Neil Young - Hitchhiker (2017) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

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Neil Young - Hitchhiker (2017) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

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Hitchhiker is the thirty-eighth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young, due to be released on September 8, 2017 on Reprise Records. Co-produced by Young and David Briggs with post-production from John Hanlon, the album was originally recorded on August 11, 1976 at Indigo Ranch Recording Studio in Malibu, California.

Between 1975 and 1977, Young and producer David Briggs periodically conducted recording sessions at Indigo Ranch on nights of the full moon. These sessions took place during a particularly productive period for Young and yielded such songs as "Will to Love" and "Stringman." Briggs said of the time, "He'd turn to me and go, 'Guess I’ll turn on the tap'—and then out came 'Powderfinger,' 'Pocahontas,' 'Out of the Blue,' 'Ride My Llama.' Two days, a day. I'm not talkin' about sittin' down with a pen and paper, I'm talkin' about pickin' up a guitar, sittin' there and lookin' me in the face and in twenty minutes—'Pocahontas.'"

The songs on the album were recorded in a single night. In his memoir Special Deluxe, Young described the session, "It was a complete piece, although I was pretty stony on it, and you can hear it in my performances… I laid down all the songs in a row, pausing only for weed, beer, or coke. Briggs was in the control room, mixing live on his favorite console." Many of the songs would appear on future Young albums: "Pocahontas" is the same take used on Rust Never Sleeps sans overdubs; "Captain Kennedy" remains virtually unchanged from Hawks & Doves; "Campaigner" is presented in its unedited length with an additional verse as it appeared on the German release and test pressings of Decade but is otherwise unchanged; whereas the others appeared on American Stars 'n Bars, Comes a Time, Rust Never Sleeps, and Le Noise, albeit from different sessions and performances. Hitchhiker also contains a pair of never-before-released songs: "Hawaii" and "Give Me Strength," which Young has occasionally performed live.

In an interview with KOTO FM that was also posted to his Facebook page, Young stated that the session was intended to be released as an album not long after it was recorded, but Reprise executives were unimpressed. The material was considered to be no more than a collection of demos not fit for release, and the label suggested that Neil rerecord the songs with a backing band.

Writing for The A.V. Club, Josh Modell gave the album a B+ rating and called it a "fantastic" artifact of Young's fruitful 1970's songwriting period. Additionally, Modell praised the "naked and intimate" sound of "Pocahontas" and "Powderfinger" and concluded, "If the bottom of the barrel sounds this good, [Young] should keep 'em coming."