5/5 Early Young Masterpiece Comes Alive
  by Kurt Harding (Boerne TX)
One can't say enough good about the remaster of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Music magazines may natter on about some second-rate album the editors think should be on the list of the top 200 albums of all time, but this early Neil Young masterpiece is one that actually deserves to be there.
OK, you have to put up with the commercial Cinnamon Girl, but you also get these: two muscular ten minute epics in Down By The River and Cowgirl In The Sand that were once staples of "underground" radio; two masters of the kind of melancholy at which Young excels in Round and Round (It Won't Be Long) and Running Dry; the jaunty first-rate The Losing End; and the countryish title cut. The sound is spectacular, there is so much to hear that was essentially inaudible on past releases. Guitar lovers should especially be thrilled by the improved sound of the longest cuts. Additionally, you get an attractive booklet containing pictures and album info but regrettably no complete lyrics.
This is the album which introduced Young's stellar band Crazy Horse to the public, a band that Young has recorded with many times over his long career. I own this on vinyl and admit to not having listened to this album for years. Now that it really comes alive with this remaster, I will be listening more frequently. Whether you are a long-time Neil Young fan who has had this album in mothballs or a newcomer to his sound, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is one remaster you won't want to miss.

3/5 disappointed..
  by Dulcimer (France)
I can't understand this fuss about the "HDCD remastered 24bit sound" of these Neil Young classics.
I've bought them all, and felt disappointed. The booklets are more or less the same as on the previous edition (except that the paper is of worse quality) and as far as the sound is concerned, I can't hear the dramatic improvement everybody's writing about - even on my $25'000 system (!)
It's just a bit louder than the previous remasters, but it still sounds muddy most of the time - nothing crisp in there. "Runnin' Dry" always sounds like it was recorded on a toaster..
As a whole, some parts have been slightly improved, but I wish the Japanese had taken care of the remastering job: this would have been definitely something else.

5/5 Neil Young's Best Album, Now Even Better
  by The Footpath Cowboy (Kingston, NY United States)
EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE, along with AFTER THE GOLD RUSH, HARVEST, and the self-titled debut, are the start of a massive remaster/reissue project on Neil Young. The differences between the two versions- boosted bass, slightly-increased volume- are subtle, but when you're dealing with an artist who supports efforts to free Americans jailed in Iran and North Korea on false charges, you can appreciate them more. By all means, buy this CD.

5/5 Happy Neil fan!
  by Salvatore J. Maida (new york)
This is possibly in my top ten all time records, including Beatles, Stones and Dylan! An essential
record for any music fan.

4/5 "...It's So Hard To Say No To Yourself..."
  by Mark Barry at Revival Records, West End (London, UK)
As we all know, Neil Young has famously resisted the remastered reissue of his huge catalogue on CD because of what he feels is the format's less than stellar representation of analogue tapes' 'original sound' as laid down by the artist - and almost a full 20 years after 1989's first issue of his 2nd album on a dullard CD - it looks like the guy is having the last laugh - because this meticulously prepared tape transfer is GLORIOUS. It really is. I've bought all 4 and to my ears this is fact the best sounding of them all.

First to the details - "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" was released in May 1969 on Reprise Records RS 6349 in the USA and RSLP 6349 in the UK (July 1969). This 2009 NYA OSR remaster (Neil Young Archives - Original Release Series) is Disc 2 of 4 and carries the HDCD code on the label and rear inlay (High Definition Compatible Disc).

Until now, 2004's "Greatest Hits" set (which offered us three "Everybody..." tracks remastered into HDCD sound quality) was the only real indication of just how good the album 'could' sound (this is the first time the 'entire' album has been given a sonic upgrade). The Audio Tape Restoration and Analog-To-HDCD Digital Transfer of the Original Master Tapes was carried out by JOHN NOWLAND (24-Bit 176 KHZ) with the Editing and Mastering done by TIM MULLIGAN - and they've done a stunning job.

The inlay reproduces photos of Danny Whitten (Guitar), Billy Talbot (Bass) with Ralph Molina (on Drums) and David Briggs (Engineer and Producer), but disappointingly there's no lyrics. Also - as these are the first four albums in a long reissue campaign - to identify them from the old CDs, the upper part of the outer spine has his new NYA OSR logo at the top and an 'issue' number beneath - D1, D2, D3, D4...on upwards of course.

However, the big and obvious disappointment is the complete lack of musical extras or any new info in the booklet - and in the case of this album in particular the omissions are going to be a sore point for fans who've waited decades for these releases. While some rarities have turned up on the 2009 mega box set "The Archives Vol.1 1963-1972" - some tracks are still missing. "Down By The River" was edited for single release in the UK in August 1970 on RS 23462 with an alternate take of "Cinnamon Girl" on the B-side. To my knowledge, neither is available in remastered sound anywhere. Also - "Oh Lonesome Me" was extended for the US 7" and it's B-side, an alternate mix of "I've Been Waiting For You" is again a no-show. All of them would have made for ideal extras material and it's infuriating that they're not on here.

Still - at mid price - this remaster of "Everybody..." is still great value for money and with this massively upgraded sound - it makes you focus on the music as is and not anything else.

Speaking of which - the sound is HUGE especially on the big rocking tracks "Down By The River" and the near 10-minute "Cowgirl In The Sand" - while the clarity is just BEAUTIFUL on Richie Furay's "Round And Round (It Won't Be Long)" - Robin Lane's duet vocals being particularly lovely. Bobby Notkoff's violin on "Running Dry" is very clear - and as the band loosely ramshackles its way into the song - it sounds like they're in your living room - miked up and live - fabulous stuff.

The remaster is not bombastically loud either, trebled up to the nines, but subtle - the music is just THERE in your speakers to a point where everything seems new and up for grabs again. Fans will love it and will feel like they're revisited long cherished old friends while newcomers will now understand what all the 5-star fuss is about.

The gold sticker on the jewel case of each of these issues states - "Because Sound Matters" - and although it took him a few decades, on the strength of this reissue, I think Rock's great curmudgeon was right to wait to get it right...which in many respects is the ultimate nod to his fans.

Docked a star though for lack of those complimentary extras that would have sent this into 'reissue of the year' territory...

But still highly recommended.

PS: I've reviewed "Harvest" and "After The Gold Rush" also - just as good soundwise...