Chrome Dreams II

I find old rockers fascinating.  The likes of Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, and others is not entirely unlike the fat lady at the circus.  A few weeks ago, Sir Paul happened to be on PBS.  I found myself drawn to the spectacle, completely oblivious to the music.  Here is this man as old as my grandfather with his face pulled as tight as a drum, dressed in Seventeen Magazine style.  As hard as he tries, he's not fooling anybody.  Sir Paul moves like a senior.  I write this as respectfully as I can.  Sir Paul was a Beatle, and his contribution to rock and roll is unequaled.

Then there is Neil Young.  He's old like the others and he knows it.  He has written about youth and aging since his early days, and continues to do so.  Recently, he has written songs about his empty nest, his father's death, and he even seems to anticipate his own passage.  The thing that I find striking is the quality of his new material.  In the fall of 2007, Neil released Chrome Dreams II.  In my opinion, this is some of Neil's best material to date.  Amazingly, I remember thinking this in high school when Neil released Harvest Moon.  Even back then, I thought he was an old man with his best years behind him.  It just occurred to me that Neil is like a volcano that refuses to go dormant.  There are other giants out there, long since cool, standing as a monument to the past.  Neil's still spewing fiery slag everywhere, and when he's done there will be nothing left.  Of course, he said it better years ago:  It's better to burn out than to fade away.  -And he lives it.

Notes...

 - What you just read is the worst CD review ever.  Chrome Dreams II is good.  It has elements of much previous Neil Young stuff:  Harmonica, solid lyrics, lap steel, and a fair amount of screaming from Old Black.

 - Yes, there was an original Chrome Dreams.  It was never officially released, an I don't think Neil ever acknowledged its existence - until the release of Chrome Dreams II.  I've read the original was destroyed in a fire, and I have also read that Chrome Dreams refers to a drawing.

 - On a completely unrelated note, I am playing at the Busy Bee on Saturday and the Gallivan Center on Thursday at noon.  Following these, and one or two other scheduled dates, I am officially retiring from public music exhibitions.  It's good to know what it's like, but now is not the time, and dive bars are not the place.

Shelter me from the powder and the finger...