, items that were stashed there. Boxes of old toys, school exercise books, unused suitcases, and the remnants of life. While exploring, I found myself thinking about Neil Young. Is this what his musical archive resembles? Boxes of reel-to-reel masters? Pressings of albums that nearly saw the light of day? Label notes for unheard songs? (Much like my parents' loft). Neil Young's archive has one less box now with the arrival of ‘Oceanside Countryside’.

      As the title implies, ‘Oceanside Countryside’ is an acoustic album infused with country influences. Recorded between May and December 1977 at studios in Florida and Malibu, the tracks feel more relaxed compared to his prior work ‘American Stars ‘n Bars,’ yet more whimsical than ‘Comes A Time’. The album cover shows Young seated somewhat uncomfortably on wooden planks, wearing a cowboy hat, plaid shirt, and sunglasses. Long-time Young fans will recognize this cover as the one used for the bootleg version of ‘Chrome Dreams,’ so it’s pleasing to see it released officially. I must admit, I felt puzzled when I first encountered it, thinking: “Didn’t ‘Chrome Dreams’ already release? Seems a bit fast for a reissue, Neil…”

      Of the ten songs, most have appeared on previous albums over time, including ‘Rust Never Sleeps,’ ‘Hawks and Doves,’ ‘Comes A Time,’ and ‘Live At Massey Hall, 1971’. The sole ‘new’ track is ‘It Might Have Been,’ wherein Young indulges in country sounds with slow strumming and lilting falsetto vocals, complemented by a fiddle solo. It stands out as one of the highlights of the album, and finally hearing the original version after all these years is exciting. Each song has slight differences from their original releases. The child choir on ‘Lost In Space’ is more effective here as is the rendition on ‘Hawks And Doves.’ However, the standout track is ‘The Old Homestead,’ which differs slightly from its version on ‘Hawks And Doves.’ This iteration is 30 seconds shorter but feels slower and more laid-back. The theremin is more prevalent in certain spots, whereas it barely registered in the ‘Hawks and Doves’ version, requiring effort to catch. In this newly released original version, it is much easier to hear in the background.

      The only drawback of ‘Oceanside Countryside’ is that 9 out of the 10 songs have been officially released before, and unless you’re a devoted Neil Young fan, the differences are subtle. If this serves as a precursor to the next wave of Archive releases, will there still be interest in an album filled with alternative versions of familiar songs over something as legendary as ‘Homegrown’ and ‘Chrome Dreams’?

      As with much of the archive series, there’s no clear reason why ‘Oceanside Countryside’ was postponed in favor of ‘Comes A Time.’ Perhaps similar to ‘Tonight’s The Night,’ when it was time to release the next album, Young preferred ‘Comes A Time,’ leading to this delay. The fact that Young repurposed most of the songs suggests he still valued them, but maybe he felt they didn’t cohesively fit together. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter, as ‘Oceanside Countryside’ is finally here for us to enjoy. Perhaps ‘It Might Have Been’ would have been a more appropriate title, but ‘Oceanside Countryside’ evokes something more poetic. After listening to the album, however, I can't help but ponder about Young’s unreleased album archive, much like my parents’ loft, “How much more is hidden in here?”

      7/10

      Words: Nick Roseblade

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