All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Observer Music Monthly

Backed with the gusto of big horns, Young's guitar is once again a thing of wonder on this track, now slashing and burning, now playing transcendent dance riffs.

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100

Mojo

An album of great emotional depth and uninhibited artistry. [Nov 2007, p.96]

Amazon.com

What we have here is easily Mr. Young's finest work in years, one that erases the memory of his well-intentioned but anemic 2006 protest album, "Living with War."

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Hot Press

Unlike his recent output, there’s no overarching preoccupation here, there is only a bunch of good tunes.

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Entertainment Weekly

It is his most enjoyable and well-rounded one in, like, an eternity.

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Boston Globe

The veteran rock 'n' roller manages a few neat tricks on this sprawling head-spinner.

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Village Voice

Chrome Dreams II, on which various Neils commingle to an extent not heard on record since perhaps 1989's "Freedom," immediately comes off as the 61-year-old artist's freshest effort in years.

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Hartford Courant

With its varied sound and subtle optimism, Chrome Dreams II stands in marked contrast to Young’s more strident recent efforts, but at least he got around to sharing these dreams.

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Q Magazine

Almost the equal of 'Ordinary People,' 'No Hidden Path' again demonstrates that when the contary old buzzard plugs in and really goes to work, it's still a thrill like no other. [Dec 2007, p.113]

Drowned In Sound

It’s a well-rounded album that defies the notion of a man being allowed to rock himself to sleep on the porch of rock’s sappy dotage.

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All Music Guide

This doesn't make for an album that holds together thematically the way other latter-day Neil albums do, but its mess is endearing.

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Uncut

The album is a powerful exploration of faith, with Young circling his own mortality.

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The Phoenix

Chrome Dreams II is effective despite the sonic clash because, on both the new material and the leftovers, the loud ('Spirit Road') and the soft (the soul ballad 'Ever After'), it’s unified by its call to give props to spirit and humanity, a sentiment that, whatever it’s wrapped in, never gets old.

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Billboard

Overall though, is the album better than "Prairie Wind" or "Living With War"? Yes.

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Blender

But vintage doesn’t mean nostalgic. 'Dirty Old Man' is the pissed, hilarious antithesis of his wide-eyed ’70s signature 'Old Man,' and it rivals Nick Cave’s 'No Pussy Blues' (see Grinderman) as the year’s best song about a deranged, horny graybeard.

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Austin Chronicle

Seven new songs polish Chrome Dreams II, which glides past Young's well-meaning but flaccid new millennial output--"Are You Passionate?" (2002), "Greendale" (2003), and "Living With War" (2006)--in pulling alongside 2005's "Prairie Wind," and near some aforementioned career peaks.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

It's alternately beautiful and banal.

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Slant Magazine

It's a return to a time when Young albums felt like ingenious mixtapes--where Crazy Horse tracks, Stray Gators tracks, and duets with Linda Rondstadt intermingled without being jarring in the least.

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PopMatters

Instead of having to suffer the middling albums for years before some sort of payoff, you get a nice mixture here, and thankfully the ratio is reversed in favor of the solid material.

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musicOMH.com

Anyone looking for another 'Hurricane' will be disappointed--but, for sheer eclecticism, the record hits a number of highs.

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NOW Magazine

Although Young's compositions on Chrome Dreams II aren't quite up to the quality planned for the first volume, the 10 songs at least have some of the shape and gravity if not the epic dimension of his classics written decades ago.

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Rolling Stone

Young was right to close with 'The Way,' a gloriously simplistic salvation song backed by a children's chorus that deserves to become his 'Give Peace a Chance.' But beyond that it's miss-or-hit.

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The Guardian

Just when the listener starts reflecting on Young's waning abilities, two songs arrive that suggest the fire is far from out.

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Paste Magazine

Young uncorks his storied one-two punch, mounting a pair of sweeping, detailed social narratives while ripping away at the guitar strings, laying his psyche bare. Long may he rave.

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Delusions of Adequacy

A collection that’s muddled but peppered with gems.

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Pitchfork

Though having one good trick in the bag keeps him from becoming a mere oldies jukebox like so many other 40-year rock vets, the sampler platter of Chrome Dreams II suggests his renowned versatility, by comparison to its cult-classic ancestor, ain't what it used to be.

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Lost At Sea

While Chrome Dreams II was clearly modeled after his more "classic" sounding work, it finds Young sounding like little more than a knockoff of his former self.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Todd W. gave it a4:
Every time Neil Young releases a new album I wait in excited anticipation for...what? I don't know if my disappointment is a manifestation of age, both his and mine, or the fact that Neil simply hasn't put out a decent album since 'Sleeps with Angels.' This album sounds like the cover looks. Hoary, dusty, and tired in hues of gray. I know he's an icon who has earned some slack, but it is alarming that his latter day musical offerings should seem so, well, insignificant for someone of his talent and stature. Maybe I'm expecting too much from him. Maybe he has finally rusted.

Hugh C. gave it a9:
Best NY album for many a year. Great riffs & Neil's voice is on top form. Songs aren't all as strong as they maybe should be but the overall package is very good!

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Chrome Dreams II

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