Neil Young "Chrome Dreams" 1974-1978(rec), 1992(reissue)****

I jumped at the chance to get this one, as it's probably rock's most famous bootleg (at least since the official release of Bob Dylan's "Royal Albert Hall" tapes and The Beach Boys' "Smile"). It contains studio demos in various stages of completion, mostly featuring his long time associates Crazy Horse. They were intended for inclusion in an aborted album called "Chrome Dreams" for which Young already had a cover (not this one) and whose release was announced for 1976. In the end, the demos were shelved and Young released another album called "American Stars 'n Bars". Few of these songs were included in this album but, just like "Smile",  most of them resurfaced in different form in future LP's "Comes a Time", "Rust Never Sleeps", "Hawks and Doves" and "Freedom". Various bootleg versions of Chrome Dreams have been around since 1977, this particular one surfacing in Italy around 1992. It's not the original bootleg (if that's not a contradiction in terms) as it contains a different track order, adds a few live recordings and replaces "Homegrown" with a '92 live recording of "Homefires". This unreleased song has been part of Young's repertory since the mid-70's, but for some reason (sound quality?) they chose a version that's separated by the rest by at least 15 years. It's often said that, had "Chrome Dreams" been released at its intended time, it would have constituted one of Young's best. This may very well be the case, although many of the songs here are presented in acoustic demo form. Which does not subtract any of the magic from masterpieces like "Powderfinger" and "Pocahontas", eventually included in the Rust Never Sleeps album. There's also a hard rockin' version of "Sedan Delivery" featuring Crazy Horse, as well as a rough live recording of "Ride My Llama".  "Will To Love" is an emotive ballad and "Captain Kennedy" an old-timey folk/country tune. They both resemble the final versions in American Stars 'n Bars and Hawks and Doves, respectively. "River Of Pride" is a typical Neil Young and Crazy Horse tune, with its country heart and sprawling hard rock guitar. "Too Far Gone" is a nice tune featuring Crazy Horse's Frank "Poncho" Sampedro on a vintage mandolin. "Star Of Bethlehem" and "Hold Back the Tears" are country ballads, the former featuring nice harmonica and backing vocals by Emmylou Harris and the latter an unidentified female vocalist. They were eventually re-recorded for American Stars 'n Bars, along with the ultimate Neil Young and Crazy Horse powerhouse "Like A Hurricane", presented here in an extensive live version: 11-and-a-half minutes of electric guitar heaven. "Look Out For My Love" and "Piece Of Mind" are two mid-tempo songs also featuring the Crazy Horse. "Homefires", the odd track out, is a solo acoustic song recorded live in 1992 in front of a quietly respectful audience. "Stringman" is a beautiful piano ballad. Amazingly, it had to wait for an official release until 1993 when it was revived for Young's "Unplugged" album. There's a reason that bootlegged "rare and unreleased" albums are usually not as good as they're supposed to be: If they really were that good, the artists would want us to hear them. But Neil Young is a bit strange that way, so he kept a perfectly good (even great) album on the shelf. Knowing him, he's probably got plans for it at some point but he's taking his time until he feels he can present these songs in the best manner. When he does, it'll really be something!

***** for Captain Kennedy, Pocahontas, Like A Hurricane, Look Out For My Love

**** for Powderfinger, Will To Love, Sedan Delivery, River Of Pride, Too Far Gone, Star Of Bethlehem, Stringman

*** for Hold Back The Tears, Homefires, Ride My Llama, Peace Of Mind