Neil Young spent his 2006 hawking Living with War, an album as immediate as a news bulletin, so perhaps it made sense that after its promo push was done he would retreat into the past, planning to finally finish Archives, the long-promised box set of unreleased performances from his vaults. Two individual discs of classic live performances were released in the winter of 2006/2007, acting as a teaser for the proposed fall release of the box, but like with most things involving Neil, things didn't work precisely as planned, as he once again pushed Archives to the back burner so he could release Chrome Dreams II, a sequel to an album that never came out in the first place. The first Chrome Dreams was slated for a 1977 release, but for some indiscernible reason Young scrapped the album, parsing out some of the songs on subsequent albums, sometimes re-recording the originals, sometimes overdubbing, sometimes just sticking the previously unreleased tracks onto new albums. Among the Chrome Dreams songs that popped later are some of his greatest, including "Like a Hurricane" and an originally acoustic "Powderfinger" and "Pocahontas," along with other such excellent tunes as "Sedan Delivery," "Too Far Gone," and "Look Out for My Love," a pedigree that would suggest that Chrome Dreams II could include its fair share of major songs. Despite the inclusion of the long-bootlegged (and simply long at a lumbering 18 minutes) "Ordinary People," that's not quite true: it's a modest collection of stray songs and new tunes, pieced together in a fashion similar to 1989's Freedom, which in fact is where the 1977 "Too Far Gone" was finally unveiled.
Indeed, Chrome Dreams II shares more similarities to Freedom than the original Chrome Dreams -- so much so that it's a mystery why it's dubbed as a sequel, but it's a mystery not worth pondering, as there are few clues to their correlation, and even if a definitive answer to their kinship could be dredged up, it wouldn't illuminate the 2007 album, which is merely a good Neil Young album. Perhaps a little more than good, actually, as this has a shagginess and tattered heart that's been missing from his work for a long time, as he's spent a good chunk of the past 15 years pursuing conceptual works, ranging from thematic concept albums (Living with War, Greendale) to musical genre exercises (Are You Passionate?, Prairie Wind). Here Neil dabbles in all his signatures, starting the album with the sweet country corn of "Beautiful Bluebird," then careening to the mildly menacing minor-key groove "Boxcar" before he gets to the light, almost bouncy soul-pop of "The Believer" (complete with call-and-response backing vocals), the Crazy Horse mysticism of "Spirit Road," the lazy loping country of "Every After," and the elongated guitar workout of "No Hidden Path." He even gets way out with "The Way," singing with a children's choir, a stab at innocence that's cheerfully at odds with the sludgy "Dirty Old Man," an unexpected revival of the boneheaded off-color jokes of "Welfare Mothers," and then, of course, there's the album's centerpiece, "Ordinary People," a winding epic recorded with the Bluenotes in 1988 that's dated in its splashy production (and perhaps its blaring horns, since Neil largely abandoned the Bluenotes after This Note's for You), yet it sounds immediate and gripping. It's the kind of song to build an album upon, which is precisely what Neil has done with Chrome Dreams II, using it as an excuse to round up other songs with no home. This doesn't make for an album that holds together thematically the way other latter-day Neil albums do, but its mess is endearing, recalling how charmingly ragged albums like After the Gold Rush, Tonight's the Night, Rust Never Sleeps, and Freedom are, even if Chrome Dreams II never manages to soar as high as those classics.
What: Neil YoungWhere Nokia LiveWhen: last fridayWhy: because i love himPositives: crystal clear sound and quirky set listnegatives: venue is sterile and sightlines are horribleHightlights: "everybody knows this is nowhere", "oh lonesome me" and "love is a rose"lowlights: the brutal 20 minute version of Chrome Dream's "no hidden Path"Verdict: poor. this was as bland and by the numbers as i have...
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I’ve heard “Chrome Dreams II” now, and I’m broadly struggling to see its connection to the first mythical set. In some ways, it’s a kind of reverse: if “Chrome Dreams” was a collection of great Neil songs that were subsequently dispersed across various disparate albums, “Chrome Dreams II” in part seems to be a collection of disparate, mainly great Neil songs that have been gather
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The Ultimate "People" opus. I came across the below quoted blog entry yesterday. Take note of the date. It was published long before Neil decided to finally release this tune on Chrome Dreams II. What occurs to me is how much this song's relevance remains intact. Subject: The Extraordinary "Ordinary People" Date: Tue, 1 Aug 1995 22:01:12 -0400 (EDT) From: thrasher@cais.cais...
