Neil Young has been talking up his giant online archive for ages, but he's finally ready to deliver on his promises. The veteran Canadian rocker has launched the simply-titled Neil Young Archives, a website that includes all the media he has produced to date. And we do mean everything -- every song Young has made is available to stream for free (until June 30th 2018) through his Xstream Music service, including unreleased tracks.
Young naturally makes a big deal out of the audio quality, which improves the stronger your connection gets. He even devotes his introductory message to a long diatribe about Apple's music quality choices on top of explaining how the archive works. Young would prefer that you listen on a computer, and even has a guide to help set up access on your home stereo.
Overkill? You bet. And ultimately, it's serving as a sales pitch for Xstream. However, it's still miles above the typical musician page offering the occasional freebie and a few music videos. This is an insight into Young's entire history as an artist, not just a promotion for his latest album.