2007 studio album by Neil Young
Chrome Dreams II is the 28th studio album by Canadian-American musician
Neil Young . The album was released on October 23, 2007 as a double LP and as a single CD. The album name references
Chrome Dreams , a legendary Neil Young album from 1977 that had originally been scheduled for release but was shelved in favor of
American Stars 'N Bars .
[11]
The album debuted on the U.S.
Billboard 200 chart at number 11, selling about 54,000 copies in its first week.
[12] In addition, the song "No Hidden Path" was nominated for a
Grammy Award for
Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance at the
51st Grammy Awards , 2009.
[13]
Writing
The album features a mix of different types of songs featuring different musical styles and lengths. 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 formats are not as influential as they once were, it's easier to release an album that crosses all formats with a message that runs through the whole thing, regardless of the type of song or sound. Some early listeners have said that this album is positive and spiritual. I like to think it focuses on the human condition. Like many of my recordings, this one draws on earlier material here and there. I used to do that a lot back in the day. Some songs, like "Ordinary People" need to wait for the right time. I think now is the right time for that song and it lives well with the new songs I have written in the past few months. I had a blast making this music.
[14]
The first three songs on Chrome Dreams II date from the 1980s. "Beautiful Bluebird" was first recorded in 1985
[15] during sessions for
Old Ways .
[16] "Boxcar" had been previously recorded for Freedom
[17]
[18] and
Ragged Glory , but was ultimately left off both albums. Both songs appear on Chrome Dreams II as new recordings.
The 18 minute "Ordinary People" was recorded in July 1988 during initial sessions for the Freedom album.
[19] It features the backing musicians from Young's
Bluenotes tour.
[20] The song was released as the album's first single.
[21]
According to a 2020 post on his Neil Young Archives website, the lyrics to "Dirty Old Man" explore "the ugliest parts of alcoholism. I really loathe what it does to people."
The epic "No Hidden Path" was inspired by long walks on Young's ranch. He explains in a 2019 post to his website that it's "about the forest on Broken Arrow where I used to walk regularly." The song features as the centerpiece of the 2009
Jonathan Demme film
Neil Young Trunk Show .
Recording
Chrome Dreams II was produced by The Volume Dealers (Neil Young &
Niko Bolas ), and features the ensemble of
Crazy Horse drummer
Ralph Molina , pedal steel guitarist and Dobro player
Ben Keith (
Harvest ,
Comes A Time ,
Harvest Moon ) and bassist
Rick Rosas (
Freedom ,
Living With War ,
This Note's for You ). A horn section, The Blue Note Horns, appear on one track, "Ordinary People," while the
Young People’s Chorus of New York City appear on "The Way." Most of the recording was done live with few overdubs at Feelgood's Garage studio near Redwood City, California, with two vintage gas pumps out front and vintage studio gear inside.
[22]
Track listing
Title 1. "Beautiful Bluebird" 4:27 2. "Boxcar" 2:44 3. "Ordinary People" 18:13 4. "Shining Light" 4:43 5. "The Believer" 2:39 6. "Spirit Road" 6:32 7. "Dirty Old Man" 3:17 8. "Ever After" 3:32 9. "No Hidden Path" 14:31 10. "The Way" 5:15
Personnel
Primary musicians
Neil Young –
acoustic &
electric guitars ,
banjo ,
harmonica ,
grand piano ,
pump organ ,
Hammond B-3 organ ,
vibes ,
percussion ,
vocal
Ben Keith –
pedal steel guitar ,
lap slide guitar ,
Dobro , electric guitar, Hammond B-3 organ, vocal
Rick Rosas –
bass guitar , vocal
Ralph Molina –
drums , percussion, vocal
Musicians for "Ordinary People"
Background singers
The Wyatt Earps – Ben Keith, Ralph Molina, Neil Young
The Jane Wyatts – Nancy Hall, Annie Stocking,
Pegi Young
The Dirty Old Men – Larry Cragg, Ben Keith, Ralph Molina, Rick Rosas, Neil Young
"The Way" choir
The Young People’s Chorus of New York City
Choristers
Rebecca Shaw
Vera Kahn
Moraima Avalos
William Cabiniss
Che Elliott
Rosa Loveszy
Christina Lu
Jamal Marcelin
Lluvia Perez
Owen Smith
Julie Urena
Emily Viola
Reginald Wilson
Catherine McGough
Helen Parzick
Production
Recorded at- Feelgood's Garage (except Ordinary People and The Way choir session)
Recorded and mixed by- Niko Bolas
Assisting Engineers- John Hausmann, Rob Clark
L.A. Johnson- in studio
Will Mitchell- in studio sound
Larry Cragg- guitar tech
Harry Sitam- senior technical engineer
Digital editing- Rob Clark
Analog-Digital transfers by John Nowland
Mastered by Tim Mulligan
Ordinary People
Recorded at Plywood ANALOG
Recorded and mixed by- Niko Bolas
Assistant Engineers- Brent Walton, Tim McColm
Digital editing- Tim Mulligan
Analog-Digital transfers by John Nowland
Mastered by Tim Mulligan
The Way- choir session
Recorded at Avatar Studios, New York City
Recorded by- Niko Bolas
Assistant engineer- Colin Suzuki
2nd assistant engineer- Eric Pfeifer
Choir arrangements by Darrell Brown & Neil Young
Elliot Roberts- direction
Bonnie Levetin- Lookout Management
DVD Production
Directed By Bernard Shakey
Produced By L.A. Johnson
Executive Producer Elliot Rabinowitz
Associate Producer Will Mitchell
Edited by Toshi Onuki, Mike Derrosset
DVD Art Direction- Toshi Onuki
DVD Authoring and Menus Design- Rich Winter
Post Production at Total Media Group
Principle Images by Larry Cragg
Additional Images by Will Mitchell, L. A. Johnson and Anthony Crawford
Charts
See also
References
^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (2007-10-23).
