Neil Young to Release 1976 Live Album ‘Songs for Judy’

Neil Young announced his plan to release Songs for Judy, a live album drawn from his November 1976 U.S. tour. The 22-song LP includes solo acoustic performances of all-time classics like “Heart of Gold,” “After the Gold Rush” and “The Needle and the Damage Done,” along with a number of rarer selections, including one song, “No One Seems to Know,” that has not appeared on any previous official release.

Young spent the majority of 1976 on the road with Crazy Horse or on the ill-fated Stills-Young Band tour, which he famously dropped out of midway through that summer. He also found time to make Hitchhiker, the lost solo acoustic studio album that he recorded in August 1976 — three months before the shows documented on Songs for Judy — but kept in the vault until last fall. At the November 1976 shows featured on Songs for Judy, Young performed a solo acoustic opening set before returning to the stage for a harder-rocking performance with Crazy Horse. These shows have been widely praised and discussed by Young fans for years, but this is their first official release.

Young released “Campaigner,” the first single from the album, on Friday. Recorded at his November 22nd, 1976 show at Boston’s Music Hall, it’s a pristine performance of the politically puzzling ballad (“Even Richard Nixon has got soul”), which would see its first release the following year on his three-LP greatest hits set Decade.

Songs for Judy is out November 30th on CD and digital platforms, and December 14th on vinyl.

Songs for Judy Track List (all dates are from 1976)

“Songs For Judy Intro” – Atlanta, GA – Nov 24 (late show)
“Too Far Gone” – Boulder, Colorado – Nov 06
“No One Seems To Know” – Boulder, Colorado – Nov 07
“Heart Of Gold” – Fort Worth, Texas – Nov 10
“White Line” – Fort Worth, Texas – Nov 10
“Love Is A Rose” – Houston – Nov 11
“After The Gold Rush” – Houston – Nov 11
“Human Highway” – Madison, Wisconsin – Nov 14
“Tell Me Why” – Chicago – Nov 15 (late show)
“Mr. Soul” – New York – Nov 20 (early show)
“Mellow My Mind” – New York – Nov 20 (early show)
“Give Me Strength” – New York – Nov 20 (late show)
“A Man Needs A Maid” – New York – Nov 20 (late show)
“Roll Another Number” – Boston – Nov 22 (late show)
“Journey Through The Past” – Boston – Nov 22 (late show)
“Harvest” – Boston – Nov 22 (late show)
“Campaigner” – Boston – Nov 22 (late show)
“Old Laughing Lady” – Atlanta – Nov 24 (early show)
“The Losing End” – Atlanta – Nov 24 (late show)
“Here We Are In The Years” – Atlanta – Nov 24 (late show)
“The Needle And The Damage Done” – Atlanta – Nov 24 (early show)
“Pocahontas” – Atlanta – Nov 24 (late show)
“Sugar Mountain” – Atlanta – Nov 24 (late show)