Neil Young has lived a life of music with a thousand chances and endless surprises. It could be seen and heard as one of its own discoveries, one that never ends. The road Young has traveled feels like a surprise that brings a different turn with every song. It isn't anything that could be predicted, or one that he has planned. Songs come together and present themselves organically.
In that way, everything the man has done feels like a SECOND SONG, one always different from the first one.
SECOND SONG is the new studio album by Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts — their second full-length effort. It was recorded in analog at Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, CA, and produced by Lou Adler and The Volume Dealers (Neil Young and Niko Bolas). SECOND SONG features seven songs written by Young. Five of which are previously unreleased, and two are unreleased versions (“Casting Me Away From You” and “I’ll Love You Forever”). The mostly acoustic song cycle recalls a wistful, deeply personal musical kinship to some of Young’s earlier works found on “Comes A Time” or "Prairie Wind”.
With his band The Chrome Hearts, Neil Young is on the path of discovery once more. He has new players in this aggregation, still searching for the surprises he promised himself when he set out from Canada for California all those years ago. That's because music is an ever-changing endeavor, powered by new songs and the different sounds created by changing musicians. It's where the excitement enters. The Chrome Hearts includes drummer Anthony LeGerfo, bassist Corey McCormick, guitarist Micah Nelson and longtime legend Spooner Oldham on keyboards. SECOND SONG opens a new door, again, for Young. Every song on the new album feels like the author is confronting a new way of viewing the past, the present and the future. The lyrics of the title song lead the way: "Through smoking leaves of time the words just tumbled forward in this second song of mine..." The feelings of Young and so many of his loyal listeners seem to swell together, like his music is the place they can continually find a source of wonder to gather strength. In times when lives are tested, this is music that gathers the past into a hopefulness for the future. It allows those hearing the inner feelings of what gives Neil Young himself the belief needed to face our obstacles in their deepest divisions. 2026 faces us in ways society hasn't been faced before. It is not a time to look away. It is time for SECOND SONG to join us together in moving forward.
