Chrome Dreams
Studio album by
Neil Young
ReleasedAugust 11, 2023
RecordedDecember 13, 1974 – February 6, 1977
Genre
Length50:28
Label
Neil Young chronology
World Record
(2022) 		Chrome Dreams
(2023) 		Odeon Budokan
(2023)

Chrome Dreams is the 44th album by Neil Young. It was first compiled as an acetate for consideration as an album for release in 1977. A copy of the acetate widely circulated as a bootleg in the decades prior to its release. The album was officially released on August 11, 2023 to universal acclaim from critics.

Recording history

First compiled in spring 1977, Chrome Dreams is a showcase of songs that Young had recorded over the previous two years. It compiles songs from several different sessions with various collaborators and backing musicians. The earliest recording, "Star of Bethlehem", was recorded at the end of 1974 and intended to be the closing track of Homegrown, an abandoned album eventually released in 2020. "Sedan Delivery", recorded during the Zuma sessions, has a slower pace than the Rust Never Sleeps take and contains an additional verse. "Too Far Gone", "Homegrown", "Like a Hurricane", "Look Out for My Love" were all recorded at various sessions at Young's Broken Arrow Ranch with Crazy Horse during the fall and winter after the release of Zuma and before the supporting tour of Europe and Japan in the Spring of 1976. "Too Far Gone" was not released until 1989's Freedom. It is presented on Chrome Dreams with Crazy Horse's Frank "Poncho" Sampedro accompanying Young on a 1917 mandolin. "Stringman", a piano ballad, was (according to Shakey) written for Jack Nitzsche and is presented as a performance from Young's 1976 European tour with slight studio overdubs. Eighteen years later Young revived it for his Unplugged performance. "Powderfinger", "Pocahontas", and "Captain Kennedy" all date from the August 1976 session featured on the 2017 album Hitchhiker. "Pocahontas" is the same version heard on Rust Never Sleeps without overdubs. "Will to Love" has Young performing before a fireplace at his ranch. He later overdubbed additional instrumentation. The acoustic solo performance of "Hold Back the Tears" has additional lyrics not found on the band recording on American Stars 'n Bars.[1]

Album history

According to Jimmy McDonough's Shakey: Neil Young's Biography, Chrome Dreams was first compiled onto an acetate in 1977.[2] A copy of the acetate was subsequently copied and widely circulated by bootleggers in the 1990s.[3] The album takes its name from a sketch David Briggs made on a studio tape reel. Young said, "What Chrome Dreams really was, was a sketch that [David] Briggs drew of a grille and front of a '55 Chrysler, and if you turned it on its end, it was this beautiful chick...I called it Chrome Dreams."[2]

The 2023 official release of Chrome Dreams has artwork almost identical to the above description, but is credited to musician Ronnie Wood.

Writing in The Guardian, Alexis Petridis opined that the album "could have been Young's strongest album of the 70s".[4]

On October 23, 2007, Neil Young released a new album titled Chrome Dreams II.[5]

On June 30, 2023, Young announced that he would finally release Chrome Dreams on August 11.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic93/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Clash8/10[9]
Mojo[10]
Pitchfork8.5/10[11]
Uncut[12]

Chrome Dreams received a score of 94 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on five critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[7] Glide Magazine's Doug Collette wrote that "listening to this single collection of so many tracks familiar from the Canadian rock icon's albums in the mid-to-late Seventies, it's hard not to agree with what might otherwise sound like hyperbole: this is one of, if not the finest effort of the great iconoclast's career".[13]

Pitchfork named the album "Best New Reissue", with Stephen Thomas Erlewine stating that "as familiar as the material may be, its ragged, magical charm is greater than the sum of its parts" and it "offers a distinctly different experience than any other Young album from the late 1970s".[11] Fred Thomas of AllMusic felt that "Young devotees are probably already aware of the legacy and niche cultural importance of Chrome Dreams and will appreciate the specifics of the listening experience, even if the songs have become less obscured since they were first put to tape".[8]

Rob Mitchum of Uncut described it as "a dozen of Young's best songs, powerful no matter how many times they've been reshuffled since. But in reality, it risks getting lost in the shotgun spray of Young's self-curation".[12]

