In the 15 months between the release of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and After the Gold Rush, Neil Young issued a series of recordings in different styles that could have prepared his listeners for the differences between the two LPs. His two compositions on the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album Déjà Vu, "Helpless" and "Country Girl," returned him to the folk and country styles he had pursued before delving into the hard rock of Everybody Knows; two other singles, "Sugar Mountain" and "Oh, Lonesome Me," also emphasised those roots. But "Ohio," a CSNY single, rocked as hard as anything on the second album.
After the Gold Rush was recorded with the aid of Nils Lofgren, a 17-year-old unknown whose piano was a major instrument, turning one of the few real rockers, "Southern Man" (which had unsparing protest lyrics typical of Phil Ochs), into a more stately effort than anything on the previous album and giving a classic tone to the title track, a mystical ballad that featured some of Young's most imaginative lyrics and became one of his most memorable songs.
But much of After the Gold Rush consisted of country-folk love songs, which consolidated the audience Young had earned through his tours and recordings with CSNY; its dark yet hopeful tone matched the tenor of the times in 1970, making it one of the definitive singer/songwriter albums, and it has remained among Young's major achievements.
Neil Young - After The Gold Rush
A1. Tell Me Why
A2. After The Gold Rush
A3. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
A4. Southern Man 5:11
A5. Till The Morning Comes
B1. Oh, Lonesome Me
B2. Don't Let It Bring You Down
B3 .Birds
B4. When You Dance, I Can Really Love
B5. I Believe In You
B6. Cripple Creek Ferry