AceShowbiz - Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts have completed their latest album, following 2025's Talkin' to the Trees, featuring an intriguing mix of both new and vintage material. Notably, the album includes three songs that Young originally wrote in 1963, marking a fascinating return to his earliest songwriting days.

The recording sessions took place at Rick Rubin's renowned Shangri-La studio in Malibu, California. Entering the studio with five brand-new tracks, the team recorded four songs on the first day and the final new track on the second day. As Neil Young explained in a post on The Neil Young Archives, once those five songs were completed, he found himself without any fresh material. However, the next morning, a song from 1963 began playing in his head. Upon checking his archives, he discovered the track was previously unreleased, along with three other unreleased songs from the same year.

"We finished mixing and assembling one month later on the next full moon ... April 1," Young shared. The album's production was notably swift, and now, with a complete mastered record ready, Neil Young expressed his eagerness for fans to hear the new work, hoping it resonates with listeners as it does with him.

Back in 1963, Neil Young was a 17-year-old musician performing with his high school band, the Squires, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The only songs from that era that have been officially released are the instrumental tracks "Aurora" and "The Sultan," initially distributed in an extremely limited vinyl pressing, which has since become a prized collectors’ item.

In 2009, these early Squires recordings received wider exposure through Young’s box set The Archives Vol. 1 1963-1972, which also included additional tracks recorded in 1964 and 1965. Among them was "I Wonder," a song that was later reworked into the classic "Don't Cry No Tears" from the 1975 album Zuma.

At this time, it remains uncertain whether the three rediscovered 1963 songs on the new album are instrumentals, Squires recordings, or solo home demos previously unknown to the public. Additionally, the album’s title has not been officially confirmed. On April 21, Young posted that the album remains untitled, but in another message the same day, he referred to it as "Second Song," which could potentially be a track title rather than the album name.

One unique aspect of this upcoming release is that Neil Young recorded it using both analog and digital equipment, resulting in two separate master versions. This approach is a first for him. Young explained that this was done to showcase the difference in sound quality between the two formats.

"Analog was the beginning, and it never sounded better. Hi-res digital is a clear second best," he wrote. Both versions will be made available to listeners, allowing them to experience the immediate contrast. According to Young, analog sound delivers a depth and richness akin to life itself, whereas digital is described as a high-quality imitation.

"If you are interested in the sound you can disappear into and lose yourself ... over repeated listenings, analog," he added. This dual-master release reflects his desire to bring back the museum-quality analog sound that many music fans rarely experience today.

With the album now fully mixed and mastered, anticipation is building for its release. Fans and audiophiles alike will likely be eager to hear how the blend of five new songs and three decades-old compositions come together, especially with the innovative dual-format approach Neil Young has taken for this project.

This article is based on reporting originally published by Rolling Stone.