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''.

The album debuted on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart at number 11, selling about 54,000 copies in its first week. 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.

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.

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.

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 often played live during the "Sponsored by Nobody" tour with the Bluenotes to promote the album ''This Note's for You''. 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.

Track listing

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"

* Neil Young – electric guitar, vocal
* Joe Canuck – vocal
* Frank "Poncho" Sampedro – guitar
* Rick Rosas – bass guitar
* Chad Cromwell – drums
* Ben Keith – alto saxophone
* Steve Lawrence – tenor saxophone, keyboards
* Larry Cragg – baritone saxophone
* Claude Cailliet – trombone
* John Fumo – trumpet
* Tom Bray – trumpet (solo)

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
* Francisco J. Núñez, Artistic Director/Founder
* Elizabeth Núñez, Conductor

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

* Chrome Dreams

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chrome Dreams Ii
Neil Young albums
2007 albums
Reprise Records albums
Albums produced by Neil Young
Albums produced by Niko Bolas
Sequel albums