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According to Young, "It's an album with a form based on some of my original recordings, with a large variety of songs, rather than one specific type of song. Where Living with War and Everybody's Rockin' were albums focused on one subject or style, Chrome Dreams II is more like After the Gold Rush or Freedom, with different types of songs working together to form a feeling. Now that radio fo...
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This is an epic track off Neil Young's new album, Chrome Dreams II, which is due out Oct. 16.Chrome Dreams II cover art.
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What: Neil YoungWhere Nokia LiveWhen: last fridayWhy: because i love himPositives: crystal clear sound and quirky set listnegatives: venue is sterile and sightlines are horribleHightlights: "everybody knows this is nowhere", "oh lonesome me" and "love is a rose"lowlights: the brutal 20 minute version of Chrome Dream's "no hidden Path"Verdict: poor. this was as bland and by the numbers as i have...
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Follow the link below to listen to the epic 18 min."Ordinary People" from Neil Young's Chrome Dreams II due out late Octoberhttp://www.rollingstone.com/photos/gallery/16296997/fall_music_preview_2007_bruce_spr/photo/13/large/Sing-a-long!Ordinary PeopleTwo out of work models and a fashion slave try to dance away the Piccolo night.The bartender poured herself another drink, while two drunks were ...
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Check out four songs off Neil Young's upcoming album, Chrome Dreams II at this youtube channel:http://youtube.com/neilyoungchannelYou can hear:"The Way""Dirty Old Man""Spirit Road""The Believer"
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from "Slashdot":http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/12/0124246VERY interesting, especially in light of the new MOG---------------------------------------While the RIAA continues to sue people for p2p file sharing, the record labels have made an about-face and given their blessing to users sharing MP3s via the social networking site imeem.com. In May this year the site was being sued by...
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From:http://www.pcpa.com/events/event.php?run=1252Fans purchasing tickets to Neil Young will receive a copy of Neil's newalbum Chrome Dreams II. CD's will be shipped before the show so fanswill be able to hear Chrome Dreams II before Neil performs selectionslive! Ticket purchases of 3 tickets or less per transaction will receive1 copy of the CD. Persons purchasing 4 tickets per transaction will...
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Neil Young is the greatest and most prolific artist in American music over the last 40 years.In those 4 decades, it can be argued there are many points where he "peaked" in releasing or performing what can be considered his best work.Some will say it was way back with Buffalo Springfield doing "Mr. Soul"Others would point to his years With Crosby, Stills and Nash doing songs like "Ohio", "Helpl...
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Live Acoustic vversion of No Hidden Path from 10/27/07 Bridge School Benefit concert:No Hidden Path - Neil Young Live Acoustic
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AT, however old he may be, he still can mix it with the best and still has plenty of valid things to say-LONG MAY YOU RUN
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Neil Young's next album, Chrome Dreams II, will include a bonus disc at certain retail outlets with a live late '60s performance from "The Riverboat," a coffee house on Yorkville Avenue in Toronto where Young played solo shortly after the breakup of Buffalo Springfield, according to Young's "NY Times" site. The album is due out October 18."Let's see now, if 100,000 of my most faithful fans each...
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Neil Young says his upcoming, Chrome Dreams II, “focuses on the human condition.” The album will be released on Reprise Records on October 16th. New album said to be "positive and spiritual.""Some early listeners have said that this album is positive and spiritual,” Young said in a press release. “I like to think it focuses on the human condition. Like many of my recordings, this one draw
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I’ve heard “Chrome Dreams II” now, and I’m broadly struggling to see its connection to the first mythical set. In some ways, it’s a kind of reverse: if “Chrome Dreams” was a collection of great Neil songs that were subsequently dispersed across various disparate albums, “Chrome Dreams II” in part seems to be a collection of disparate, mainly great Neil songs that have been gather
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Beautiful Bluebird |
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| 2 Boxcar |
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| 3 Ordinary People |
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| 4 Shining Light |
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| 5 The Believer |
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| 6 Spirit Road |
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| 7 Dirty Old Man |
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| 8 Ever After |
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| 9 No Hidden Path |
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| 10 The Way |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Chrome Dreams II")