Track listing

  1. "Pocahontas" (3:23)
    • Neil Young – guitar, vocal
    • Recorded at Indigo Ranch Recording Studio, Malibu, 8/11/1976 for Hitchhiker.
    • Recording first released with additional overdubs on Rust Never Sleeps in 1979.
  2. "Will to Love" (7:11)
    • Neil Young – guitars, vocal, organ, piano, vibraphone, drums
    • Recorded at Broken Arrow Ranch, 4/25/1976 with overdubs at Indigo Ranch Recording Studio, 12/3/1976.
    • Recording first released on American Stars 'n Bars in 1977.
  3. "Star of Bethlehem" (2:43)
    • Neil Young – guitar, vocal, harmonica; Ben Keith – dobro, vocal; Tim Drummond – bass; Karl T. Himmel – drums; Emmylou Harris – vocal
    • Recorded at Quadrafonic Sound Studios, Nashville, 12/13/1974 for Homegrown.
    • Recording first released on American Stars 'n Bars in 1977.
  4. "Like a Hurricane" (8:21)
    • Neil Young – guitar, vocal; Frank “Poncho” Sampedro – Stringman, vocals; Billy Talbot – bass; Ralph Molina – drums, vocal
    • Recorded at Broken Arrow Ranch, 11/29/1975 with vocal overdub at Village Recorders, Los Angeles, 1/15/1976.
    • Recording first released on American Stars 'n Bars in 1977.
  5. "Too Far Gone" (2:44)
  6. "Hold Back the Tears" (5:15)
    • Neil Young – guitar, keyboard, percussion, vocal
    • Recorded at Indigo Ranch Recording Studio, Malibu, 2/6/1977.
    • Recording previously unreleased.
    • Song first appeared on American Stars 'n Bars in 1977.
  7. "Homegrown" (2:23)
    • Neil Young – guitar, vocal; Frank “Poncho” Sampedro – guitar, vocals; Billy Talbot – bass; Ralph Molina – drums, vocal
    • Recorded at Broken Arrow Ranch, 11/19/1975.
    • Recording first released on American Stars 'n Bars in 1977.
  8. "Captain Kennedy" (2:54)
    • Neil Young – guitar, vocal
    • Recorded at Indigo Ranch Recording Studio, Malibu, 8/11/1976 for Hitchhiker.
    • Recording first appeared on Hawks & Doves in 1980.
  9. "Stringman" (3:32)
    • Neil Young – piano, guitar, vocal
    • Recorded at Hammersmith Apollo, London, 3/31/1976 with overdubs at CBS Studios, London, 4/1/1976.
    • Recording first released on Neil Young Archives Volume II: 1972–1976 in 2020.
    • Song first appeared on Unplugged in 1993.
  10. "Sedan Delivery" (5:21)
    • Neil Young – guitar, vocal; Frank “Poncho” Sampedro – guitar; Billy Talbot – bass, vocal; Ralph Molina – drums, vocal
    • Recorded at house, Point Dume, CA, 5/22/1975 for Zuma.
    • Recording previously unreleased
    • Song first appeared on Rust Never Sleeps in 1979.
  11. "Powderfinger" (3:23)
    • Neil Young – guitar, vocal
    • Recorded at Indigo Ranch Recording Studio, Malibu, 8/11/1976 for Hitchhiker.
    • Recording first released on Hitchhiker in 2017.
    • Song first released on Rust Never Sleeps in 1979.
  12. "Look Out for My Love" (4:01)
    • Neil Young – guitar, vocal; Frank “Poncho” Sampedro – guitar; Billy Talbot – bass, vocal; Ralph Molina – drums, vocal
    • Recorded at Broken Arrow Ranch, 1/20/1976 with overdubs at CBS Studios, London, 4/1/1976.
    • Recording first released on Comes a Time in 1978.

Charts

Chart performance for Chrome Dreams
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 14
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 26
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 25
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 33
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[18] 42
French Albums (SNEP)[19] 57
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 4
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[21] 14
Italian Albums (FIMI)[22] 96
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[23] 32
Scottish Albums (OCC)[24] 7
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[25] 57
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[26] 60
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 56
US Billboard 200[29] 186

References

  1. ^ "Chrome Dreams acetate". Sidestreet Publishing Company. 1992–2004. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  2. ^ a b McDonough, Jim (2002). Shakey: Neil Young's Biography. Jonathan Cape. ISBN 978-0-224-06914-4.
  3. ^ "Neil Young – Chrome Dreams (Rust Edition) (review)". geetarz.org. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
  4. ^ Alexis Petridis (October 2007). "Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
  5. ^ Andy Greene (August 2007). "Neil Young to Release Sequel to Unreleased 1977 Album". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 3, 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2008.
  6. ^ Kreps, Daniel (June 30, 2023). "Neil Young Is Finally Releasing His Long-Lost Album Chrome Dreams". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Chrome Dreams by Neil Young Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Thomas, Fred. "Neil Young – Chrome Dreams Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  9. ^ Roseblade, Nick (August 10, 2023). "Neil Young – Chrome Dreams". Clash. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  10. ^ Simmons, Sylvie (October 2023). "Neil Young: Chrome Dreams". Mojo. p. 97.
  11. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (August 16, 2023). "Neil Young: Chrome Dreams Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Mitchum, Rob (August 7, 2023). "Neil Young – Chrome Dreams". Uncut. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  13. ^ Collette, Doug (August 9, 2023). "Neil Young's Chrome Dreams Offers Mid-'70s Gems As Originally Intended (Album Review)". Glide Magazine. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  14. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  16. ^ "Ultratop.be – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  18. ^ "Neil Young: Chrome Dreams" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  19. ^ "Lescharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  21. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2023. 33. hét". MAHASZ. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  22. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  23. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  24. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  25. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  26. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  27. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  28. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  29. ^ "Neil Young Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
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