Reprise 1970
3/2/10
Album of the Day: Neil Young After the Gold Rush
My writing style is such that I will spontaneously jot down whatever is in my mind at any given time, so I can understand how readers may have heard the phrase “one of my all-time favorite albums” quite a bit from me, in regards to several albums. But, I want my comments about “After the Gold Rush” to stand out significantly, so I will say this—it is EASILY on my list of top 5 albums ever made. On my I-Pod, I look at my individual ratings for the songs on this record, and I see eleven fives in a row. I NEVER see that! There is absolutely no filler here—even the minute-long “’Til the Morning Comes”, which acts as a sort of segue between sides A and B, is a perfect song. Aside from the overall perfection of the songwriting, there is just an amazing feel to this album that fills the room every time it comes on. It’s especially great at work—if the day is sucking horribly and I’m hating life and this record comes on, all of a sudden, the customers become people again. That first line of the opener “Tell Me Why”, “Sailing hardships through broken harbors”, sums up everyone’s day every day. It’s LIFE. “After the Gold Rush” is a very human record which covers pretty much the range of all possible human emotion, all in under 35 minutes and in Neil Young’s shaky-voiced glory. (more…)
