Neil Young live disc a teaser for boxed set

NEW YORK (Billboard) -
Neil Young has been a consistent presence on the charts since the late 1960s, but only once has he ever debuted higher than the No. 6 position enjoyed this week by the vintage concert CD "Live at Massey Hall 1971."

Young previously opened at No. 5 with the 1995 album "Mirror Ball," a collaboration with Pearl Jam. The new Reprise Records disc features acoustic versions of tunes that were mostly unreleased at the time, including six songs from his imminent 1972 release "Harvest."

"Massey Hall" and last fall's "Live at the Fillmore East" will be included as bonus discs in "Archives Vol. 1," a mammoth boxed set that has been in the works for 10 years and is something of a Holy Grail for Young fans. The package, which covers Young's career from 1963-1972, is set for a fall release. It will also feature eight audio CDs, two DVDs and a 200-page book of photos and memorabilia.

The remainder of the chronological collection features material cut with Young's early Canadian band the Squires, recordings from the period during which he lived in Topanga Canyon, Calif., scores of previously unreleased studio tracks and a live disc drawn from a week's worth of concerts from the Toronto venue the Riverboat.

"This really is an audio biography, not a boxed set," said Peter Standish, Reprise's VP of marketing, adding that three additional "Archives" boxes will follow. "The photos in the book are unbelievable. Those in and of themselves are incredible pieces of art."

The press-shy Young is expected to do some interviews in support of "Archives" but is not planning a tour around the release.

"A lot of people don't realize how extensive and intense the (2006) Freedom of Speech tour he did with Crosby, Stills & Nash was," says Standish. "I think Neil is taking a little bit of a break at the moment. But you never know what's around the corner. If the muse moves him, anything can happen."

As always, comments are welcome.