Neil Young's biography, Shakey, captures insights from his longtime producer, David Briggs, about Young's prolific songwriting in the mid-'70s. Briggs recounted how quickly Young would create songs, highlighting his creative flow during that era. Although some of the details have been clarified over time, the essence remains true: Young was remarkably productive, producing numerous songs that later became part of his 'lost' albums. These albums, emerging from the Neil Young Archives since 2017, showcase alternate takes and unreleased material from that hyper-creative period, revealing the artistry behind his iconic catalog.
In the span of a few short years, so many songs poured out of Young that it's taken him decades to release them all.
These lost albums stem from that hyperproductive stretch of the '70s, when the singer amassed so much material that he found himself cutting albums left and right.
Like all good rock-and-roll mythmaking, Briggs's version of events doesn't entirely hold up to scrutiny; Shakey clarifies elsewhere that Young started toying with "Powderfinger" in the late '60s.
The lost records don't contain too many songs Neil-heads haven't already heard in one form or another, but they do provide a window into how Young chiseled a defining era.
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