The box set is a beautifully packaged expanded version of the vinyl edition first released on April 18 by Jack White's Third Man Records. The Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set will also contain a download card for the hi-res audiophile version of the album.
Young recorded the collection of covers with White on a refurbished 1947 Voice-o-Graph recording booth at Third Man's Nashville headquarters. Imagine a very
simple recording studio not much larger than a phone booth and you'll
get the idea. He describes the album as "an unheard collection of
rediscovered songs from the past recorded on ancient electro-mechanical
technology captures and unleashes the essence of something that could
have been gone forever." Recorded live to track to one-track, mono, the
album has an inherent warm, primitive feel of a vintage Folkways
recording,
As for the track-listing, Young chose songs that have personal meaning for him, such as British folk artist Bert Jansch's "Needle of Death" (which inspired Young to write 1972's "Needle and the Damage Done"), Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country," Willie Nelson's "Crazy," Don Everly's "I Wonder If I Care as Much," Bruce Springsteen's "My Home Town," and others.
The
album begins with Neil recording a spoken letter to his late mother,
informing her of his personal and present state of affairs which sets
the tone and atmosphere for the duration of the album. He does this once
again at the beginning of Side 2 in a way which could explain why he's
selected these particular songs to record. In essence, this presentation
is, as its title implies, A Letter Home from Neil. This is a deeply
personal and expressive listening experience which is as real and raw
emotionally as it is sonically and yet light of touch in its form and
flow.
Reprise
will release the complete box set, which includes a special "direct
feed from the booth" audiophile vinyl version and a DVD that captured
the original electro-mechanical process, along with comments from the
producers and recording engineers. It includes:
Standard audio LP pressed on 180-gram black vinyl
Audiophile LP pressed on 180-gram black vinyl
Standard audio CD
DVD with footage from the recording
12" x 12", 32-page full color booklet
Download card for hi-res Audiophile version of album
Seven 6" vinyl discs pressed on clear vinyl. The 7th disc of this set features a version of Dylan's
"Blowin' In The Wind" backed with an alternate take / arrangement of "Crazy"
Track listing:
A Letter Home intro
Changes (Phil Ochs)
Girl from the North Country (Bob Dylan)
Needle of Death (Bert Jansch)
Early Morning Rain (Gordon Lightfoot)
Crazy (Willie Nelson)
Reason to Believe (Tim Hardin)
On the Road Again (Willie Nelson)
If You Could Read My Mind (Gordon Lightfoot)
Since I Met You Baby (Ivory Joe Hunter)
My Hometown (Bruce Springsteen)
I Wonder If I Care as Much (Don Everly)
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