Neil Young – Chrome Dreams – Album Review
by Killian Laher

Yet another one from the vast vaults of Neil Young from his prolific mid-seventies era.  He had clearly written so much material at this time it was impossible to put it all out.  In 1977 he had planned the release of Chrome Dreams only to pull it at the last minute.  Instead, some of the material came out on that year’s American Stars ‘n’ Bars, while others emerged on subsequent albums.  In 2007, Young released Chrome Dreams II, a classic Neil Young move, the sequel to an album that never came out.

It opens with Pocahontas, a track very familiar to Neil Young fans.  This version is very similar to the one found on Rust Never Sleeps but is completely solo and acoustic with no backing vocals or electric guitar.  Will To Love is one of Young’s most extraordinary recordings.  The basic track was done as one take, playing acoustic guitar by a fireside, then Young added electric guitar and keyboard afterwards.  This spooky track is unlike almost everything else he’s done, and contains a very knowing lyric: “Sometimes I ramble on and on and repeat myself till all my friends are gone”.  It’s a nighttime song, eerie and brilliant.

Star of Bethlehem is a nice bit of acoustic balladry with Emmylou Harris on backing vocal, while the most well-known song here, Like A Hurricane, is one of the great Nejl Young songs, chiefly for some incendiary guitar work, and a great descending guitar line.  The acoustic version of Too Far Gone is pretty good, (an electric version appeared on Freedom in 1989), with a quite fetching mandolin.  Also resuscitated here is Hold Back The Tears.  What was a dreary country ballad on American Stars ‘n’ Bars is rendered here as an acoustic ballad and represents something of an improvement.  Captain Kennedy did not get officially released till 1980, and this acoustic ballad was always one of the better tracks on Hawks & Doves.

The one misstep is arguably the plodding Sedan Delivery (off of Rust Never Sleeps).  On the other hand, Stringman is a high-quality piano ballad, and we also get a gorgeous acoustic version of Powderfinger, though it was equally gorgeous on the recent archival release Hitchhiker.  Look Out for My Love also makes an appearance here (before ending up on Comes A Time) but the intricate guitar makes it worth the admission, along with Crazy Horse doing their best Crosby Stills and Nash harmonies.

These songs are essential for Neil Young fans to own, and many of them will already own them, albeit in different forms.  But it’s hard to argue that this isn’t one of Young’s strongest albums.  Had it been released as originally planned in 1977 it would certainly be canonised by now.

Hold Back The Tears