Dreams Deux

Thank goodness that Neil Young has released a new studio album. Young fans can now forget that 2006's Living With War ever existed. I, like a lot of fans and critics, was not entirely impressed by the album. Living With War was a concept album (the concept was basically bashing the Bush Administration's actions involving war, global warming, and other failings), and while the message was quite strong, most of the tracks were repetitive, and many of them fell short.

Now, in 2007, Neil Young has recorded another studio album, titled Chrome Dreams II. The album is a sequel to the Young album Chrome Dreams that was recorded in 1977, but was never released. The album does not has as much drive or direction as Living With War, but has a more general theme to it, such as his 1970 album After the Gold Rush.

The album starts off with a nice harmonica/guitar ballad in "Beautiful Bluebird", and it is very reminiscent of his song "Sail Away" from Rust Never Sleeps. According to his website, the first three tracks on the album, "Beautiful Bluebird", "Boxcar", and "Ordinary People" were all recorded in the 80's and scrapped from various albums. All of them do form a nice beginning to the album. The most effective tracks on the album are also the longest ones, with "Ordinary People" clocking in at 18:12, and "No Hidden Path" running at 14:33. "Ordinary People" is a song that has been long known by Young's die-hard fans, since it has been performed live a few times, despite never being recorded on a studio album. The track is a song that continuously tells the mishaps and misfortunes of various working and middle class people, with strong backing horns and keyboards filling in between verses.

The album encompasses a wide variety of Young's talents. He touches on his rocking side with tracks such as "Dirty Old Man" and "Spirit Road". The final track on the album is similar to "Our House", from Young's days with CSNY, although the it doesn't quite reach the same highpoint. Young of course includes a few guitar/harmonica driven tracks with "Shining Light" and "The Believer".

Overall, Chrome Dreams II is a very good album. The album is sort of a remembrance of Young in the 80's, touching on albums such as Rust Never Sleepsand FreedomWhile it is more of an album for Young's fans, it is still worth purchasing next time you are at a record store.

Key Tracks

• "Beautiful Bluebird"


• "Ordinary People"


• "No Hidden Path"