Release date: August 31, 1970
Singles: Only Love Can Break Your Heart, When You Dance I Can Really Love, Oh Lonesome Me
This is Neil Young's record fifth appearance on the vault. The randomizer loves him, and I'm not complaining too much. This album, along with last time's Songs For Beginners by Graham Nash, was released in the wake of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's hit Deja Vu. Like Nash's album, this album has a pretty terrible cover. The legend is that the reason the image is solarized is because they were trying to mask the fact that the picture was out of focus. The result of solarizing it is that it makes the woman that Neil Young is walking past appear to be a bizarre growth on his back.
Luckily, the cover is the worst part of this album. The music is fantastic. Along with Harvest, which we've already covered here on the vault, After the Gold Rush represents the highest peak of Young's long and illustrious solo career. All of the songs are strong enough to stand on their own, and at the same time they still flow together well enough to make a great album. The songs range from the mournful "Oh Lonesome Me" to the searing "Southern Man."
Rating: 9 old lady tumors - Any fan of Neil Young must own this album. It is an absolute classic. Perfect for lounging around the house or sitting outside with a beer on a summer evening.
It's really difficult to pick just one song to play off this album because they are pretty uniformly good. I think I'm going to have to go with the raw, powerful "Southern Man." Enjoy!
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