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The archive series is just as stubborn and erratic as Neil Young’s studio output, which is what keeps it interesting, and A Treasure is the most intriguing release to date. It represents a peculiar time in Young’s career and shows that, despite being in limbo he was still energized to perform, to keep pushing and reinventing himself, and to chase down whatever muse hit him in the moment.
The 12 songs here are culled from tours that took place in ‘84 and ‘85. The tours were not in support of any album in particular—though there’s stuff here that would end up on 1985’s Old Ways—and he wasn’t backed by his label. By ‘84, Young had recently released the infamous vocoder-vamp Trans and, then, he stuck Everybody’s Rockin’ right in Geffen’s eye. The album’s ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll revivalism was a response to Geffen’s request for a more rock-oriented album from Young, and the label hated the record so much they sued Young over it. – Popmatters