Review by Danis Roberts
40 years since his first album, and Neil Young is just getting better and better.
Following the rightly acclaimed Prairie Wind and Living With War albums, Young has released Chrome Dreams II, his best album since the masterpiece On The Beach. It’s a collection of both new songs and some unreleased material two decades removed. Chrome Dreams II offers 10 incredible tracks perfect for both the Harvest loving singer-songwriter fan, and the Crazy Horse rockin’ riff-heavy one.
There’s already been a lot of talk about the epic 18 minute single, ‘Ordinary People’, but the highlight for me is the equally epic ‘No Hidden Path’, a hypnotic rock masterpiece that should never end. Other beloved songs are ‘Beautiful Bluebird’ and ‘Shining Light’, both tracks reminiscent of what brought Young to the mainstream; easy going, non-threatening ballads. This is in no way a negative statement, just a testament to his songwriting skills.
Although the album is an eclectic mix of style and has no overall theme, the quality of each song is astonishing, almost forcing it to be accepted as an exceptional album. Like his iconic counterparts Dylan and Springsteen, Young proves that age does not dictate quality and that they still have a few things in reserve to teach younger generations.
