If Neil Young’s Chrome Dreams wasn’t such an absolutely stellar piece of work, hearing the long-delayed album might bring an inevitable sense of anti-climax, much like the sensation that arose from the 2020 release of the similarly-postponed Homegrown.
But 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.
Still, it may awaken the prevailing notion that Young too often works too much on impulse. Yet pondering what may seem minor changes in lyrics and arrangements to an original like “Hold Back The Tears” only affirms meticulous attention to detail (if at times such reworks suggest a bit of overthinking). Considering the quality of the material in question, however, it’s only natural Young would want to perfect it, on both a track-by-track basis and as a continuum.
Chrome Dreams consists of a dozen cuts recorded between 1974 and 1977. Including some of Young’s most iconic compositions, like the virtual time-travels of “Pocahontas” and “Powderfinger,” not to mention the anthemic electricity of “Like A Hurricane,” hindsight compels a perception of this assemblage of originals as something of an unofficial Neil Young ‘Best of…’ compilation.
In addition to those numbers, first compiled in the spring of forty-five years ago, the LP is a showcase of material that Young had recorded in several different sessions, with various collaborators and backing musicians. The earliest fruit of such efforts is short and to the point (less than three minutes running time) Star of Bethlehem;” the winsome but thought-provoking tune was completed at the end of 1974 and was intended to be the closing track of Homegrown.
Considering how the deceptively lightweight, tongue-in-cheek title song to the latter LP so effectively balances the solemnity that otherwise pervades this LP, it’s a crucial entry into this compendium. Also recorded with Crazy Horse during 1975’s Zuma period is a somewhat tentative take on “Sedan Delivery,” featuring the band moving at a slower pace than the Rust Never Sleeps version (and containing an additional verse).
Meanwhile, the disarming charm of “Too Far Gone” would not see the light of day until 1989’s Freedom. This rendition finds The Horse’s Frank “Poncho” Sampedro accompanying Young on mandolin; juxtaposed with the high volume of the previous selection, the relative quiet during this interval is another indication of the superb pacing of Chrome Dreams.
Also appearing at just the right point within this fifty-some minute playing time, a piano ballad called “Stringman” is a concert performance from Young’s 1976 European tour adorned with slight studio overdubs (Neil would later revive it for his Unplugged performance in 1993). Eventually showing up the next decade on 1980’s Hawks & Doves, the reworked folk tune “Captain Kennedy” dates from the August 1976 solo stint that also begat Hitchhiker: the former Buffalo Springfielder has rarely sounded so vulnerable as on this pair of numbers.
Likewise, “Will to Love,” the standout from American Stars ‘n Bars. After Young taped himself performing an intimate take in front of a fireplace, he would later overdub additional instrumentation, appropriately including vibes to accentuate the warmth integral to the composition and the setting.
Peppering various albums of the mid-to-late Seventies, plus the ten-CD Archives Vol. II box set of 2020, these twelve cuts long circulated unofficially. Accordingly, this authorized release of Chrome Dreams represents Young’s latest effort at retooling his history to more accurately represent his original intentions for its music. With mastering by Tim Mulligan and Andrew Mendelson, the clarity of sound throughout mirrors his lucid approach to the project, in much the same way the cover art reflects Neil’s dual passions of audio and automobiles.
Whether or not the former Buffalo Springfielder’s ‘new’ vision runs contrary to his previous one–or that of fans conversant with all this material–matters less than the fact Neil Young remains open to taking the proverbial ‘journey through the past.’ Few if any of his peers are anywhere near so courageous, much less uncannily accurate in capturing the results of their moments of inspiration.
