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When CDs were becoming popular, Neil Young made no secret of his disdain for the sound of digital. Interviews from the period quoted him as saying that the sound "left him cold," and he would rather listen to an LP, thank you very much. To this day, his new CD releases also appear on vinyl, but with the advent of DVD-Audio, sampling and quantization rates have improved—enough, apparently for Mr. Young's approval.

On December 5, Warner Reprise Video will be releasing Young's Red Rocks Live, a concert performance video from two shows performed in September, 2000, at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. Additionally, the home video and DVD releases coincide with the DVD-Audio release of Road Rock Vol.1 from Reprise Records, also on December 5.

Road Rock Vol.1 marks the first venture into the DVD-Audio realm for Reprise Records. The company says the disc will play on all players with a DVD logo, and on machines sporting the new DVD-Audio logo, it can be played in what Reprise is calling "Advanced Resolution" six-channel surround sound or stereo. For folks who have DVD-V players without DVD-A, the disc contains a Dolby Digital (AC-3) surround mix. However, the company says that the additional visual content requires a DVD-A-capable player.

Road Rock Vol.1 features eight tracks, including a duet with the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde on Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower." However, in a somewhat maddening marketing ploy (hopefully not a trend), you'll have to buy both the DVD-V and DVD-A discs to get all of the music from the show. The Red Rocks Live DVD-V includes 12 selections not included on the Road Rock Vol.1 DVD-A disc, such as Young's electric performance of "Cowgirl In The Sand" during a thunderous rainstorm.