Hitchhiker (album)

Hitchhiker is the 39th studio album by Canadian / American singer-songwriter Neil Young, issued September 8, 2017, on Reprise Records. It is the ninth release in Young's ongoing archival release series and the first of the Special Release series.

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. Young intended to release the album shortly after it was recorded, but executives at Reprise felt that it "wasn't a real record, but a collection of demos", with the musician saying that he "was advised to record the songs with a band".

Eight of the ten songs found on Hitchhiker were released on various Neil Young studio albums over the next three decades, though mostly as versions from different live or studio recordings. Three songs from the session ("Captain Kennedy", "Pocahontas" and "Campaigner") were released in nearly the same form as they are found on Hitchhiker. Two of the songs ("Hawaii" and "Give Me Strength") were previously unreleased in any form prior to this album.