Neil Young on Friday opened an exhaustive online archive of his half-century career, as the rock legend charged ahead on a politically loaded new album.
In a project whose breadth has no parallels among musicians of his level of fame, Young made all of his albums available for streaming alongside the accompanying lyrics, credits and artwork as well as videos and tour information.
In a delight for fans of the ever-prolific Canadian with years of rumored obscurities, the Neil Young Archives includes around 10 unreleased albums although most are not yet fully uploaded.
Marking his life’s journey, Young inaugurated his archive and new album by playing a livestreamed solo concert at a 225-seat theater in his rural hometown of Omemee, Ontario.
Envisioning the archives as a high-tech version of collections that authors and fellow rock elders generally establish at universities, Young said he would continually update the site, accessible at neilyoungarchives.com.
Young wrote that he had spent years designing the site, which will be free through June 30 after which Young said he will charge a “very modest” fee.
