After the Gold Rush is the third studio album by the Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released in September 1970 on Reprise Records.
Young's album consists mainly of country folk music along with several rock tracks, including "Southern Man".
After the Gold Rush entered Billboard Top Pop Albums chart on September 19, and peaked at number eight in October.
The album was recorded with members of both of his associated groups at the time, Crazy Horse and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, as well as the first appearance by long-time collaborator Nils Lofgren.
Songs on the album were inspired by a screenplay written by Dean Stockwell and Herb Bermann also titled After the Gold Rush.
[10] Young recalls coming in contact with the script in his 2012 memoir Waging Heavy Peace: When I returned to Topanga, Dean Stockwell came by the house with a screenplay called After the Gold Rush.
The song "After the Gold Rush" was written to go along with the story’s main character as he carried the tree of life through Topanga Canyon to the ocean.
[11] In Young's biography Shakey, the script, now lost, is described as an end of the world movie which culminates in a tidal wave crashing into local music venue and hangout The Topanga Corral.
[12]Ultimately, only two songs on the album were directly influenced by or had been intended for use in the film: "After the Goldrush" and "Cripple Creek Ferry".
[9] The lyrics to "After the Gold Rush" were inspired by a dream[13] and consider a future when mankind uses space travel to perpetuate the species in wake of environmental destruction.
Young shares in a June 1988 interview for Spin Magazine that the lyrics lost meaning for him over time, and made it difficult to sing the song live: That's a hell of a question, isn't it?
Young's arrangement dates from his coffeehouse folk days in Toronto in late 1965:[9] "I wanted to give the acoustic solo thing a try in the Village (Yorkville).
During the recording of the album, Young toured with both Crazy Horse and Crosby, Stills and Nash, and made solo concert appearances.
Although progress was hampered by the deteriorating health of rhythm guitarist Danny Whitten, the sessions yielded two album tracks, "I Believe In You" and "Oh, Lonesome Me".
[21] Young would explain to author Nick Kent: See, the way I used to work then, this would be the summer of 1969 we're talking about now, I'd usually go in and record with Crazy Horse at Sunset Sound Studios every morning.
In November, Young booked time with CSNY at Wally Heider Studios to record Déjà Vu before resuming their tour of North America followed by January appearances in Europe.
In February and March, Young toured North America with Crazy Horse, performing the shows that would later see release on Live at the Fillmore East.
Young recalls building the studio in the liner notes to Decade: "I put the wood on the walls myself and loved that feeling.
Musicians for these sessions generally feature CSNY bassist Greg Reeves, Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina and burgeoning eighteen-year-old musical prodigy Nils Lofgren of the Washington, D.C.–based band Grin on piano.
Biographer Jimmy McDonough has asserted[24] that Young was intentionally trying to combine Crazy Horse and CSNY on this release, with members of the former band appearing alongside Stephen Stills and Reeves.
The April session for "When You Dance, I Can Really Love" at Young's Topanga home studio marks the last time Crazy Horse played together with Danny Whitten.
During the August 1969 Sunset Sound sessions, Young recorded a version featuring vibes with Crazy Horse that was erroneously released as the b-side to "Only Love Can Break Your Heart."
Young explains in the biography Shakey: "The electric version of "Birds" with vibes turned out to be great, but it was only half the song.
"[9] Later that month during a break in CSNY's first tour, Young recorded a duet version on acoustic guitar with Graham Nash on vocals.
The final take used on the album features Young on solo piano accompanied by members of Crazy Horse on vocals.
Young describes the relationship in his memoir, Waging Heavy Peace: I first met Gary Burden while shooting the CSNY cover for Déjà Vu, my initial album with CSN.
Young explains in Waging Heavy Peace: Susan, my first wife, made all those cool patches I wore back in the day when even I was fashionable.
The re-release includes two different versions of the song "Wonderin'" – on the CD as two extra tracks and in the vinyl box set as a 45rpm single in a picture sleeve.
Digital high-resolution files of the album are also available via the Neil Young Archives website, including a longer 3:36 outtake of "Birds" recorded at the same Sunset Sound sessions as "Wonderin'".
"[35] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau was more enthusiastic, saying: "While David Crosby yowls about assassinations, Young divulges darker agonies without even bothering to make them explicit.