In Neil Young’s extensive career, this period of music came at a definite turning point. The 1990s were almost ready to start, and Young had recently returned to his long-time home at Reprise Records. It definitely appeared to be a joyous and jubilant moment for the man who had recently celebrated the 21-year anniversary of a solo career that had never stopped progressing. The first album in VOLUME 5 is aptly named FREEDOM, and includes the song “Rockin’ in the Free World.”

RAGGED GLORY (1990) was a non-stop celebration for the music Neil Young & Crazy Horse are still creating at full force, and was recorded at Young’s Broken Arrow Ranch in Northern California. The 10-song original album is expanded for this re-issue with 4 rare tracks. “Interstate” and “Don’t Spook The Horse” were both B-sides to singles. “Box Car” and the 12 minute “Born To Run” are both previously unreleased versions. The 4 additional songs have resulted with the album expanded to 3 LPs and 2 CDs.

WELD (1991) is one of the most groundbreaking albums of Neil Young’s history. It’s a live album recorded with Crazy Horse after the release of RAGGED GLORY. It was from a wildly creative period of the band’s history, and as Neil Young has often done, gave notice that he was a rock & roll originator who could never be second-guessed.

ARC (1991) is the live companion collection to WELD, and at the time generated the kind of musical notoriety that has often marked Young’s creations. ARC is a 35-minute outburst of feedback, improvisation, guitar solos and vocal fragments. This marks the album’s first release on vinyl.