Greatest Hits is Neil Young's third compilation album after Decade and Lucky Thirteen. Eleven of the first twelve tracks appear on Decade, and the disc spans his solo career from 1969 through 1992. On the rear cover of the album, Young comments that the tracks were selected "based on original record sales, airplay and known download history".
Mastering All tracks on this album were mastered using the HDCD process, which Young had been utilizing for his studio work since 1995. The album was also released as a high-resolution DVD Video disc with 24bit 96 kHz audio, and in a two-disc format including the audio album plus a bonus DVD with videos for "Rockin' in the Free World" and "Harvest Moon". Extensive notes on the remastering process can be found on Young's website.
On the press release, Young said:
Track listing +Track listing for Greatest Hits # Title Writer(s) Performed by Length Album 1. "Down by the River" Neil Young Neil Young with Crazy Horse 9:16Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, 1969 2. "Cowgirl in the Sand" Young Neil Young with Crazy Horse 10:05 3. "Cinnamon Girl" Young Neil Young with Crazy Horse 2:59 4. "Helpless" Young Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 3:37 Déjà Vu, 1970 5. "After the Gold Rush" Young Neil Young 3:46After the Gold Rush, 1970 6. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" Young Neil Young 3:08 7. "Southern Man" Young Neil Young 5:31 8. "Ohio" Young Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 2:59 Non-album single, 1970; made first album appearance on So Far, 1974 9. "The Needle and the Damage Done" Young Neil Young 2:10Harvest, 1972 10. "Old Man" Young Neil Young with The Stray Gators 3:22 11. "Heart of Gold" Young Neil Young with The Stray Gators 3:07 12. "Like a Hurricane" Young Neil Young and Crazy Horse 8:20 American Stars 'n Bars, 1977 13. "Comes a Time" Young Neil Young 3:04Comes a Time, 1978 14. "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" Young Neil Young and Crazy Horse 4:59Rust Never Sleeps, 1979 15. "Rockin' in the Free World" Young Neil Young 4:41Freedom, 1989 16. "Harvest Moon" Young Neil Young with The Stray Gators 5:03Harvest Moon, 1992
7" single +Track listing for bonus 7" # Title Writer(s) Performed by Length Album 1. "The Loner" Young Neil Young 3:50Neil Young, 1968 2. "Sugar Mountain" Young Neil Young 5:41Non-album B-side to "The Loner", 1969 Issued exclusively with the vinyl edition of the album
Personnel Neil Young – guitars, pipe organ, vocals Danny Whitten, David Crosby – electric guitar, vocals Billy Talbot, Joe Osborne, Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuel, Greg Reeves, Rick Rosas, Jim Messina – bass Ralph Molina – drums, vocals Stephen Stills – guitar, piano, vocals Graham Nash – acoustic guitar, vocals Dallas Taylor, John Barbata, Chad Cromwell, Kenny Buttrey, Karl Himmel, George Grantham – drums Bill Peterson – flugelhorn Nils Lofgren, Andy McMahon – piano Ben Keith – pedal steel guitar, keyboards Spooner Oldham – piano, organ Tim Drummond – bass, broom Linda Ronstadt, Nicolette Larson – vocals James Taylor – banjo guitar, vocals Teddy Irwin – guitar J.J. Cale – electric guitar Frank Sampedro – stringman Rufus Thibodeaux – fiddle Farrel Morris – percussion Rita Fey – autoharp Also – acoustic guitarists and string players on "Comes a Time"
Additional roles Joel Bernstein – cover photo Gary Burden, Jenice Heo – art direction & design (R. Twerk) Toshi Onuki, L.A. Johnson, Neil Young – art direction & design (Shakey Pictures) Tim Mulligan – mastering John Hausmann, Harry Sitam – engineering Elliot Roberts – direction
Charts
Weekly charts +2004 weekly chart peaks for Greatest HitsChart (2004)Peakposition +2005 weekly chart peaks for Greatest HitsChart (2005)Peakposition
Year-end charts +2005 year-end chart performance for Greatest HitsChart (2005)Position Australian Albums (ARIA)86 US Billboard 200186
Certifications
References
External links Greatest Hits Technical Notes at neilyoung.com (requires Flash)