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.
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