Album: After The Gold Rush
Recorded: August 1969 and March, April and June 1970
Released: September 1970
Recorded: August 1969 and March, April and June 1970
Released: September 1970
Songs / length: 11 / 35:10
After the release of his previous album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere in May 1969, Young was disappointed that sales never toke off, and this partly explains why he left Crazy Horse and joined Crosby, Stills & Nash in July 1969. Stills was the main instigator in getting Young to join the band, resisting the legitimate concern raised by Crosby & Nash that Young was already responsible for splitting up Buffalo Springfield, so who's to say he won't do it again? CSN had just released a successful self-titled record, so arguably they had more to lose than Young.
CSNY recorded their first master at Stills' home studio in July 1969, and went on to release their classic Déja Vu record in March 1970. Literally the day after its release, Young begun recording the bulk of his next solo album, After The Gold Rush, at his home studio in Topanga Canyon. While two of the LP's tracks (Oh Lonesome Me and I Believe In You) had already been recorded at Sunset Studios with Crazy Horse in August 1969, 8 of the other 9 were recorded in a month-long period from 12th March to 6th April 1970. The only other song, Birds, was recorded at Sound City in June 1970.
This period of time between two of Neil Young's finest records interests me because it marks a significant evolution in his musical style and songwriting. Moving away from the mythical rock & roll "nowhere" of his previous album, Young now seems more rooted in the "somewhere" of modern America. This was a tumultuous time – political assassinations, Neil Armstrong on the moon, the Manson family murders, The Beatles breaking up in spring 1970, and so on... Southern Man, the LP's longest track, is Young's most political song to date, and in the wake of the Kent State massacre in May 1970, Young would write and release another – his single, Ohio.
After The Gold Rush reminds me of Dylan's Basement Tapes in two distinct ways – first, it was recorded in a home environment away from the vortex of the late 60s, which were collapsing in on themselves, and second, it's a heady mix of various Americana styles, from folk and country to rock & roll. Two of the songs, Cripple Creek Ferry and the title track, drew inspiration from a film script written by Dean Stockwell, which Young was planning to soundtrack. The film never got made – there's a good account of it all here – but the episode provided the spark for this album.
To record the LP, Young employed a mix of Crazy Horse and CSNY members, as well as new faces, such as Nils Lofgren on piano. All but 2 of the tracks involved Danny Whitten, and the only song that doesn't feature Ralph Molina on drums is the title track, which Young recorded with just Bill Peterson on flugelhorn. Stephen Stills appears in just one of the songs (Till The Morning Comes), while bassist Greg Reeves appears on 5 tracks. Billy Talbot (on bass) and Jack Nitzsche (who played piano on Young's first solo album) are also credited on some of the tracks.
Tell Me Why and After The Gold Rush were the first two songs recorded in Young's Topanga home studio and they're also the first two songs on the album. Few works highlight Young's genius as well as the title track – the melancholic singing voice, impressionistic lyrics (with memorable images such as knights in armour, burned out basements and silver spaceships evoking the past, present & future of human history) and simple but beautiful melody. As a hippie, of a very unique sort, Young was voicing the environmental concerns of "Mother Nature on the run in the 1970s", threatened by nuclear war and human exploitation. As for Tell Me Why, the combination of bluegrass country, heartfelt harmonies and searching lyrics helps to create an iconic opener, and the song marks a stepping stone to the full country sound of Young's next album Harvest.
Only Love Can Break Your Heart has a simple, haunting melody and gave Young a Top 40 hit in 1970; lyrically, it's not one of his finest efforts, and requires the harder rock of Southern Man as follow-up to provide balance, the latter's more powerful mix of crunching guitar and piano providing the backdrop to the song's theme of slavery in the South. I once put Southern Man on the jukebox in a New Orleans bar. Young and his band just sound great on Southern Man, and it's Nils Lofgren's piano playing (see this video about how he created the tune) and Young's guitar solo that lift the song to epic status. Closing side 1, Till The Morning Comes feels a bit throwaway, but its lovely melody only makes you wish it would go on for longer.
Side 2 doesn't have quite as many highlights, but personal favourites are Don't Let It Bring You Down (featuring some of the album's best songwriting, "Full moon sinking from the weight of the load / and the buildings scrape the sky"), the tender Birds and the sing-a-long Americana of Cripple Creek Ferry. I also love the sound of When You Dance I Can Really Love, especially the mix of piano and guitar, though the lyrics perhaps let it down, while the gentle country pop of I Believe In You sounds like the template for The Eagles' entire career.
For me, this is just about the most essential album Neil Young ever made, though I'm looking forward to going through his entire discography and seeing if that opinion still sticks. Finally, just a couple of notes – I love my vinyl copy of this album, which is worth owning alone for the great gatefold picture of Young at Sound City, and I'd also recommend listening to Archives Vol.1 Disc 6 (which features Wonderin') and Live At The Cellar Door as an accompaniment to this record. The Cellar Door live session features 5 of this LP's songs, as well as Old Man (later to appear on Harvest), old songs and rarities (Bad Fog of Loneliness), and is a great document from this transitionary period in Young's life, just before he was about to find fame.
