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Hitchhiker
Hitchhiker in Bloomington, MN
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Size: CD
Recorded over the course of one lazy, stoned day in Malibu in 1976,
Hitchhiker
was never bootlegged, unlike
Homegrown
and
Chrome Dreams
, its unreleased cousins from the mid-'70s.
Neil Young
first let its existence be known in 2014, when he mentioned a 1976 solo acoustic session recorded with longtime producer
David Briggs
that was "a complete piece." Most of the songs from that complete piece drifted out in different versions over the years, starting with the appearance of "Campaigner" on 1977's
Decade
-- the only time a song from this session saw the light of day prior to its complete release in 2017 -- running through three songs on
Rust Never Sleeps
and ending in 2010, when "Hitchhiker" showed up on
Le Noise
. At the time of the release of that
Daniel Lanois
-produced record,
Young
claimed that "Hitchhiker" was left "unfinished" until 2010, but any longtime
watcher knows he's at his best when he doesn't tie up loose ends, which is one of the reasons
is compelling. Although
is correct when he claims
is a "complete piece" -- it sustains a dusky sweetness from beginning to an end -- it is certainly not a polished album. Often, it feels as if
is singing with no intention of his music being heard by a wider audience, but the presence of
Briggs
at the board means this doesn't sound like a ragged demo. Instead,
holds together as a mood piece, an album where
slowly reckons with a new dawn after surviving a hectic mid-'70s. It is the epilogue to his "Ditch Trilogy," the descent into darkness that began with 1973's
Time Fades Away
and ended with 1975's
Tonight's the Night
, an album where the melancholy undercurrent never overwhelms the suggestion of cautious optimism. This delicate tone is what separates
from the shelved
or
, the two records that rely so heavily on shared material with this album. Those records are assured and confident, the work of somebody who has shaken off the ghosts who were stalking him. On
,
still isn't certain if he's exorcized those demons, and that unease gives just enough complexity to the album's soothing ebb and flow. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Hitchhiker
was never bootlegged, unlike
Homegrown
and
Chrome Dreams
, its unreleased cousins from the mid-'70s.
Neil Young
first let its existence be known in 2014, when he mentioned a 1976 solo acoustic session recorded with longtime producer
David Briggs
that was "a complete piece." Most of the songs from that complete piece drifted out in different versions over the years, starting with the appearance of "Campaigner" on 1977's
Decade
-- the only time a song from this session saw the light of day prior to its complete release in 2017 -- running through three songs on
Rust Never Sleeps
and ending in 2010, when "Hitchhiker" showed up on
Le Noise
. At the time of the release of that
Daniel Lanois
-produced record,
Young
claimed that "Hitchhiker" was left "unfinished" until 2010, but any longtime
watcher knows he's at his best when he doesn't tie up loose ends, which is one of the reasons
is compelling. Although
is correct when he claims
is a "complete piece" -- it sustains a dusky sweetness from beginning to an end -- it is certainly not a polished album. Often, it feels as if
is singing with no intention of his music being heard by a wider audience, but the presence of
Briggs
at the board means this doesn't sound like a ragged demo. Instead,
holds together as a mood piece, an album where
slowly reckons with a new dawn after surviving a hectic mid-'70s. It is the epilogue to his "Ditch Trilogy," the descent into darkness that began with 1973's
Time Fades Away
and ended with 1975's
Tonight's the Night
, an album where the melancholy undercurrent never overwhelms the suggestion of cautious optimism. This delicate tone is what separates
from the shelved
or
, the two records that rely so heavily on shared material with this album. Those records are assured and confident, the work of somebody who has shaken off the ghosts who were stalking him. On
,
still isn't certain if he's exorcized those demons, and that unease gives just enough complexity to the album's soothing ebb and flow. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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