Neil Young - After the Gold Rush

When Carol and I started dating many years ago, we realized we had some musical tastes in common.  One of those things was Neil Young.  The first Christmas gift I ever got her was a copy of After the Gold Rush.  Why did we like Neil Young so much?  He wrote a lot of good songs, but they weren’t all good or great.  He’s had his share of misfires and experiments gone wrong.  He doesn’t have the world’s greatest singing voice.  He’s a bit nasally, oftentimes he’s quite whiney.  Sometimes his guitar style is just a bit too manic.  But in the thirty-plus years that I’ve been a fan, I noticed that he does have a great way with words without being wordy.  He can be the aging acoustic folk hippie one moment, the “godfather of grunge” in another instant, and be absolutely comfortable moving between those two caricatures of his music.  It’s cliché that he alternates between those two musical guises, but as one examines the body of work, by and large his chameleon-like character holds true.

Tell Me Why – This is one of several songs on After the Gold Rush that can trace its origins to NY’s time with Crosby Stills & Nash.  The Archives set has a live version of this song with NY on solo acoustic guitar, Stephen Stills on double bass, and Crosby & Nash singing. When NY put together Decade in the late 1970s, this song should have been on it. 

 

After the Gold Rush - The title song from Neil Young's 1970 album After the Gold Rush is a version of the apocalypse -- either from the consequences of environmental neglect or nuclear holocaust. Based on the title of a screenplay written by Young's friend, actor Dean Stockwell, all cinematic similarities end there. The surreal imagery in the lyrics is among what would fill Young's songs for the next 30 years: archers (arrows), spaceships, and the sun. Singing in his most desperate, melancholic tones and accompanied only by his piano and a French horn, the song has an overwhelming sadness about it. This is one of two songs from ATGR that he played when I saw NY do a solo acoustic show at McNichols Arena in Denver [1983].

Only Love Can Break Your Heart – This is one of the best songs NY ever wrote.  NY claimed he wrote this one for Graham Nash, who had just broken up with Joni Mitchell.  He said he could have written it for David Crosby but he was “too happy.”  Drugs will do that…  This song foreshadowed things to come on Harvest.

Southern Man – In his handwritten liner notes for the compilation Decade, NY wrote "This song could have been written on a civil rights march after stopping off to watch "Gone With The Wind" at a local theater. But I wasn't there so I don't know for sure."  The symbols of Bible-thumping Southerners, burning crosses, cotton fields, black people screaming and cracking bullwhips don’t paint a pretty picture of the American South.  NY said that he wrote this in the dressing room at the Fillmore East either before or after a CSNY show.  It became a CSNY concert staple.  It was one of the long guitar songs [Carry On being the other] in the band’s last electric set of each show.   NY kept it for himself.  That’s Nils Lofgren banging away on the piano while NY does his spear-in-the-back guitar soloing.  A stomping electric rock song amidst many country-folkish type songs, Southern Man is a certified classic rock radio classic.  Much has been written about this song and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s reposnse to it [and Alabama from Harvest].  Nothing more needs to be said about that.

Till the Morning Comes - A sprightly, low-key two-step, this brief song reminds the listener once again of Neil Young's strong country leanings. Sounding not unlike an obscure standard, it features a French horn and some excellent background harmonies, particularly by guest Stephen Stills.

Oh Lonesome Me – This is a rare cover for NY.  Don Gibson wrote and recorded this country music #1 in the late 1950s.  I have no idea why this song is here, except that NY was going through a divorce at the time.

Don’t Let It Bring You Down – This is another song that can trace its roots to CSNY.  The first time I heard it was on CSNY’s “live” document Four Way Street.  "Here is a new song, it's guaranteed to bring you right down, it's called 'Don't Let It Bring You Down'. It sorta starts off real slow and then fizzles out altogether."  A good song, but I like the Four Way Street version better, probably because he played that arrangement the first time I saw him in concert in 1983.

Birds – Ever since I owned a cassette copy of After the Gold Rush, this song has always been one of the standouts.  He recorded two versions before this one, both of which can be found on the Archives box set.  The first version was recorded with Jim Messina and George Grantham for the Neil Young album.  The second version is with Crazy Horse, recorded for the Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere album.  Still it wasn’t quite right.  Then he did it by himself with just a piano for After the Gold Rush, and on this version he nailed it.  This version captures the sorrow and melancholy missing from the previous versions.  Danny Whitten and Ralph Molina provide the beautiful background chorus vocals.  It’s a break-up song, with NY using birds as a metaphor for “flying away without you.”  And when he sings “it’s over” it’s as if he’s slamming the coffin lid shut on that particular relationship.  

When You Dance I Can Really Love – This is the second of only two full-band electric songs on After the Gold Rush.  The only song on the album with the full Crazy Horse outfit [complete with Jack Nitzsche on the piano], this was the last gasp before Danny Whitten completely went off the rails into full-blown drug addiction.  This is Neil Young and the original Crazy Horse in their “ragged glory” for the final time.  I’ve read tales of the recording of ATGR in the basement of NY’s Topanga Canyon house, and hearing all these guys at once made me wonder how they all squeezed into such a small space to make such good music.  This one is a gem!  My only complaint is that it’s too short.  I never tire of hearing it.  Maybe someday I’ll learn how to play it.  I like to hear Birds, this song, and Ohio all together in that order.

I Believe in You – This is another one with Crazy Horse, but unlike When You Dance, this one is a lot quieter.  I usually skip this one.

Cripple Creek Ferry - A brief singalong, campfire-type song that closes the powerful After the Gold Rush album, "Cripple Creek Ferry" is deceptively deep and effective. Utilizing the metaphor of a rough boat trip, Young seems to possibly be commenting on fame and his career to date, which had just finished the huge success of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. A slight edge of terror or paranoia surrounds the piece, which is slightly amusing considering the lighthearted nature of the music and performance.

After the Gold Rush is a must have for any Neil Young collection.  It was an excellent follow-up to Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.  Better than CSNY’s Déjà Vu, better than Harvest, on par with On the Beach.