Neil Young didn't intend to fuss over these songs. He recorded all the songs on the album one after another with few breaks inbetween. In an interview with KOTO Community Radio, Young said that he want to record them like the 60s folk records he had grown up on. He recorded all ten songs in one night, and he wanted the songs to be presented in "their purest form like they had been written."
Producer David Briggs did everything he to keep the songs as pure as possible. He mixed the songs as Young performed them live. He even carried the microphone Young had used to record vocals between studios when Young switched to piano to cut the albums final song "The Old Country Waltz." Briggs didn't want to leave anything to chance when it came to songs sounding consistent.
The songs were only recorded with an acoustic guitar, a harmonic, and a studio piano. Young said, "I had smoked a little weed with Dean [Stockwell] and settled into the room." As the song "Hawaii" begins, you can here the drugs kicking in for Young. You can can hear him giggle into the microphone before Young starts the song.
Unfortunately, the album was shelved soon after recording. The record companies who listened to the album viewed it as a collection of demos. Neil Young himself said in his memoire, Special Deluxe, that he performances were "pretty stony" sounding on the recording.
Of the ten tracks recorded during the Hitchhiker sessions, eight made their way onto other albums. The two songs "Hawaii" and "Give Me Strength" are being released for the first time, and both songs have been hidden for far too long.
Hitchhiker is a solid collection of Young's songs in their rawest form. If you are a fan of the solo recordings from his acoustic tour, this is an album recorded just for you.
Hitchhiker will be released on Sept. 8th via Reprise.
Listen to the first track from Hitchhiker below. You can stream the whole album on NPR.
You can watch the video of Neil Young telling the story of Hitchhiker below.
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