Chrome Dreams II
Studio album by
Neil Young
ReleasedOctober 23, 2007
RecordedMay–July 2007 (except "Ordinary People" – July 26, 1988) at Broken Arrow Ranch
GenreHeartland rock, country rock, Americana, hard rock
Length65:53
LabelReprise
ProducerNeil Young & Niko Bolas (as "The Volume Dealers")
Neil Young chronology
Live at Massey Hall 1971
(2007)		 Chrome Dreams II
(2007)		 Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968
(2008)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Guardian[2]
The Observer[3]
The Times[4]
Pitchfork Media(5.6/10)[5]
The Independent[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
NME(7/10)[8]
Spin [9]
Uncut[10]

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

No.TitleLength
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

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

Chart performance for Chrome Dreams II
Chart (2007) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[23] 38
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[24] 27
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 40
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27] 8
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[28] 20
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[29] 14
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[30] 32
French Albums (SNEP)[31] 9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32] 13
Irish Albums (IRMA)[33] 15
Italian Albums (FIMI)[34] 28
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[35] 5
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[36] 80
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 13
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[38] 72
UK Albums (OCC)[39] 14
US Billboard 200[40] 11

See also

References

  1. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (2007-10-23). "Chrome Dreams II – Neil Young | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  2. ↑ Alexis Petridis. "CD: Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II | Music | The Guardian". Music.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  3. ↑ Tim Adams. "CD: Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II/Bruce Springsteen, Magic | Music | The Guardian". Music.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  4. ↑ "Neil Young: Chrome Dreams II review | CD reviews | Music – Times Online". Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  5. ↑ "Neil Young: Chrome Dreams II | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  6. ↑ "Album: Neil Young – Independent Online Edition > Reviews". Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  7. ↑ Christgau, Robert (2007-11-01). "Neil Young Chrome Dreams II Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  8. ↑ NME, 10/27/2007, p.41
  9. ↑ Weiss, Dan (2008-01-18). "Neil Young, 'Chrome Dreams II' (Reprise)". SPIN. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  10. ↑ "Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II – Review – Uncut.co.uk". Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  11. ↑ "Neil Young Times". Neilyoung.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  12. ↑ Hasty, Katie (2007-10-31). "Underwood Leads Three Country Debuts Onto Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  13. ↑ Weiss, Dan (2009-02-06). "It's Not Your Parents' Grammy Awards — Or Is It?". SPIN. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  14. ↑ "New Neil Young Album: "Chrome Dreams II" Set for Release October 16th". Warner Bros. Records. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  15. ↑ "Neil Young: Chrome Dreams II review | CD reviews | Music – Times Online". Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  16. ↑ Petridis, Alexis. Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II. The Guardian, October 12, 2007, sec. Music. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/oct/12/popandrock.shopping.
  17. ↑ "Neil Young: Chrome Dreams II review | CD reviews | Music – Times Online". Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  18. ↑ Petridis, Alexis. Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II. The Guardian, October 12, 2007, sec. Music. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/oct/12/popandrock.shopping.
  19. ↑ "Ordinary People" info card. Neil Young Archives. https://neilyoungarchives.com/info-card?search=true&track=t1988_0726_01
  20. ↑ Durchholz, Daniel, and Gary Graff. 2012. Neil Young: Long May You Run: The Illustrated History. Minneapolis, Mn: Voyageur Press.
  21. ↑ "Ordinary People to Radio". NY Times. Archived from the original on 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  22. ↑ "Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II. and Live Archives coming up – Ordinary People". Bad News Beat. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  23. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Neil Young Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  28. ↑ "Danishcharts.dk – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Neil Young: Chrome Dreams II" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Neil Young". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  34. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  37. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  38. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  39. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  40. ↑ "Neil Young Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
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