Greatest Hits (Neil Young album)

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Greatest Hits

Compilation album by Neil Young
Released	November 16, 2004
Recorded	1969 - 1991
Genre	Rock, Country rock, Folk-rock
Label	Reprise
Producer(s)	David Briggs, Neil Young, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Kendall Pacios, Elliot Mazer, Henry Lewy, Tim Mulligan, Ben Keith, Niko Bolas
All Music Guide link
Neil Young chronology
Greendale (2003)	Greatest Hits (2004)	Prairie Wind (2005)

Neil Young's Greatest Hits is only the third compilation after Decade and Lucky Thirteen to appear from this veteran artist. Eleven of the first twelve tracks also appear on Decade, and the disc in total spans his solo career from 1969 through 1992. It was released on November 16, 2004 on Reprise Records, part of the WEA conglomerate.

All tracks on this album were remastered using the HDCD process, which Young has been utilizing for his studio work since 1995. The album was also released as a high-resolution DVD Audio disc, and in a two-disc format including the audio album plus a bonus DVD with videos for "Rockin' in the Free World" and the song "Harvest Moon". Extensive notes on the remastering process can be found on Young's website. [1]

From the press release, Young said:

"One of the most important jobs of any musician is to provide quality sound to the people. Quality has taken a hit in recent years, but it's starting to come back thanks to DVD-stereo. There is just no comparison between DVD-stereo and a regular compact disc or even 5.1 sound. It's the difference between a true reflection of the music and a mere replica. I've always been a strong believer in analogue and this is about as close to the rewarding listening experience of vinyl as the real thing."[2]

Given Young's well-known attitudes regarding remastering and repackaging, that the back cover of the disc states that the tracks chosen for inclusion on this package were "based on original record sales, airplay and known download history" thus the most overtly familiar material from Young's long career, some suggest that Greatest Hits has all the earmarks of being assembled by the label in order to have a Young compilation on the market with the commercial attractiveness of other single-disc blockbusters such as The Beatles' 1 or Elvis Presley's 30 #1 Hits package. Featuring improved sound for most of the tracks, however, it could also be a precursor to Reprise finally convincing Young to remaster his back catalogue through 1979 in HDCD, something that has yet to occur as of February 2007.

The album debuted on Billboard 200 album chart on December 4, 2004 at number 27, with first week sales of approxmiately 51,000 copies. It remained on the chart for 17 weeks. It was awarded a certified gold record by the RIAA on January 23, 2006.