Neil Young polishes "Chrome Dreams" for October

By Jonathan Cohen

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Neil Young is borrowing the intended title for a 30-year-old shelved album for his next release. "Chrome Dreams II" is due October 16 via Reprise. The 10-song set includes three previously penned tunes and seven new cuts. Two unnamed songs run well past the double-digit mark, at 13:00 and 18:30, respectively.

Young recorded the album quickly with assistance from Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina and pedal steel guitarist Ben Keith, and played it for executives at the Warner Music-owned label last week. The project is the follow-up to 2006's "Living With War" and will be supported by a North American tour set to begin around October 13, according to Young's publicist.

The original "Chrome Dreams" was scrapped in 1977 for unknown reasons, but a number of the songs pegged to appear on it become Young classics after being released on later albums, including "Pocahontas," "Sedan Delivery," "Powderfinger," "Look Out for My Love" and "Like a Hurricane."

According to Young's Web site (www.neilyoung.com), "all original documentation and art for this album was lost in a fire that destroyed Neil's Malibu home in early 1978."

Meanwhile, the first volume in Young's "Archives" boxed set series is holding steady with a February 18 release date, however, the project's arrival has shifted countless times in recent years.

Reuters/Billboard