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After the Gold Rush by Neil Young (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: After the Gold Rush
  • Artist name: Neil Young
  • Year: 1970
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Reprise Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: my parents each had a copy of this record. My father’s is unmarked and my mother’s has “Brenner” written on the LP.
  • Buy it on Amazon: $34.99

After the Gold Rush by Neil Young

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

When reviewing Harvest last summer, I mentioned that I used to hear it all the time when I was growing up because my parents were big fans, and that I bought it and this one on CD from UrbanFetch.com when they were going out of business after being acquired by Kozmo.com in late 2000. I’ve listened to it at least a thousand times.

Here are the previous nine Neil Young records that I’ve reviewed:

What I expected

Country, rock, folk.

What it was actually like

I tried not to listen to this record for a while as I knew it was approaching, so I could have it a bit more fresh in my head for today, and I’m so glad I did. One reflection that I might not have noticed otherwise: it had a lot more piano than I remembered.

Anyway, it’s a classic of course, and I love the way it starts, and the feeling that Tell Me Why gives me of knowing that I’ll know every note and chord and lyric for the next 45 minutes or so.

Another thing I don’t think I ever noticed before was how minimal, and even how inchoate, a couple of these songs were: Till the Morning Comes, which had barely three lyrics, and which closed the record’s first side, and Cripple Creek Ferry, which was basically half a song (though the most fun on the record), and needed at least one more verse or two, and closed the record’s second side. They were not unusual: several other songs had what seemed like half-formed verses.

Southern Man, for example, started to tell a story towards the end from the point of view of the “southern man,” but then stopped after just a few lines[1]. It was also one of a few on the record that was more electric than the others, with an outstanding guitar solo that I’ve always loved, though still very piano-driven. When You Dance I Can Really Love also had that electric sound.

A few of these songs have always been a bit boring to me: Birds, which had a choral backing that I didn’t like; I Believe in You; and Oh, Lonesome Me, an unfortunate cover of a Don Gibson classic.

Don’t Let It Bring You Down, which Young said on 4 Way Street “sort of starts out real slow and then it fizzles out altogether” (to which which I responded that Young’s description “was absolutely false: I love that song and how he played it”) and Only Love Can Break Your Heart are two of my favorites.

The title track After the Gold Rush has always struck me as one of the most far-out lyrical experiences in rock music, going from a Breughel painting in one verse to a junky dozing off in the next, to alien spaceships taking people to another galaxy in the third[2]. The best part is that the extreme psychedelia of the lyrics is underscored by the wholesomeness and even homeliness of the folk rock music, which is genius. And I never knew it until today, but there’s also a weird and excellent a capella cover.

Grade

5/5: love it

References

References
↑1 I wonder if Young didn’t continue telling that story because he didn’t like where it was headed, or if he intuited something that I’ve long believed about his song, which is that it’s rather a low blow, maybe even low enough to justify the half-loathsome, half-exquisite Sweet Home Alabama. On 4 Way Street I described it as “kind of preachy.”
↑2 My interpretation: the first and third verses are different dreams of the character in the second.

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere by Neil Young with Crazy Horse (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
  • Artist name: Neil Young
  • Group name: Crazy Horse
  • Year: 1969
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Reprise Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: each of my parents had a copy of this record. My father’s had a “G” on the upper left corner of the front of the album, and my mother’s had “Brenner” written on the inside of the album and on side one of the LP.
  • Buy it on Amazon: $20.85

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere by Neil Young with Crazy Horse

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve listened to this record at least a bunch of times, and recognize all or most of the songs on it, but I don’t remember ever hearing it when I was growing up, with the exception of Cinnamon Girl, which was played very occasionally on classic rock radio.

This is the ninth Neil Young record that I’m reviewing, and the previous eight were:

What I expected

Electric Neil Young.

What it was actually like

I think I remember now why I haven’t listened to this record as much as others by Neil Young: it has some of his best songs, but is also pretty uneven – but when it’s good, it’s so, so good.

I could probably listen to Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River and Cowgirl in the Sand a hundred times in a row on repeat. The very distorted electric guitar, and the long and virtuosic solos with the same note played over and over[1], are really powerful, all the more so in the context of much of his other work from the few years before and after, which was largely acoustic. He could be singing pure gibberish and it would make no difference, and parts reminded me of the Dead Man soundtrack.

Round & Round (It Won’t Be Long), which was more acoustic and boring, made me think that maybe it was why I haven’t listened very much – not to pick on it, though, because the rest of the songs were similar.

Grade

4/5: would listen again

References

References
↑1 How does this even work, musically?

Young Man’s Fancy by Neil Young (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Young Man’s Fancy
  • Artist name: Neil Young
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: two
  • Label: Zerocks
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “Brenner” written on record, indicating that my mother owned it
  • Buy it on Ebay: $89.00

Young Man's Fancy by Neil Young

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never heard of this Neil Young record before, but it will be his eighth that I’ve reviewed so far. The previous seven were:

What I expected

This is a live double album from 1971, and appears to include a bunch of Neil Young’s hits from the peak of his (early) career.

