«Look at Mother Nature On The Run In The Nineteen Seventies...»

Original Released as LP Reprise RSLP 6383
(US 1970, August 31)



A1. Tell Me Why 2’54
A2. After The Gold Rush 3’45
A3. Only Love Can Break Your Heart 3’05
A4. Southern Man 5’41
A5. Till The Morning Comes 1’17
B1. Oh Lonesome Me 3’47
B2. Don’t Let It Bring You Down 2’56
B3. Birds 2’34
B4. When You Dance You Can Really Love 3’44
B5. I Believe In You 2’24
B6. Cripple Creek Ferry 1’34

All selections by Neil Young except B1 by Don Gibson
Most of these songs were inspired by the Dean Stockwell – 
Herb Berman screenplay “After The Gold Rush”

NEIL YOUNG AND CRAZY HORSE
WITH GREG REEVES, STEVE STILLS & NILS LOFGREN
Produced by Neil Young & David Briggs with Kendall Pacios
Bass: Billy Talbot and Greg Reeves
Piano: Neil Young, Jack Nitzsche and Nils Lofgren
Drums: Ralph Molina
Guitars: Neil Young and Danny Whitten
Vocals: Neil Young, Danny Whitten, Nils Lofgren, Steve Stills 
and Ralph Molina
Harmonica and Vibes: Neil Young
Patches: Susan Young
Direction: Elliot Roberts
Art Direction: Gary Burden
Photography: Joel Bernstein

«Well I dreamed I saw the knights in armour coming…» This was the album that introduced me to the musical universe of Neil Young. I’ve bought it about six months after its original release, on a holiday trip to Johannesburg, South Africa. I still remember the shop: it was called "Look & Listen" and was located in a basement of Eloff Street. I’ve spent all afternoon listening to the most recent releases, like I used to do in those days (‘cause the money was not much and we had to be sure if the album was worthy). And all these songs enchanted me, mainly the soft ones. Since then I’ve bought many others albums of Neil Young, but this particular one remained my number one favourite until today. A starkly poignant record, "After The Gold Rush" contains some of Neil Young’s most love-lorn lyrics. The cover photograph sums up the album’s sentiment – a solarized photograph of the glowering singer-songwriter walking in a near-deserted street. Young’s latest songs – he had, until recently, been hard at work on the CSNY album, "Déjà Vu" – indicate a more introspective approach. Songs like "Tell Me Why", "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and "Don’t Let It Bring You Down" all go some way to solidify his reputation as a hopless romantic.

 

The energy and fire of his electric guitar playing emerges only twice, notably on the corrosive (and controversial) "Southern Man". In patenting the late night feel of the record, "After The Gold Rush" was recorded with Young’s latest find – a 19-year-old singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist named Nils Lofgren, whose guitar playing and piano work would elevate this collection of songs to among the finest ever written by Neil Young. The beautifully evocative title track, for instance, a near-mystical eulogy to a vanished and fast vanishing America, has now become a cornerstone of Young’s live set. Though not entirely successful with the critics – Rolling Stone magazine’s Langdon Winner concluded that «most of this music was simply not ready to be recorded» (no comments!) – "After The Gold Rush" struck an immediate chord with the disillusion felt by many after the death of the 1960s dream. By Christmas, it had become Young’s first Top 10 hit album, and remained on the U.S. chart for over a year on its way to selling two million copies. The version presented here is the 50th anniversary edition, with two bonus tracks of "Wonderin'", and with a great 24 bits wav sound. Enjoy!