200: Neil Young releases After The Gold Rush
Released on September 19, 1970, After The Gold Rush was Neil’s third album. Now long respected as one of Neil’s finest albums, an initial review in Rolling Stone magazine said:
“Neil Young devotees will probably spend the next few weeks trying desperately to convince themselves that After the Gold Rush is good music. But they’ll be kidding themselves. For despite the fact that the album contains some potentially first rate material, none of the songs here rise above the uniformly dull surface.”
After The Gold Rush featured Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot of Crazy Horse, Danny Whitten and Jack Nitzsche on piano. The album also featured a then fairly 18 year old guitarist named Nils Lofgrin, who has been in the E Street Band since 1984.
After The Gold Rush has some of the most tender love songs ever written, including “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” “Tell Me Why,” and “I Believe In You.” The title song was a ode to the environment and the album also included the concert favorite “Southern Man.”