With a catalogue as rich and extensive as Neil Young’s, ‘Oceanside Countryside’ feels like a time capsule that, for newer fans, opens up a fresh route into discovering his work, offering different iterations of songs that have cropped up on various albums across several decades.
Recorded in 1977 between studios in Florida and Malibu, California, while these original mixes have never previously been released, fans will no doubt recognise the songs featured on ‘Rust Never Sleeps’, ‘Hawks & Doves’ and ‘Hitchhiker’, with the material coming from the more laid-back, acoustic end of the Young spectrum.
Sail Away ushers you into a world of campfire guitar strumming and sing-alongs, nostalgic and upbeat, but the tone shifts to a more pensive one on Captain Kennedy, a song about a young mariner preparing to go to war. Young’s storytelling ability shines through here, simple yet memorable.
Field of Opportunity and Dance Dance Dance lean country, the latters teeming with strings and harmonicas, and It Might Have Been is in a similar vein, showcasing Young at his best. The fiddle-and-acoustic palette is bold and assertive, while the lyrics are typically forlorn.
Young ends the album with Pocahontas, a song that featured prominently on 1979’s ‘Rust Never Sleeps’. Delving into a massacre of Indigenous people and the subsequent commodification of Native American culture, it remains a stark, powerful piece. This mix is perhaps more strident, its guitars more propulsive, and it’s a poignant way to close out the album.
While it might not offer anything that hasn’t been heard before, making ‘Oceanside Countryside’ a skip for some die-hards, other long-time fans will find fresh nuance to these ‘new’ songs, no matter how subtle their changes may be, while the uninitiated could learn a lot in a short time.
Neil Young Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed June 18 2025 - RATTVIK Dalhalla (Sweden)
Fri June 20 2025 - BERGEN Bergenhus Fortress (Norway)
Sun June 22 2025 - COPENHAGEN Tioren (Denmark)
Thu June 26 2025 - DUBLIN Malahide Castle
Mon June 30 2025 - BRUSSELS Palace Open Air Palace Square (Belgium)
Tue July 01 2025 - GRONINGEN Drafbaan Stedpark (Netherlands)
Thu July 03 2025 - BERLIN Waldbuhne (Germany)
Fri July 04 2025 - MONCHENGLADBACH SparkassenPark (Germany)
Tue July 08 2025 - STUTTGART Cannstatter Wasen (Germany)
Fri July 11 2025 - LONDON Hyde Park
Fri August 08 2025 - CHARLOTTE North Carolina - PNC Music Pavilion (USA)
Sun August 10 2025 - RICHMOND Virginia - Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront (USA)
Wed August 13 2025 - CLARKSTON Michigan - Pine Knob Music Theatre (USA)
Fri August 15 2025 - CUYAHOGA FALLS Ohio - Blossom Music Center (USA)
Sun August 17 2025 - TORONTO Ontario - Budweiser Stage (Canada)
Tue August 19 2025 - TORONTO Ontario - Budweiser Stage (Canada)
Thu August 21 2025 - GILFORD New Hampshire - BankNH Pavilion (USA)
Sat August 23 2025 - WANTAGH New York - Northwell at Jones Beach Theater (USA)
Sun August 24 2025 - BETHEL New York - Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (USA)
Wed August 27 2025 - CHICAGO Illinois - Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island (USA)
Mon September 01 2025 - DENVER Colorado - Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre (USA)
Fri September 05 2025 - GEORGE Washington - Gorge Amphitheatre (USA)
Sat September 06 2025 - BURNABY British Columbia - Deer Lake Park (Canada)
Mon September 08 2025 - BURNABY British Columbia - Deer Lake Park (Canada)
Wed September 10 2025 - BEND Oregon - Hayden Homes Amphitheater (USA)
Fri September 12 2025 - MOUNTAIN VIEW California - Shoreline Amphitheatre (USA)
Mon September 15 2025 - LOS ANGELES California - Hollywood Bowl (USA
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