Neil Young Releasing Lost 1982 Album Johnny’s Island
Neil Young is in the process of clearing out his vast archives. Last year, he put out his legendary 1975 album Homegrown and released a comprehensive compilation spanning the years 1972-1976. He’s already talked up the release of a ’80s collection called Road Of Plenty that’s due out sometime this year and he recently took to his official website to reveal news of another “lost” album.
This one is called Johnny’s Island and was recorded in 1982 at Commercial Recorders in Honolulu, Hawaii by the same crew that made Trans. Here’s the bit on his website about the new lost album:
‘Johnny’s Island’ a complete album now being prepared for release at NYA, includes a majority of unreleased tracks including ‘Big Pearl,’ ‘Island In The Sun,’ and ‘Love Hotel,’ plus others you may have heard before.. it’s a beautiful record coming to you soon.
According to a 1995 interview with Young, the album — which was at one point referred to as Island In The Sun — was offered to Geffen Records before Trans. “It was a tropical thing all about sailing, ancient civilisations, islands and water,” he said. A few of the songs intended for it ended up on Trans — “Like An Inca,” “Hold On To Your Love,” and “Little Thing Called Love” — but there are a number of tracks that have never been released before. No word on exactly when it will come out, but it’s just one of many archival projects Young has planned for this year.