''A Treasure'' is a live album by Canadian / American musician

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...

, released on June 14, 2011, featuring performances from his 1984-1985 U.S. tour with the International Harvesters. The album is volume nine in Young's Archives Performance Series and the sixth to be released.

Background

The album results from a tour following Young's recording what he later called the first ''

Old Ways ''Old Ways'' is the 14th studio album by Canadian / American musician and singer-songwriter Neil Young, released on August 12, 1985 on Geffen Records. Background Young has referred to this album in interviews as ''Old Ways II'', as he had origi ...

'', an album of country music that his record company refused to release since they claimed it wasn't commercial enough. In this period, the early to mid-eighties, Young played music in many different genres. His backing band, the "International Harvesters", consisted of professional country musicians from Nashville some of whom had also played (as "The Shocking Pinks") on his rock and roll album ''

Everybody's Rockin' ''Everybody's Rockin'' is the 13th studio album by Canadian / American musician Neil Young, released on August 1, 1983. The album was recorded with the Shocking Pinks (a band made up just for the occasion), and features a selection of rockabilly s ...

''. The album contains old Young songs and newer songs from ''Old Ways''. It contains five previously unreleased songs (tracks 1, 5, 8, 11, and 12). According to Young, the album's name comes from

Ben Keith Bennett Keith Schaeufele (March 6, 1937 – July 26, 2010), better known by his stage name Ben Keith, was an American musician and record producer. Known primarily for his work as a pedal steel guitarist with Neil Young, Keith was a fixture of ...

. "I hadn't heard these takes in 25 years, but when we unearthed them co-producer Ben Keith said, 'This is a treasure.'"

Track listing

All songs written by

except where indicated. # "Amber Jean" – 3:17 #* ''Recorded for

Nashville Now ''Nashville Now'' was an American talk show that focused on country music performers in the style of ''The Tonight Show''. The show aired live on weeknights on TNN from 1983–1993. The host was Nashville TV/radio personality Ralph Emery. The sho ...

TV, Nashville, 9/20/1984.'' # "Are You Ready for the Country?" – 3:39 #* ''Recorded at

Riverbend Music Center Riverbend Music Center is an outdoor amphitheater located in Cincinnati, Ohio, along the banks of the Ohio River. It has a capacity of 20,500 (6,000 reserved pavilion seats and 14,500 general admission lawn) and was built for the Cincinnati Sympho ...

, Cincinnati, 9/21/1984.'' # "It Might Have Been" (Ronnie Green, Harriet Kane) – 2:43 #* ''Recorded for

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show to ...

TV, Austin, 9/25/1984.'' # "Bound for Glory" – 5:59 #* ''Recorded at Gilleys Rodeo Arena, Pasadena, TX, 9/29/1984.'' # "Let Your Fingers Do the Walking" – 3:03 #* ''Recorded at

Universal Amphitheater Universal Amphitheatre (later known as Gibson Amphitheatre) was an indoor amphitheatre located in Los Angeles, California within Universal City. It was built as an outdoor venue, opening in the summer of 1972 with a production of '' Jesus Chris ...

, Universal City, CA, 10/22/1984.'' # "Flying on the Ground Is Wrong" – 4:48 #* ''Recorded at

Greek Theater Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre was ...

, Berkeley, CA, 10/26/1984.'' # "Motor City" – 3:22 #* ''Recorded at

, Berkeley, CA, 10/26/1984.'' # "Soul of a Woman" – 4:28 #* ''Recorded at

, Berkeley, CA, 10/26/1984.'' # "Get Back to the Country" – 2:31 #* ''Recorded at

, Berkeley, CA, 10/26/1984.'' # "Southern Pacific" – 7:53 #* ''Recorded at

Minnesota State Fair The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Also known by its slogan, "The Great Minnesota Get-Together", it is the largest state fair in the United States by average daily attendance and the second-largest state f ...

, St. Paul, 9/1/1985.'' # "Nothing Is Perfect" – 5:02 #* ''Recorded at

, St. Paul, 9/1/1985.'' # " Grey Riders" – 5:58 #* ''Recorded at Pier 84, New York, 9/10/1985.''

Personnel

*Neil Young – guitar, vocals * Ben "Long Grain" Keith – pedal steel guitar, lap slide guitar, stringman, vocals * Anthony Crawford – guitar, banjo, vocals *

Rufus Thibodeaux Rufus Thibodeaux (January 5, 1934, Ridge, Louisiana – August 12, 2005, Nashville, Tennessee) was an American Cajun music fiddler. Thibodeaux played guitar from age six and fiddle from age twelve. He played in local dance halls at 13, and joined ...

– fiddle *

Spooner Oldham Dewey Lindon "Spooner" Oldham (born June 14, 1943) is an American songwriter and session musician. An organist, he recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, at FAME Studios as part of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section on such hit R&B songs as Percy S ...

– piano *

Tim Drummond Timothy Lee Drummond (20 April 1940 – 10 January 2015) was an American musician from Canton, Illinois. Drummond's primary instrument was bass guitar and he toured and recorded with many notable artists, including Conway Twitty, Bob Dylan, James ...

– bass *Karl T. Himmel – drums *

Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig," was an American session keyboard player. Having played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Lor ...

– piano (on tracks 10, 11, 12) *Joe Allen – bass (on tracks 10, 11, 12) *

Matraca Berg Matraca Maria Berg Hanna (; born February 3, 1964, in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and ...

& Tracy Nelson – background vocals (on track 11)

Audio production

*Recorded and mixed by Tim Mulligan, except track 1 by Terry Farris and track 3 by Jeff Peterson *Mastering by Tim Mulligan at Redwood Digital, Woodside CA *NYA Research by John Nowland and Joel Bernstein

Blu-ray production

*Directed by Bernard Shakey *Produced by Will Mitchell *Executive Producer: Elliot Rabinowitz *Editor: Atticus Culver-Rease *Blu-ray Authoring, programming at MX, San Francisco, CA *Post Production at Upstream Multimedia *Graphics: Kris Kunz *Production Assistance: Hannah Johnson, Mark Faulkner *Licensing: Marcy Gensic *Research: Anthony Crawford, Archives Guy, Mark Golley *Archival concert video footage courtesy of: Jay Flanzraich, Robert Sampimon *“Nashville Now” footage used with permission by CMT *Additional footage courtesy of BBC, used with permission *International Harvesters photos courtesy of Pegi Young *Joe Allen photo: courtesy of Steve Cross Tech notes and credits film: *Directed by Bernard Shakey *Produced by Neil Young *Camera: Benjamin Johnson *Sound: Will Mitchell

Chart performance

External links

Neil Young official site A Treasure page featuring a video of tech notes on the album

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treasure 2011 live albums Neil Young live albums Albums produced by Neil Young Albums produced by Ben Keith Live country rock albums