Another archival release, and it should be no surprise to Neil Young fans. He has a busy year ahead, what with a European tour, a Glastonbury headline slot, and another two albums to release. We are welcome to his archives, as we are with those other heavy hitters like Bob Dylan and The Beatles. Oceanside Countryside is a welcome country archive release which will no doubt tickle the fancy of Young enthusiasts. That is what an archival release is all about. Those nuanced changes in the mix, the little flickers of difference between the songs that released and these versions which were archived in 1977. Oceanside Countryside is a sweet collection, and will no doubt pierce the soft spot for those who first heard Hurricane on Chrome Dreams. Both releases offer a similar experience, one of finding new love for songs already available.
Comfortable opener Sail Away may be known to passing Young listeners, and it proves to be a gentle welcome into the rest of this charming country collection. Many of the songs are stripped of their thrills, the at-the-time additions. Backing vocals are no more. Oceanside Countryside offers a one man and his guitar experience, an alternate to the style which proved popular at the time. But there is a charm to be heard from Young, who overlaps his own vocal work on Lost in Space and brings in a bit of finger-plucking sincerity to the Hawks & Doves release. It is this country tone, the pleasantness of the acoustic work, which makes or breaks Oceanside Countryside. What Young captures on this archival release is the sound of the times, a throwback to those days when he was at his laid-back, Harvest-themed best. Goin’ Back is a great example. These are familiar sounds and a refreshing return to some better-known tracks from Young, no doubt on the playlists and record players of most fans.
Human Highway, certainly, is a standout. It is not all that grand a change, no track makes a massive enough change to the mix or backing vocals to warrant an entire, new release, but it does serve as a route back to those familiar songs. Field of Opportunity strips the backing vocals and little else. The fiddle work is still there, the sweet and soft sincerity which comes through the original song is intact. Fiddle continuations on Dance Dance Dance are light and nice enough. Feel the music, the love, and there comes the tonal consistency Oceanside Countryside is gunning for. What Young successfully provides with this archival release is a soft country tone, a spill of laid-back niceties on songs familiar to listeners who have been around for that little bit longer than the passive listener.
Oceanside Countryside is rewarding for all, though those efforts from Young will no doubt delight seasoned listeners. If anything, it is a gentle excuse to return to some of the lesser-loved Young songs. A song like It Might Have Been speaks with a stunning clarity on what never occurred. There is skill in this, to write so strongly of the moments longed for but never experienced. Oceanside Countryside does well to build to that moment, the fiddle-playing charms erupting, the acoustic flourishes heard in isolation earlier on the album joined by some delightful company. Album closer Pocahontas finds charm still in the Marlon Brando-mentioning song, and it is over before you know it. A brief end to an album filled with the laid-back country tones Young would return to, time and again, in a career littered with rock classics. Oceanside Countryside is a nice excuse to return to his backlog, and is a welcome entry in its own way.
