Neil Young brings “Dume” to vinyl for the first time. The 16-track double album with Crazy Horse was assembled for Young’s second volume of Archives from material recorded during the sessions for 1975’s “Zuma” and features both outtakes and songs from that album – in essence, creating a new, more expansive version of “Zuma” minus one song (“Through My Sails”) and plus seven others.
When Neil Young assembles a special edition of his songs, the delight is in the details. “Dume” is a new limited-edition all analogue vinyl pressing of 16 songs that were originally collected for Neil Young’s Archives Vol. II, released in autumn 2020.
These sixteen tracks from the “Zuma”-recording period on this limited-edition vinyl pressing turn into a somewhat kaleidoscopic view of the era, and really present an album that becomes its own being. The freshness of never-heard-before versions of well-known songs, along with the original songs themselves on newly pressed high-quality vinyl from the original analogue tape masters, is like an audio reset for everything gathered. In the always-evolving efforts of Young, the past and the future meld into one never-ending presentation of his musical life in the highest audio sound quality available, and in new collections that allow an original light of what he’s accomplished so far.
The album features recordings, some of which were part of the historic Zuma album sessions by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and others previously unreleased, are a detailed look at one of the most exciting periods in Neil’s rock and roll life. “Dume” captures the live-wire spark of Young’s music during those years, and this full-bore attack is somewhat of a turning point for Young and his band.
Neil Young, Crazy Horse, and producer David Briggs were living in the Point Dume area of Malibu and recording at their own direction. The songs Young was writing on the “Dume” collection came at a steady stream, and after the twisty turns of ‘Tonight’s The Night’, the group felt open and free. “Zuma”, named after the beach they lived near, came together in wide-open sessions that had the air of freedom itself. In assembling “Dume“ – initially released as Disc 8 of the ‘Archives Vol. II’ box set – Young’s unfolding plan was to weave songs from the album with unreleased tracks and mixes from that period. ‘Dume’ is somewhat of a Mad Hatter’s take, using the “Zuma” album as a starting point and expanding that scope into a brand-new entity. Now it is available with the superior sound it was recorded in, via analogue master tapes and vinyl.
“Dume”, A HISTORIC COLLECTION OF Neil Young classics and hidden gems, Released for the first time on vinyl February 23rd Via Reprise Records
The Fat Angel Sings 