Neil Young has opened up his vault again today to share a previously unseen concert recording of “Thrasher,” filmed during his May 1978 solo series at San Francisco’s Boarding House. Captured from one of the final performances of Young’s 10-show run, the video proves a captivating time capsule, showing the then 32-year-old artist exploring another approach to the Rust Never Sleeps classic prior to its formal recorded release. This dispatch is the latest and final preview from Neil Young Archives Vol. III (1976-1987), set to release on Sept. 6, which chronicles the legendary folk figurehead’s output from that prolific period across 22 discs.
Nearly five decades after Young took the stage at the Boarding House, his soul-stirring early treatment of “Thrasher” reads as strikingly emblematic of his artistic temperament and career to follow. Rather than the harmonica call and full-bodied acoustic chorus that introduce the 1979 studio recording, the artist’s newly released version strips the track back to the artist and his guitar—a perfect compliment for a song regarding his restless, independent spirit. It was “Thrasher” that brought clarity to Young’s 1970 departure from Crosby, Stills and Nash, as the songwriter cut deep on his ambitions and wounds that drove him along. He sings, “How I lost my friends, I still don’t understand.”
With Archives Vol. III, Young continues his passion for the fastidious curation of his titanic career, divulging a massive compendium of kept relics for fans bold enough to sift through for gold. The third release in his ongoing archives project boasts a staggering 198 total tracks, including 121 unreleased live, studio and demo versions and 15 brand-new entries. Alongside this 28-hour haul, the artist’s box set includes footage of 128 songs, stretching past the 14-hour mark, and a 176-page book with an exclusive poster. Read more about Young’s collection here, and lock down a copy here.
While maintaining his longstanding reflective demeanor, Young continues to record and plot his return to the road. From his inextinguishable spirit, his final lines of “Thrasher” ring out: “But me I’m not stopping there / Got my own row left to hoe / Just another line in the field of time.”
Watch the newly released live recording of “Thrasher” below.
The post Watch: Neil Young Shares Previously Unreleased 1978 Live Performance of “Thrasher” from ‘Archives Vol. III (1976-1987)’ appeared first on Relix Media.
