NEIL YOUNG GIVE TO THE WIND RE1 TEST PRESSING (1st TITLE C.A.T.) VERY RARE

$

115

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE LISTING

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NEIL YOUNG

GIVE TO THE WIND (VERY FIRST TITLE OF COMES A TIME)

EXTREMELY RARE RE1 TEST PRESSING 

(SEE HISTORIC DETAILS BELOW)

EXTREMELY RARE ITEM; NEARLY ALL THE GIVE TO THE WIND TEST PRESSINGS WERE SHOT BY NEIL WITH A RIFLE AT HIS RANCH. ONLY A VERY FEW WERE NOT OBTAINABLE TO NEIL TO DESTROY; THIS IS ONE OF THEM.

"GIVE TO THE WIND" WAS THE ORIGINAL TITLE OF "COMES A TIME"

ADDITIONALLY, GIVE TO THE WIND HAS A DIFFERENT TRACK ORDER ON SIDE A THAN COMES A TIME (SEE BELOW)

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When Neil Young first put together the album popularly known as "Comes A Time" with a fine group of musicians known as the "Gone With The Wind Orchestra", he first titled the album "Give To The Wind". The track listing on these Give To the Wind pressings had 'Lotta Love' at the last song on Side A following 'Peace Of Mind' (the final Comes A Time album had these two songs reversed in order with 'Peace Of mind' as the last song preceded by 'Lotta Love').

In December of 1977 or January of 1978, Neil completed the Give To the Wind album and submitted it to Reprise Records. On April 22, 1978, the first test pressings (with RE1 in the trail off, which is what this test pressing is that I am listing) were finished. Neil did not like the way Side A sounded and subsequently new test pressings (RE-1) (numbered with a dash) were made. Neil still deemed Side A had an audio flaw and yet more test pressings were made (RE-2). In May of 1978, Warner Bros (parent company to reprise) issued a New Release Publication to record stores and distributors, still listing the album as Give To The Wind. Additionally, the May 18 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine stated that Give To The Wind was to be released May 15. However, this release date came and nothing was released. 

In June 1978 it was announced that the album would be released with a title change to Comes A Time. It was around this time that Neil found the original 2 inch master tape, compared it to the vinyl, and determined the master tape had been damaged during shipping to New York for mastering and such was the cause of the audio flaw that he could hear; some high frequencies were altogether missing. 

Finally, in August, 1978, Comes A Time pressings were being manufactured, with the early track order, and shipped out. But then Neil changed his mind about the track order and stopped production of the album. Neil purchased the 200,000 copies that had already been manufactured and shipped from Reprise, took them to his ranch and shot them (and all the incorrect test pressings except for this one) with a rifle to make sure none of these ever found their way to market. Most stories indicate he used a 22 but I have also heard he did it with a shotgun. Soon after, another test pressing was made (RE-3) and was finally approved by Neil since the mysterious audio flaw was no longer present. At last, on September 29, 1978, the album Comes A Time was released by Reprise Records.

Along the way in this 10 month evolution, some copies made it to market with different variations. Japanese first pressing white label promo LPs and the first pressing of UK LPs still had the original track order listed on the labels and covers even though the record itself played with Peace of Mind as the last track. Some U.S.A. Promo LPs still had the old track order listed on the back of the cover and a large 3.5" x 12" sticker was made and applied to the back of the cover that indicated the corrected track order.

Perhaps the oddest variation was the New Zealand first pressings of Comes A Time still had Give To The Wind as the title on the record label despite the album cover titled Comes A Time. These pressings also had the incorrect track order with Lotta Love as the last song. 

I'd like to acknowledge my sources for the above history: (A) Sidestreet Records had the most detailed account of Give To The Wind. Jef no longer has that site but I printed out his information some years ago and I can include a copy of this if you would like. (B) thrasherswheat is a site about Neil Young and has info on Give To the Wind (just google Give To The Wind and you will find his material; it's a good site for Neil Young fans as well). (C) page 414 of Neil's autobiography Waging Heave Peace. (D) page 124 of Johnny Rogan's biography of Neil Young titled "Zero To Sixty". In this book, Rogan adds another theory to the track order change. He writes that Neil did this to differentiate the final LPs from the earlier ones he was not pleased with.

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This item is from my personal collection

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I grade the vinyl Poor but Acceptable because how rare this is *

(* The vinyl has numerous scuff marks and scratches on both sides though it will play on my turntable without jumping as there are no really deep scratches. However, it has ticks during playback. There is writing and stains on the label per the photos. There is a mild to medium warp in the vinyl that does not affect play on my turntable (and which can be seen in the first photo). I would not use this test pressing to listen to; this is an item that is extremely rare and that, to me, is what warrants this being part of a collection.

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I grade the blank white cover Very Good Plus *. 

(* There are two small corner dings, one 1 inch crease on the side, and a few marks.

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Please note:

At this time I'm shipping my eBay items within the continental United States only

This item will be shipped via Media Mail with Tracking and I will also include Insurance.

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