Highlights: After The Gold Rush, Southern Man, Don't Let It Bring You Down, Birds
Album rating: A+
After the release of his previous album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere in May 1969, Young was disappointed that sales never toke off, and this partly explains why he left Crazy Horse and joined Crosby, Stills & Nash in July 1969. Stills was the main instigator in getting Young to join the band, resisting the legitimate concern raised by Crosby & Nash that Young was already responsible for splitting up Buffalo Springfield, so who's to say he won't do it again? CSN had just released a successful self-titled record, so arguably they had more to lose than Young.
CSNY recorded their first master at Stills' home studio in July 1969, and went on to release their classic Déja Vu record in March 1970. Literally the day after its release, Young begun recording the bulk of his next solo album, After The Gold Rush, at his home studio in Topanga Canyon. While two of the LP's tracks (Oh Lonesome Me and I Believe In You) had already been recorded at Sunset Studios with Crazy Horse in August 1969, 8 of the other 9 were recorded in a month-long period from 12th March to 6th April 1970. The only other song, Birds, was recorded at Sound City in June 1970.
This period of time between two of Neil Young's finest records interests me because it marks a significant evolution in his musical style and songwriting. Moving away from the mythical rock & roll "nowhere" of his previous album, Young now seems more rooted in the "somewhere" of modern America. This was a tumultuous time – political assassinations, Neil Armstrong on the moon, the Manson family murders, The Beatles breaking up in spring 1970, and so on... Southern Man, the LP's longest track, is Young's most political song to date, and in the wake of the Kent State massacre in May 1970, Young would write and release another – his single, Ohio.
After The Gold Rush reminds me of Dylan's Basement Tapes in two distinct ways – first, it was recorded in a home environment away from the vortex of the late 60s, which were collapsing in on themselves, and second, it's a heady mix of various Americana styles, from folk and country to rock & roll. Two of the songs, Cripple Creek Ferry and the title track, drew inspiration from a film script written by Dean Stockwell, which Young was planning to soundtrack. The film never got made – there's a good account of it all here – but the episode provided the spark for this album.
To record the LP, Young employed a mix of Crazy Horse and CSNY members, as well as new faces, such as Nils Lofgren on piano. All but 2 of the tracks involved Danny Whitten, and the only song that doesn't feature Ralph Molina on drums is the title track, which Young recorded with just Bill Peterson on flugelhorn. Stephen Stills appears in just one of the songs (Till The Morning Comes), while bassist Greg Reeves appears on 5 tracks. Billy Talbot (on bass) and Jack Nitzsche (who played piano on Young's first solo album) are also credited on some of the tracks.
Tell Me Why and After The Gold Rush were the first two songs recorded in Young's Topanga home studio and they're also the first two songs on the album. Few works highlight Young's genius as well as the title track – the melancholic singing voice, impressionistic lyrics (with memorable images such as knights in armour, burned out basements and silver spaceships evoking the past, present & future of human history) and simple but beautiful melody. As a hippie, of a very unique sort, Young was voicing the environmental concerns of "Mother Nature on the run in the 1970s", threatened by nuclear war and human exploitation. As for Tell Me Why, the combination of bluegrass country, heartfelt harmonies and searching lyrics helps to create an iconic opener, and the song marks a stepping stone to the full country sound of Young's next album Harvest.
Only Love Can Break Your Heart has a simple, haunting melody and gave Young a Top 40 hit in 1970; lyrically, it's not one of his finest efforts, and requires the harder rock of Southern Man as follow-up to provide balance, the latter's more powerful mix of crunching guitar and piano providing the backdrop to the song's theme of slavery in the South. I once put Southern Man on the jukebox in a New Orleans bar. Young and his band just sound great on Southern Man, and it's Nils Lofgren's piano playing (see this video about how he created the tune) and Young's guitar solo that lift the song to epic status. Closing side 1, Till The Morning Comes feels a bit throwaway, but its lovely melody only makes you wish it would go on for longer.
Side 2 doesn't have quite as many highlights, but personal favourites are Don't Let It Bring You Down (featuring some of the album's best songwriting, "Full moon sinking from the weight of the load / and the buildings scrape the sky"), the tender Birds and the sing-a-long Americana of Cripple Creek Ferry. I also love the sound of When You Dance I Can Really Love, especially the mix of piano and guitar, though the lyrics perhaps let it down, while the gentle country pop of I Believe In You sounds like the template for The Eagles' entire career.
For me, this is just about the most essential album Neil Young ever made, though I'm looking forward to going through his entire discography and seeing if that opinion still sticks. Finally, just a couple of notes – I love my vinyl copy of this album, which is worth owning alone for the great gatefold picture of Young at Sound City, and I'd also recommend listening to Archives Vol.1 Disc 6 (which features Wonderin') and Live At The Cellar Door as an accompaniment to this record. The Cellar Door live session features 5 of this LP's songs, as well as Old Man (later to appear on Harvest), old songs and rarities (Bad Fog of Loneliness), and is a great document from this transitionary period in Young's life, just before he was about to find fame.
Highlights: After The Gold Rush, Southern Man, Don't Let It Bring You Down, Birds
Album rating: A+
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