Review: Neil Young + Chrome Hearts, ‘Second Song’ – A Folky, Acoustic Gem

“I miss you like tomorrow, I see you like today…” – Neil Young, “Soon I Might Be Going”

Last week was a busy one down here at B&V. Between concerts by Billy Idol and Robert Plant & Saving Grace, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts (stylized as neil young and the chrome hearts because Neil is in his e.e. cummings era) dropped their highly anticipated (by me) second LP, Second Song. Two concerts in 1 week and my calendar is swamped… and to think I used to go out every night?

This is indeed Neil & the Chrome Hearts second album and follows last year’s Talkin’ To The Trees and this year’s live album As Time Explodes. The Chrome Hearts are Anthony LoGerfo (drums), Spooner Oldham (organ, keyboards), Corey McCormick (bass, upright and electric) and Micah Nelson (guitar). Second Song is also the second album in a row produced by the legendary Lou Adler and was recorded at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La studio in Malibu.

Neil Young really has two sides. He’s got the blistering, hard rocking, electric guitar freakout side – usually exemplified by his work with Crazy Horse (especially when Frank Sampedro was the second guitarist) and his quieter acoustic side, like say, Harvest or Harvest Moon. 

Of course we sometimes get both on one album – either divided heavy side/slow side like Rust Never Sleeps, or mixed throughout the album like Talkin’ To The Trees. Not every album is Ragged Glory vs Silver And Gold. 

Second Song, as indicated in the title of this post, is more the latter, an acoustic gem of a record. Neil is 80, going on 81, and he’s still putting out records every year, and in this case he’s found some of that old magic. The album is surprisingly only seven songs long.

I tried to pick it up on vinyl at my local Indie record store, but it’s not in stock. I went for the CD version from Young’s site as they split the title track on the vinyl between side 1 and 2. Or so I’ve read. That’s unacceptable.

Many are saying this is his best album since Psychedelic Pill (with Crazy Horse), but that ignores the fabulous trio of records he’s done with the newest version of Crazy Horse with Nils Lofgren back in the band, Colorado (2019), Barn (2021) and New World Record (2022). Those are records worthy of a spin.

Neil is clearly concerned with the passing of time on this record. I might go so far as to say that he’s contemplating his own mortality, like Leonard Cohen on You Want It Darker. He’s also mixed in his ongoing concerns about the environment on several songs.

And, much like the last album he’s airing his frustration with his estrangement from his daughter and his grandkids. He famously left his wife for Darryl Hannah after decades of marriage and then his ex, Pegi Young passed away shortly thereafter. I could see why the daughter might be pissed and I can’t see where Neil doing a song that suggests his ex-wife was an alcoholic is going to help things, but that’s just me.

There are two epic tracks at the heart of the album. “Second Song” was the first single released from the record and we’ve posted about that one previously. The more I listen to this song the more of a masterpiece it becomes in my mind. It’s all about the passing of the years and it just mesmerizes me at over 11 minutes long.

The second epic is “Soon I May Be Going” which is wrapped in the cloak Neil’s mortality. It’s the one song that features some electric guitar from Micah which is just lovely and accentuates the acoustic underpinnings of the song. While it’s clearly a rumination about “the end,” there’s so much more here. Current events, climate change concerns, it’s pretty amazing. This and “Second Song” are, for me, the beating heart of this record.

To underscore the theme of time passing, Neil also reached back into his songbook for two songs that he wrote in the early/mid 60s that have never been released. We get the old with the new. “Casting Me Away From You” was written in ’65 and the melody was used in “Emperor Of Wyoming.” It’s a jaunty country song and I really dig it. Neil recycles a lot of old melodies on this record… “good artists borrow, great ones steal” (from themselves apparently).

“I’ll Love You Forever” was written in ’64 and it’s a beautiful acoustic ballad. He’s clearly now singing that one to Darryl. It’s got a folk vibe. It’s a tune I’d play for the Rock Chick, if she didn’t despise Neil Young. It’s just so rare to hear a happy Neil Young song.

“Day After Day” is another folky strummer. It’s 7 minutes and almost made my list of “epic” tracks at the heart of the record. Both “Foggy Edge Of Time” and “Earth Girl” are piano driven songs. “Foggy” is a jaunty country-ish tune and it’s the one where he sings about his late ex-wife… one of the refrains is “alcohol, alcohol” and even I was like, “Dude, C’mon.”

“Earth Girl” has a piano that almost sounds like a groovy 60s pop song. It’s also clearly about Darryl Hannah. He’s clearly smitten. I quickly added this one to my Playlist: Songs About The Earth/World. I couldn’t resist. It’s one of the few light moments on the record and it’s a nice change of pace.

Neil keeps putting out relevant, really good records at this late stage of his career. Not all of them are gems – not every record is going to be Tonight’s The Night – but those three records with Crazy Horse and this one are absolute knockouts. I described Talkin’ To The Trees as a solid record, but not a great one. I think I can definitely say this is a great one.

As some artists get older they just do better with mellower tracks and Neil is no exception. I’m certainly glad there isn’t another “Dark Mirage” on this record.

I just like my Neil Young singing “Out here on the edge of darkness, children waited for the sunrise, something they could believe in, something to see with their own eyes…” I’ve lived out on the edge of darkness, like Neil once said, you meet a lot more interesting people out there.

Enjoy this one in front of that first fire of fall, out by the fire pit… maybe with a tumbler of something distilled in Canada…

Cheers!