Music

By Tom Breihan

Neil Young released a whole lot of music in the ‘70s, and he could’ve released more. In 1977, Young and Crazy Horse came out with their LP American Stars ’N Bars. Young also had another LP ready to go, and it never came out. The fabled solo album Chrome Dreams has built up a reputation, over the years, as one of history’s great lost albums. Neil Young has had a few of those, and he’s lately been giving those records their long-delayed releases as part of his Neil Young Archives series. Now, finally, Chrome Dreams will get a release of its own.

Chrome Dreams built its reputation thanks to a bootlegged acetate record that’s been handed down, in different forms, over the decades. Young eventually released most of the songs that would’ve been on Chrome Dreams — including the classics “Pocahontas,” “Powderfinger,” and “Sedan Delivery,” all of which would eventually appear on Rust Never Sleeps. But some of those songs have never come out in any form.

This morning, Young announced that Chrome Dreams is coming out next month, with cover art from Ronnie Wood. Young recorded all 12 tracks between 1974 and 1976, and he’s just shared the original version of “Sedan Delivery,” which has lyrics that weren’t on the version that came out on Rust Never Sleeps. (That version was already on YouTube, in bootlegged form, but this is the authorized one.) Below, listen to that version of “Sedan Delivery,” and check out the Chrome Dreams tracklist, along with recording dates and details on the song-versions that’ll appear.

TRACKLIST: 01 “Pocahontas” (August 11, 1976) 02 “Will To Love” (December 3, 1976 03 “Star Of Bethlehem” (December 13, 1974 04 “Like A Hurricane” (November 29, 1975 05 “Too Far Gone (September 5, 1975) 06 “Hold Back the Tears” (February 6, 1977) 07 “Homegrown” (November 19, 1975) 08 “Captain Kennedy” (August 11, 1976) 09 “Stringman” (March 31, 1976) 10 “Sedan Delivery” (May 22, 1975) 11 “Powderfinger” (August 11, 1976) 12 “Look Out For My Love” (January 20, 1976)

Here’s what the press release says about the Chrome Dreams versions:

“Powderfinger” is the early/first solo version, the original.

“Pocahontas” is the same version that first appeared on Rust Never Sleeps, but without the overdubs.

“Sedan Delivery” and “Hold Back the Tears” are originals with lyrics that were not included in later released versions. Both are very different versions than previously released.

“Stringman,” is another original performance, included on the Odeon/Budokan disc in Archives Vol. II; prior to that, the song had only appeared on Young’s Unplugged album in a later version, not the original.

Chrome Dreams is out 8/11 on Reprise. Neil Young’s solo-acoustic West Coast tour kicks off tonight in Los Angeles. source