Customer Reviews
Young at his peak? - By: Nudger99, 13 Jun 2008 
A magnificant album which sees Young at possibly his peak, will be
difficult to follow, a landmark.
Fantastic - By: fleet22, 11 Jun 2008 This is a real corker of a Neil Young album ranking on a par with 'After the goldrush', 'Harvest' & 'Rust never sleeps'. I just love Ordinary People, No hidden path, Shining Light, The Way, Beautiful Bluebird, Spirit Road. great to hear crazy horse at full throttle again on the upbeat tracks.
A Strange One - By: Mr. Peter Steward, 11 Apr 2008 
This is a strange one. In essence a sequel to an album that never saw the light of day. The original Chrome Dreams was scheduled for releasein 1977 but shelvedin favour of what became American Stars n Bars. Now Young releases a follow up to an album that never was.
The man never ceases to amaze. I wonder at times whether he has a butterfly brain - flitting from one project to another. Or perhaps he is a deep thinker. Whatever has prompted this album, I have to say it's not at all bad with numerous high spots, although I find the length of tracks like Ordinary People (18 min 13 sec) & No Hidden Path (14 min 30 sec) rather too daunting.
Young is still capable of putting together some gems & on this album it comesin the shape of three of the quieter numbers that have a definite Harvest or After the Goldrush feel to them. Beautiful Bluebird comes from the 1980s & is a definite return to the original Harvest territory. It's a beautifully wistful song with trademark harmonica. Similarly Shining Light suggests that Young is finally a man at peace with his art.
Strangely the stand out track is one of those infuriatingly catchy Young offerings. I should hate The Way with its children's choir, but it is a superb track with chord changes to kill for.
Overall it's not top notch Young, but neither is it just an old timer going through the motions.
Helps you 'relax'. - By: Bowie, 21 Feb 2008 
Whether it's your early morning coffee, or you are unwinding after a hectic day. This Neil Young LP is so nice. Especially the track entitled Ordinary People. I put it on repeat sometimes as well. The beauty of CD's I guess
Diverse, interesting and enjoyable - By: A. Sweeney, 17 Feb 2008 'Chrome Dreams II', Neil Young's 30th studio album, is - bizarrely - a sequel to a late-70s album that was never released and, I must confess, when I heard that fact & saw the title, I feared the worst. Quite honestly, I shouldn't have feared anything as this album is wonderful, a continuation of the artistic roll that Neil has been on for a considerable amount of time & is very similarin feel to his 1970 masterpiece 'After The Gold Rush'.
The first track, 'Beautiful Bluebird' is, indeed, beautiful. A gentle, romantic piece of acoustic tenderness, it convinces you immediately that this album is going to be no dud. It, like all the first three tracks, was written & shelvedin the 1980s during Young's well-documented artistic struggle with Geffen. Incredibly, 'Ordinary People', a stunning horn-laden epic, manages to last for an amazing 18+ minutes without ever overstaying it's welcome. Such ambition doesn't end there - 'No Hidden Path' also clocksin at 14 minutes & 33 seconds & also manages to be both a great piece of music & also continually interesting.
In fact, this album has enough depth, texture & diversity to make it one of the most varied, most intresting & fulfilling Neil Young album for quite a while. Although arguably the majority of Young's releasesin the past 15-20 years have been excellent, it can be argued that even the very best of that work has been a little one-dimensional, with Young tending to pick a genre, dedicating the whole album to the pursuit of that particular idea or feeling. 'Chrome Dreams II' doesn't suffer from that particular trait and, as a result, feels more complete & is certainly more engaging than much of his recent work.
Chrome Dreams II highlights all of Neil's strengths without really revealing any of his limitations whether it is the country-influenced folk of 'Ever After' or the Weld-era gritty, grungy rock of the enjoyable 'Dirty Old Man'. This album should be a must for any Neil Young fans & is so good that you could also probably recommend it as a great starting point for any music lovers new to Neil's particular sound. Great stuff!
