Chrome Dreams II

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]

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
Length66:19
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]

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]

Production

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.[14]

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.[15]

The first three songs of Chrome Dreams II date from the 1980s. "Beautiful Bluebird" was first recorded for the original version of Old Ways that was shelved by Geffen Records; "Boxcar" was a track on the unreleased Times Square album, which was scrapped in favor of the more commercially viable Freedom; and "Ordinary People," which was recorded in summer 1988 for what became the Freedom album, was highly regarded as one of Young's greatest unreleased songs, and was often played live during the "Sponsored By Nobody" tour with The Bluenotes to promote the album. This was the album's first single, and was sent to radio on Monday, September 10. The length of this track (clocking in at 18:13) makes it hard to program into today's limited radio playlists, so it was initially heard on radio web sites.[16]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Beautiful Bluebird"4:27
2."Boxcar"2:44
3."Ordinary People"18:12
4."Shining Light"4:43
5."The Believer"2:38
6."Spirit Road"6:32
7."Dirty Old Man"3:17
8."Ever After"3:31
9."No Hidden Path"14:31
10."The Way"5:14

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

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". Web.archive.org. 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". Web.archive.org. 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". Web.archive.org. 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. "Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II. and Live Archives coming up – Ordinary People". Bad News Beat. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  15. "New Neil Young Album: "Chrome Dreams II" Set for Release October 16th". Warner Bros. Records. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  16. "Ordinary People to Radio". NY Times. Archived from the original on 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
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