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Neil Young - Chrome Dreams 1976

Posted By: micaus11
Neil Young - Chrome Dreams  1976

Neil Young - Chrome Dreams 1976
MP3 @ 192kbps | 75 MB | Scans
Genre:Rock

The actual unreleased studio album from Neil (not one of the compiled boots cashing in on the name) which he followed up last year , with Chrome Dreams II

Neil Young - Chrome Dreams  1976


From a fansite:

Perhaps it was the aborted tour with long-time bandmate Stephen Stills, or the scrapped CSNY
recording sessions that preceeded those ill-fated shows, or maybe it was the upcoming tour with
CRAZY HORSE, but late summer 1976 found Neil hold up at the ranch, sorting out his career
by choosing the final songs for his retrospective 3LP set, tentatively titled "Decade".

Scheduled for release in early November, test pressings were sent to reviewers & covers (for
in-store displays) were sent to record stores.

As November, and then December came and went, Neil fans and retailers were left wonderin'
rumors of a drug overdose were true, and if so, will Reprise cancel the dicey 3LP set in leau of
an easy-money greatest hits/"memorial album"?

With no word one way or the other, "Decade" displays came down & Christmas displays went
up. Neil would prove the rumors false 6 months later by finally releasing a new album -but to the
shock of retailers, it would only be one LP titled "American stars 'n bars", instead of the highly-
anticipated "Best of" 3LP they were expecting.

Unlike the unreleased "Homegrown", very little was known about any "Chrome Dreams"
LP (later known as"Ride My Llama"). First- mentioned in the Sept.9, 1976 Rolling Stone in
a blurb about a 10-date CRAZY HORSE tour

that's "…scheduled for November, just about when he'll release his next LP, planned as Chrome Dreams."
JohnnyRogan mentions the LP in his book as an early version of "American stars n bars" that "…had (been)
altered considerably …by the time it was released in June 1977." …and that was it; "Chrome Dreams" was
never mentioned in the press again & it was assumed to be just another pencil-sketched-songlist album.
Out of the blue, reports from Germany in July1992 claimed that the acetate of the legendary album had
surfaced. Initial "proof" came by way of xeroxed "test pressing data sheet" which provided more information
about "Chrome Dreams" than anyone had ever imagined. Unfortunately, the data sheet had been created by
the record dealer/Neil Young collector that "discovered" the acetate in 1992. The sheet's design was meant
to be both easy to read/understand, and a ridiculing joke aimed at "detailed-information-fanatic" collectors
–but nobody got the joke, and most collectors dismissed the acetate and any stories about this "unreleased
Chrome Dreams album" as fake. Their loss; detailed information about the unreleased/previously unknown
studio recordings was so impressive that even Joel Bernstein conceded to the accuracy of the information.

Photos of the labels proved that the acetate really did exist, and we all assumed that it was just a matter of time before a
bootleg CD would appear so we could finally hear this thing.


Sure enough, a year later the bootleg CD was released in Germany; unlike same/similar-titled CDs to follow, this first
bootleg CD is the original acetate, with a couple of (unlisted) "hidden" tracks at the end of the 12-song program.

Authenticity of the "album" remained a subjectfor debate untilsomemonthslaterwhen I acquired the actual acetate.
It's a bit noisier than the CD, but it sure sounds better.

Most-importantly, whatever this "album" was supposed to be called, this acetate is positively legitimate, as described in
this article and of immeasurable historical importance,period.

Made up mostly of songs recorded between September'75- November 1976 at Indigo Studios - Malibu Canyon, CA, the
album starts off with an "alternate" version of "Pocahontas".

This solo acoustic version is in fact the same take as on "Rust Never Sleeps" (July1979) –minus the overdubs.

"WillToLove"("Americanstars'nbars"),"Star0fBethlehem"

("Decade" October 1977) and "Like A Hurricane" ("stars'n bars")sound much brighter,though they're all released takes.

Side 1 ends with a studio version of "Too Far Gone". At first it seems as if this is just a "warm-up" version before the tape
rolled for the 1989 "Freedom" recording. In fact, the tempo is so similar that thistakeisonly:10shorter than the released
version! Unlike the released version, the sparse arrangement & hung-over performance that shuffles along under the lyrics
with Neil reciting each line matter-of-factly, as if just-written.

Side two opens withanalternate version of "Hold Back The Tears", which was apparently recorded around the same date
as"TooFarGone". Unlike the "stars'nbars" version, this take is considerably slower, and definitely more intense.

"Homegrown" follows, & even though this is the same take as the "stars 'n bars" LP, the mix is noticeably different. The
guitars arepushed way up-frontand have a "crisp distorted" sound."CaptainKennedy" ("Hawks & Doves" 0ct.
1980) is next, with the well-known March 31, 1976 Hammersmith Odeon - London,U.K. version of "Sringman"
right after.Often bootlegged,but just another famous unreleased song until 1993's "unplugged" album.This song
was performed often during the 1976 U.K. tour,but never recorded in a studio(or performed again,until1993).
An AMAZING exampleof TEXTBOOK "NEILYOUNG WITH CRAZYHORSE"follows with theSTUDIO
VERSION of "Sedan Delivery" that makes the"Rust" version sound like an"OldWays"outtake! This plodding,
ragged & LOUD performance would've fit just as well on "Times Square" or "Eldorado" as it does here.
It's a matter of personal opinion, but for me, the next track is the highlight of the album: the "Powderfinger"
"studio demo". The stunningly-simple-but-brilliant acoustic performance defines "Neil the storyteller" at his very
best. Additionally, this take isn't "better" than the "Rust" version; it simply stands apart as a completely different
and, somehow, far-more-desperate & heart-breaking song. Absolutely perfect from start to finish.
Even so, it'd be hard to find a better closing track to this set than"Look Out For My Love". Lost in the shuffle
of the"ComesATime" tapestry (October 1978), this haunting wordplay proves to be the perfect summary of
the thunder & lightning that came before it.

Had it been released,"ChromeDreams"might have stood today as one of NeilYoung's best records ever.The
barroom characters amidst historical references& passionate love songs createsa magical atmosphere.But like
most first drafts, the perception of what's important & what isn't must be left to the artist, and not to the record
company bean counters or the whims of the artists' "biggest" fans. As near-perfect as "Chrome Dreams" might
seem, it's release would've created unfillable holes in other near-perfect albums like "American stars 'n bars",
"Comes A Time" and "Rust Never Sleeps".
In any event, this "album" of rough sketches stands as a unique historical document, long-lost somewhere in
the pages of Neil Young's amazingly-brilliant career; and at the top of the "ESSENTIAL Neil Young tapes" list.