Last week, Neil Youngsurprised-released the vinyl version of his new covers album,A Letter Home, through Jack White's Third Man Records. Young and White recorded the album acoustic and directly to vinyl, at Third Man's 1940s phone-booth-size studio. Young covered Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Bert Jansch, Don Everly, and more.
Now, Young has announced a deluxe box set version of the record, to be released May 27 in the US and May 26 in the UK through Reprise. It will also be released as a CD and digital album. Watch Young record his cover of Bert Jansch's "Needle of Death" in the Third Man booth in the video below. ("Needle of Death" was an inspiration for Young's song "Needle and the Damage Done".)
The limited-edition box will feature an expanded edition of the record, presented on two vinyl LPs (the standard version and the "audiophile" version), CD, DVD with comments from the producers and engineers, seven vinyl 6" singles, a download card for the "audiophile" version, and a 32-page booklet. One of the singles features a cover of Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" and an alternate take of Willie Nelson's "Crazy".
According to a press release, both sides of the vinyl LP begin with spoken-word bits from Young, reciting a letter to his late mother. He describes his "personal and present state ofaffairs, which sets the tone and atmosphere for the duration of the album."
A Letter Home:
01 A Letter Home intro
02 Changes (Phil Ochs Cover)
03 Girl From the North Country (Bob Dylan Cover)
04 Needle of Death (Bert Jansch Cover)
05 Early Morning Rain (Gordon Lightfoot Cover)
06 Crazy (Willie Nelson Cover)
07 Reason to Believe (Tim Hardin Cover)
08 On the Road Again (Willie Nelson Cover)
09 If You Could Read My Mind (Gordon Lightfoot Cover)
10 Since I Met You Baby (Ivory Joe Hunter Cover)
11 My Hometown (Bruce Springsteen Cover)
12 I Wonder If I Care as Much (Don Everly Cover)
