Neil Young came down to the river of sight to make the best of his time and find expression for the band playing in his head. After 'Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere', Young had joined with Crosby, Stills, and Nash to record as Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young for 'Déjà Vu'. Recording for his next album began in the winter of 1969 with Crazy Horse at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles and then continued in the spring of 1970 at Redwood Studios in the basement of Young's home in Topanga Canyon. Young produced the sessions with David Briggs with Kendall Pacios. 'After the Gold Rush' credits Neil Young on guitar, piano, harmonica, vibes, and lead vocals; Danny Whitten on guitar and vocals; Nils Lofgren on guitar, piano, and vocals; Jack Nitzsche on piano; Billy Talbot and Greg Reeves on bass; Ralph Molina on drums and vocals; Stephen Stills on vocals; and Bill Peterson on flugelhorn.
Some of the songs were inspired by a screenplay called 'After the Gold Rush' written by Dean Stockwell and Herb Berman. Young reveals: "[The film] was all about the day of the great earthquake in Topanga Canyon when a great wave of water flooded the place. It was a pretty 'off-the-wall' concept, they tried to get some money from Universal Pictures. But that fell through because it was too much of an art project. l think, had it been made it would stand as a contemporary to Easy Rider and it would have had a similar effect. The script itself was full of imagery, 'change' . . . It was very unique actually. I really wish that movie had been made, because it could have really defined an important moment in the culture...I just remember thinking that Goldrush was the next logical step after Everybody. Just after I'd begun playing with CSN&Y, I went out on the road and did some really funky things that indicated that our next album would be in that particular vein....I always thought there was a funny side to my music. But see, my sense of humor hadn't really been appreciated at that point in my career. Shit, it hadn't even been noticed (laughs). I mean, Last Trip To Tulsa. . .that's my idea of a really funny song and that's just one of 'em...I really just wanted to make music... My only concern was to make the fuckin' records sound right. When I finally got the studio together and played, I think, Running Dry [on Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere], that was my first live vocal . As was almost the whole of Goldrush after it. . . Things like I Believe In You - that's when I started recording live."
'After the Gold Rush' was a major breakthrough for Young, going to number fourteen in Sweden, thirteen in Australia, eight in the US, seven in the UK, and five in Canada.
http://www.neilyoung.com/
"After the Gold Rush"
Well, I dreamed I saw the knights
In armor coming,
Saying something about a queen.
There were peasants singing and
Drummers drumming
And the archer split the tree.
There was a fanfare blowing
To the sun
That was floating on the breeze.
Look at Mother Nature on the run
In the nineteen seventies.
Look at Mother Nature on the run
In the nineteen seventies.
I was lying in a burned out basement
With the full moon in my eyes.
I was hoping for replacement
When the sun burst thru the sky.
There was a band playing in my head
And I felt like getting high.
I was thinking about what a
Friend had said
I was hoping it was a lie.
Thinking about what a
Friend had said
I was hoping it was a lie.
Well, I dreamed I saw the silver
Space ships flying
In the yellow haze of the sun,
There were children crying
And colors flying
All around the chosen ones.
All in a dream, all in a dream
The loading had begun.
They were flying Mother Nature's
Silver seed to a new home in the sun.
Flying Mother Nature's
Silver seed to a new home.
"Only Love Can Break Your Heart"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOl01vKXv6I
When you were young
and on your own
How did it feel
to be alone?
I was always thinking
of games that I was playing.
Trying to make
the best of my time.
But only love
can break your heart
Try to be sure
right from the start
Yes only love
can break your heart
What if your world
should fall apart?
I have a friend
I've never seen
He hides his head
inside a dream
Someone should call him
and see if he can come out.
Try to lose
the down that he's found.
But only love
can break your heart
Try to be sure
right from the start
Yes only love
can break your heart
What if your world
should fall apart?
I have a friend
I've never seen
He hides his head
inside a dream
Yes, only love
can break your heart
Yes, only love
can break your heart
"Southern Man"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGuwlkxT4KQ
Southern man
better keep your head
Don't forget
what your good book said
Southern change
gonna come at last
Now your crosses
are burning fast
Southern man
I saw cotton
and I saw black
Tall white mansions
and little shacks.
Southern man
when will you
pay them back?
I heard screamin'
and bullwhips cracking
How long? How long?
Southern man
better keep your head
Don't forget
what your good book said
Southern change
gonna come at last
Now your crosses
are burning fast
Southern man
Lily Belle,
your hair is golden brown
I've seen your black man
comin' round
Swear by God
I'm gonna cut him down!
I heard screamin'
and bullwhips cracking
How long? How long?
"Don't Let It Bring You Down"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXrSoECrAt8
Old man lying
by the side of the road
With the lorries rolling by,
Blue moon sinking
from the weight of the load
And the buildings scrape the sky,
Cold wind ripping
down the alley at dawn
And the morning paper flies,
Dead man lying
by the side of the road
With the daylight in his eyes.
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning,
Find someone who's turning
And you will come around.
Blind man running
through the light
of the night
With an answer in his hand,
Come on down
to the river of sight
And you can really understand,
Red lights flashing
through the window
in the rain,
Can you hear the sirens moan?
White cane lying
in a gutter in the lane,
If you're walking home alone.
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning,
Just find someone who's turning
And you will come around.
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning,
Just find someone who's turning
And you will come around.
'After the Gold Rush'
full album:
All songs written by Neil Young except where noted.
Side one
1. "Tell Me Why" 2:54
2. "After the Gold Rush" 3:45
3. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" 3:05
4. "Southern Man" 5:31
5. "Till the Morning Comes" 1:17
Side two
6. "Oh, Lonesome Me" (Don Gibson) 3:47
7. "Don't Let It Bring You Down" 2:56
8. "Birds" 2:34
9. "When You Dance I Can Really Love" 4:05
10. "I Believe in You" 3:24
11. "Cripple Creek Ferry" 1:34
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