"Chrome Dreams II – Neil Young | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards" . AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-06-03 .
^ Alexis Petridis.
"CD: Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II | Music | The Guardian" . Music.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-06-03 .
^ Tim Adams.
"CD: Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II/Bruce Springsteen, Magic | Music | The Guardian" . Music.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-06-03 .
^
"Neil Young: Chrome Dreams II review | CD reviews | Music – Times Online" . Archived from
the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved 2015-06-03 .
^
"Neil Young: Chrome Dreams II | Album Reviews" . Pitchfork. 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2015-06-03 .
^
"Album: Neil Young – Independent Online Edition > Reviews" . Archived from
the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved 2015-06-04 .
^ Christgau, Robert (2007-11-01).
"Neil Young Chrome Dreams II Album Review" . Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-06-03 .
^ NME, 10/27/2007, p.41
^ Weiss, Dan (2008-01-18).
"Neil Young, 'Chrome Dreams II' (Reprise)" . SPIN. Retrieved 2015-06-03 .
^
"Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II – Review – Uncut.co.uk" . Archived from
the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved 2015-06-03 .
^
"Neil Young Times" . Neilyoung.com. Archived from
the original on 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2015-06-03 .
^ Hasty, Katie (2007-10-31).
"Underwood Leads Three Country Debuts Onto Chart" . Billboard.com. Retrieved 2007-11-28 .
^ Weiss, Dan (2009-02-06).
"It's Not Your Parents' Grammy Awards — Or Is It?" . SPIN. Retrieved 2015-06-03 .
^
"New Neil Young Album: "Chrome Dreams II" Set for Release October 16th" . Warner Bros. Records. Retrieved 2007-11-28 . [
dead link ]
^
"Neil Young: Chrome Dreams II review | CD reviews | Music – Times Online" . Archived from
the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved 2015-06-03 .
^ Petridis, Alexis (2007-10-12).
"Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II" . The Guardian .
ISSN
0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-02-06 .
^
"Neil Young: Chrome Dreams II review | CD reviews | Music – Times Online" . Archived from
the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved 2015-06-03 .
^ Petridis, Alexis (2007-10-12).
"Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II" . The Guardian .
ISSN
0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-02-06 .
^
"Neil Young Archives" . neilyoungarchives.com . Retrieved 2024-02-06 .
^ Durchholz, Daniel, and Gary Graff. 2012. Neil Young: Long May You Run: The Illustrated History. Minneapolis, Mn: Voyageur Press.
^
"Ordinary People to Radio" . NY Times. Archived from
the original on 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2007-11-28 .
^
"Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II. and Live Archives coming up – Ordinary People" . Bad News Beat. Retrieved 2007-11-28 .
^
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Billboard . Retrieved October 29, 2022.
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Neil Young: Chrome Dreams II" (in Finnish).
Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland . Retrieved October 29, 2022.
^
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^
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GfK Entertainment Charts . Retrieved October 29, 2022.
^
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^
"Italiancharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II" . Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
^
"Norwegiancharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II" . Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
^
"Spanishcharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II" . Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
^
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^
"Swisscharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II" . Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
^
"Official Albums Chart Top 100" .
Official Charts Company . Retrieved October 29, 2022.
^
"Neil Young Chart History (Billboard 200)" .
Billboard . Retrieved October 29, 2022.
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