What we have here is easily Mr. Young's finest work in years, one that erases the memory of his well-intentioned but anemic 2006 protest album, Living with War. Recorded using analog gear, with Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina, pedal steel guitarist Ben Keith, and Rick Rosas on bass, CD2 manages to sound both home-grown and experimental. It's the work of an artist still not afraid to take chances, who also knows what his strengths are and doesn't stray too far from them. Trainspotters will note that three of the ten songs were written but never released before, while we all might puzzle over the title. Chrome Dreams is the name of an unreleased album from 1977. So, why is this Chrome Dreams II? Is it a similar case to 1992's Harvest Moon, when Young went back to the virtual land of his 1972 hit Harvest to write more material in that vein? As the original was reportedly lost in a fire, we may never know. Chrome Dreams II offers up gorgeous, plaintive laments and country-tinged numbers sung in that achy breaky, heart-on-sleeve voice of Young's, as well as ragged barn-storming rockers delivered with a growl. There's even an 18-minute dirge that excitedly mixes R&B back-up horns with searing electric guitar leads! Wow. --Mike McGonigal
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
good collection of songs:
I'm not a Neil Young completist by any stretch but when I first put this CD on I felt the urge to email a friend to tell him I'd discovered the best Neil album since "Rust Never Sleeps". But at that point I'd only listened to the first three songs and I thought it might be prudent to wait til I'd heard the entire album. Naturally the CD is front-loaded with the best songs but this is still a good album. Definitely better than "Sleeps With Angels", and for my taste preferable to "Prairie Wind" or... more info
Dave:
Excellent mix of slow classic Young tunes with Crazy Horse type rockers.
Nothing more to say.
Good CD, Neil... not your best, but worth $10.:
If you like Neil, and have $10 to spare, this might be worth your money. Check it out!
NOT A BAD BAG OF LEFTOVERS... (4 and a HALF):
I hadn't really got on board with Neil Young for a number of years before his Living With War album. I was pretty pumped up when that one came out, and I think it enabled me to get into the other one released within the same year Prairie Wind, which may have been the better (yet softer) of the two.
The third release in line, was this one: Chrome Dreams II. Which takes it's name, somewhat mockingly from an unreleased 1977 album, Chrome Dreams. That story of that album being lost in a fire, is... more info
