Neil Young - New Album Rumors and Tidbits

More tidbits on the new Neil Young album are floating around the Internet.

This, from the RustList, from what a WB promo guy wrote to one of the list members:

"I got to listen to the newly finished Neil Young record Chrome Dream this week with Neil Young himself. It was quite a thrill as you might imagine. There are some serious jam outs on this record. Looking forward to being able to send it your way."

And this, reported by another list member:

“I was listening to Jam On (Channel 17) on sirius just before 6 tonight. Stef Scarmado (Warren Hayne's wife) . . . mentioned Neil was going to tour in the fall. Then, she said she thinks it might be an acoustic tour because Neil is booking 3000-4000 seat rather then the big 20,000 seat arenas.”

And finally, the super sleuths on the RustList, uncovered this exchange:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/139768-heard-neil-youngs-chrome-dreams-2-a.html

A gear tech named Brad Lunde wrote:

“Had the pleasure to provide ATC 150 loudspeakers and be on hand for Neil Young's first ever playback of Chrome Dreams 2 (working title?) at Warner Bros Records on Wednesday for all the record company execs.”

With a little prompting, he added:

"Niko Bolas..... told me he used VERY little limiting. This definitely sounded raw and "live". Recorded live in a car garage....."

"Supposed to October/November? Sounded great! Ordinary People sticks in my head and there were a couple of tracks that were quite different, one with a childrens choir. Pretty cool stuff and Neil was very proud of course."

So “Ordinary People” really will see the light of day, finally. It’s one of Neil Young’s most famous unreleased songs, dating back to his blues influenced phase in the late 80s. How interesting. There’s confirmation below that he uses a horn section on this record as well.

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Lineup:

Ben Keith: guitar, steel, dobro
Rick Rosas: Bass
Ralph Molina: Drums

These are all old friends of Neil Young’s, so it should be a pretty comfortable sounding affair. On the flip side, I always like Neil Young records when they have a fuller sound. One of the things I’ve been disappointed with lately (Greendale and Living with War), is that he’s used such a spare sound on his electric work. I hope that Ben Keith plays more guitar than steel or dobro on this outing.

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Here’s a bit from Andy Greene, from the Rolling Stone website:

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/08/20/neil-young-to-release-sequel-to-unreleased-1977-album/

Thirty years after shelving Chrome Dreams, Neil Young has taken to his official Web site to announce plans to release a new album entitled Chrome Dreams II. The forthcoming album — which was previewed for Reprise Records last week and is due October 16th — contains ten songs, three of which were previously written. Two of the tracks are epics, clocking in at 18:30 and 13:00. Young’s current backing band on the record includes Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina, bassist Rick Rosas and pedal steel guitarist Ben Keith. The Blue Note Horns are on one track and a children’s choir is on another. Young will launch a North American tour to support the album that kicks off around October 13th. After the original Chrome Dreams was put aside, many of the songs appeared on subsequent Young albums, such as “Like a Hurricane,” “Powderfinger,” “Sedan Delivery” and “Pocahontas.” What does this mean for the twenty-years-in-the-making Archives: Volume 1 box set, due out February 14th, 2008? “This doesn’t push the box set back, according to [Neil Young’s manager] Elliott Roberts,” a spokesperson for Young says. “But don’t make me sign a blood oath on that one.”