What it was actually like

This album was packaged like a bootleg, and the performance was entirely acoustic and definitely sounded intimate and really fun. I could hear audience members coughing at a few points, and laughing when Young joked, but I wasn’t able to make out much of his discourse between the songs. In general, I loved it.

My favorites were: Tell Me Why from side one, A Heart of Gold[1] from side two, Sugar Mountain from side three and See the Girl Dance from side four.

Grade

5/5: love it

References

References
↑1 I’m not sure why it’s called that on the album, since it’s Heart of Gold everywhere else.

Neil Young (1968) (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Neil Young
  • Artist name: Neil Young
  • Year: 1968
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Reprise Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “Brenner” written on record, indicating that my mother owned it
  • Buy it on Ebay: $19.50

Neil Young (1968)

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

Though I’m a Neil Young fan, I don’t think I’ve listened to this record, his solo debut, very many times. I don’t recognize any of the songs on it by name, but I assume that a few of them will be familiar to me when I listen.

Here are the other Neil Young records that I’ve reviewed so far:

What I expected

I think this will be mostly acoustic, mostly folk rock and country rock.

What it was actually like

This record was mostly not acoustic at all, with the notable exception of The Last Trip to Tulsa, which was a rambling and somewhat pointless track that lasted almost nine and a half minutes.

Besides that one, a few of the songs were pretty boring, such as Here We Are in the Years; If I Could Have Her Tonight, which had really bad vocals that were over-produced; and The Old Laughing Lady, which had an orchestral backing that I did not like at all.

Other parts were more country than I expected, such as The Emperor of Wyoming – and also, Wyoming is the most underrated US state for physical beauty.

I did recognize one song, The Loner, which was more of an electric and psychedelic rock song than I expected, and I thought it was great. I also liked I’ve Been Waiting for You a lot, especially its guitar solo.

Grade

4/5: would listen again

4 Way Street by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: 4 Way Street
  • Group name: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: two
  • Label: Atlantic Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written inside album sleeve, indicating that my father owned it
  • Buy it on Amazon: $39.99

4 Way Street by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve reviewed an almost absurd amount of Crosby / Stills / Nash / Young music over the past several months:

… (and I know there’s a lot more Young coming up, as well as some more Stills, and who knows what else?) but I believe this will be my first time listening to 4 Way Street.

What I expected

Folk rock, rock.

What it was actually like

Side 1

This side was a kind of acoustic folk mix. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes was a huge disappointment because it was… just a few seconds long? Who the hell had that idea? Teach Your Children was a high point, though; they were laughing with (or maybe at?) each other on stage, and the audience loved it.

The next two songs, Triad and The Lee Shore, were a David Crosby mini-set and were both incredibly boring, a rare accomplishment given the subject matter of Triad, Chinese organized crime.

But Graham Nash saved the day with a piano-heavy version of Chicago that leaned heavily into its Oompa Loompa tendencies.

Side 2

This side kept the acoustic sound, but had less Crosby to mess things up.

The Neil Young mini-set, featuring Cowgirl in the Sand and Don’t Let It Bring You Down, really knocked it out of the park, and his claim that the latter song “sort of starts out real slow and then it fizzles out altogether” was absolutely false: I love that song and how he played it.

It was great to have an upbeat Stephen Stills mini-set after a couple of Neil Young songs that, let’s be honest, can be downers. 49 Bye-Byes/America’s Children was a sort of weird medley singalong, but also, did I really need to be reminded about Nixon, Agnew and Daley? Love the One You’re With was outstanding, with great harmonies and pacing, and I kept thinking that it was about to fall apart into chaos, but actually it just sounded tight and well rehearsed.

Side 3

This side was much more rock and much more electric than the previous two sides.

Pre-Road Downs sounded great and I was so impressed that this guy who, just a few minutes ago was doing Chicago on the piano, and was now rocking out with an electric guitar solo.

The electric blues version of Long Time Gone was exquisite.

I never thought I’d need to hear a ~14 minute long live version of Southern Man, and wouldn’t have expected to enjoy it because it’s kind of preachy, but it actually rocked. Listening in stereo on my father’s floor speakers, it sounded like there were electric guitars everywhere in my apartment.

Side 4

This side kept the electric/rock sound from side 3.

On the subject of preachy songs… when reviewing So Far I mentioned that I “have always found Ohio somewhat catchy but also rather obnoxious,” and that’s still true! But this was a great version of it.

Carry On was really excellent, and they did a fine job with the percussion, and the part after the bridge. This very long (over 14 minutes) jam really ought to have been the final song on the record; ending it with Find the Cost of Freedom just seemed anticlimactic and disappointing.

Grade

5/5: love it