New CD Chrome Dreams II and Tour

UPDATED 10/18/07: See Neil Young Tour Kicks Off for most up to date tour news and concert reviews.

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A recent post on Rust by tordon2000 from a WEA schedule release sheet:

"New cd Chrome Dream tentatively scheduled Oct. 16. Touring for 7 weeks beginning Oct. 13. Performing at Farm Aid Sept 9 & Bridge School Oct 27-28. To be determined date in 2008 cd & dvd archive set includes 8 cds, 3 dvds, & 160 page book in box packaging."

The release of the CD titled Chrome Dreams II is re-confirmed on the official N Y Times site stating:

"... the recording runs 60+ minutes and includes two giant songs that time in at 18:30 and 13:00, respectively. Drawing from three songs written previously, and 7 new songs, the latest Neil Young is a very diverse recording."

The site also includes a history of the widely bootlegged Chrome Dreams by Jef Michael Piehler, at Side Street Records (originally published in Broken Arrow, February 1993):

Had it been released, "Chrome Dreams" might have stood today as one of Neil Young's best records ever. The bar-room characters amidst historical references & passionate love songs creates a magical atmosphere.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 un-fillable holes in other near-perfect albums like "American stars 'n bars," "Comes A Time" and "Rust Never Sleeps."

Footnotes on the aborted release and multiple bootleg versions try and clear up some of the confusion:

Soon after the first one, a second bootleg CD called "Chrome Dreams" appears containing most of the same songs (but not the same recordings) along with a few additional recordings (most-notably the previously-unissued 1975 studio version
of "White Line" and a 1978 live version of "Ride My Llama" --which was actually "Chrome Dreams" bootleg CD#2 -- yet another working title for the "American stars'n bars"album).

So once again, we have a new project pushing off the Archives ever delayed release. But for many, the promise of seven new songs is enough to compensate for the Archives delay.

And most importantly, a 7 week tour! So what band? Chrome Dreams material? An Archives preview?

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UPDATE 10/15/07:
Neil Young Fall Tour Dates: Chrome Dreams Continental Tour

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Official Neil Young News: NY Times

We now have an official Neil Young news website called N Y Times. The site states "All The News We See Fit To Print" and is a significant development in the evolution of Neil's website.

Now folks won't have to rely on unofficial sites like Thrasher's Wheat to get their Neil news fix. ;)

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Second Life Neil Young Archives: A Virtual World

A regular reader of Thrasher's Wheat, Zak Claxton is unveiling the Neil Young Archives in Second Life. Second Life is an online world where the residents purchase virtual land and build whatever their imagination can envision.

Zak writes:

"As a person who has admired and appreciated Neil Young for the last 25 years or so, I decided to build a tribute to Neil in this virtual world, which I somewhat tongue-in-cheek am calling my "Second Life Neil Young Archives". I'd love it if the real Archives came out before my little tribute was fully complete, but I digress.

As explained in the video, a visitor to the Archives can check out album artwork, tracks listings, and personnel of every officially-released album that Neil's done solo, with Crazy Horse, Buffalo Springfield, CSNY and so on. I've also made virtual replicas of Old Black, Neil's Martin D-45, and his Fender Deluxe. There's more to come; I still feel I have a way to go to complete this small representation of Neil in the virtual world, but it's got enough going that I'm sure people who are true fans will dig it already.

The best way to think of Second Life is like the Internet, in a 3-D environment that you can walk/fly/teleport through. My tribute is similar to a fan site on the Internet, so if any Thrasher's Wheat readers are users of Second Life, I'm sure they'd enjoy checking it out. For readers who aren't yet SL residents, basic membership is free, so they should check it out too. :-)

If anyone wants to get more information or comment to me about this project, I can be reached via my MySpace page (myspace.com/zakclaxton) or directly at zakclaxton (at) slcoyote (dot) com.

More on The Archives Vol.01 1963-1972: Let The Speculation Continue.

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