After The Gold Rush

#279 Heard Before? I think all Canadians are now born knowing this whole album back to front. Notes: - there's a lot of strummy, whiny folk-rock balladeering in the world. what makes this the best example? - if there's a real distinctive to this album (besides over-familiarity) it is balance. production is raw but clear. instrumentation changes from song to song, but not too much. lyrical content is broad but with no real outliers. every song has its place and no element overstays its welcome. even the tension of a highly collaborative solo album is resolved beautifully. Verdict: To me this is, in its own little way, a perfect album. Listen Again? Perfect or not, I have little reason to hear it any time soon.

The first song is 3 minutes but feels so much longer. The instrumentation is nice, but I really dislike this guy's nasally whine. It's not as obnoxious as Bob Dylan, but not as tolerable as Liam Gallagher. Only Love Can Break Your Heart was a decent track. He sang with less of that nasal whine. The rest left very little of an impression on me. I didn't like any of it, I disliked some of it, but overall I don't feel very strongly one way or the other. I wasn't able to relate to any of the lyrics (though I wasn't breaking them down for secret wordplay with deeper meanings beyond the surface). It teeters on 2/5, but it doesn't feel right going into the negatives when my strongest feeling is indifference.

Whilst Neil Young is undoubtedly a great song writer, i struggle to fall in love with his work due to the thinness of his voice. There are beautifully crafted songs here with some evocative lyrics and stand out piano and guitar lines that show its quality. He is also a foundation to a lot of modern indie that i love so his legacy is strong. This may be sacrilege, but much like Joni Mitchell, the voice just kills it for me. It is too shrill and thin and lacking an appealing timbre.

First half is so good, 2nd half is just ok

It wasn’t for me, and I found the vocals quite jarring if I’m honest

This is nice!

Neil Young is one of the most prolific songwriters of the 20th and 21st centuries and this album showcases all of the best things about his music: thoughtful, pared down, and moving.

Neil Young never gets old…

Pretty okay - nothing to write home about. Some of the songs were decent

3.5* Not bad at all, but strangely felt like a step down from EKTIN - just a bit sleepier than I wanted ballad-wise!

From the first warbling notes, I knew I'd dislike this. Neil Young is so popular, and I'm not sure why.

Not bad.

Very cool, just a lack of anything really captivating. Fun listen but not one that I'll reallyremember 3

Not a bad as the other Neil Young albums I've been served up. This one I could listen to. Still doesn't get a high mark though.

really good, liked the instruments, and neil young's voice is pretty unique enjoyed plenty of songs 8-9

Que rico !

One of the plethora of solo studio albums released in the wake of the debut C,S,N & Y 'Deja Vu' album. Of the four this has been by far the most enduring and acclaimed work and was evidence that Young was the most productive talent from that group and had solo ambitions beyond the other three that has been evidenced in the ensuing fifty years. The title track, Don't let it bring you down and southern man are famous tracks, the latter getting a response from Lynryd Skynyrd on 'Sweet home Alabama'. I feel the album is a step on from CSNY but not as strong as Harvest. The road to greatness was well underway for the perpetrator.

Boring ahh. It's like listening to the same songs; I don't like the way his voice sounds. It reminds me of that image of SpongeBob singing for some reason. Would not listen to it again. 1/5

This list is determined to make me like Neil Young. This was more listenable than the other albums of his I’ve had, so maybe he’s growing on me. Mission accomplished

If you can get past Neil Young’s thin, reedy, occasionally falsetto-y wail, and start to focus on the strengths of this album, you’re actually in for an enjoyable ride. Musically, it’s kind of whatever; standard fare 70’s soft rock (ish) builds around guitar and piano, but the the talent of Young’s lyricism is the real reason for the price of admission. Reflecting on personal themes like love and heartbreak in songs like Only Love Can Break Your Heart and Oh, Lonesome Me, as well as social commentary on racism and climate-induced societal collapse in Southern Man and After the Gold Rush, we get a broad swath of topics to chew on. No pseudo intellectualism here, everything is kind of just put in front of you to digest on your own. I’m gonna lump this into the same category as Bowie or Dylan, where you’re there for the songwriting (much) more than you are for the singing. 7/10 Favorites: - After the Gold Rush - Only Love Can Break Your Heart - Oh, Lonesome Me - Birds

Took me much longer than anticipated to finally give this album a proper listen and it deserved every second. The wholesome nature of folk music warms my heart whenever an album of that nature is up for a listen, this album is no different. There are times when we start to get storytelling but it never quite finishes the story, Southern Man for example, however the songwriting is the strength of this album and one that I will find myself coming back to listen. Favorites: - After The Gold Rush - Only Love Can Break Your Heart - Southern Man - Oh, Lonesome Me Rating: 8/10

Easy listening pop. Not bad.

If you remove "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," "Southern Man," "Don't Let It Bring You Down," and "I Believe In You," After The Gold Rush is just okay.

A bunch of these songs are bangers if you listen to their cover versions.

Not bad but gives me nothing.

Ikke helt min greie dessverre, men tror annet av Young kan være mer for meg

I've already forgotten this

My attitude about work is that you give me money and I take care of some problem you have. In a nutshell. You need someone to do something, and so give me money and I’ll be that person. I’m not one of those people who brings my own problems up the line that much, unless I already have a couple,e ideas what to do about the issue. I encourage people who report to me to bring solution ideas along with any problem they think I should help solve for them. It makes sense anyways since if you’re bringing a issue up the line guaranteed you’ve thought more about it than your boss has. So what does all this have to do with Neil Young. I found myself comparing Neil to Bob Dylan a lot while I was listening to After the Gold Rush. They aren’t that similar once you scratch the surface, but they do share some DNA. The biggest thing I kept thinking is “Neil Young just comes to me and points at miserable problems. Bob Dylan does the same, but also seems to be orchestrating the associated revolution on the back end.” Of course both these guys are prolific and write about all sets of things, but was just what I was thinking about as I listened this time. It made me a bit annoyed at Neil. Now don’t get me wrong, this is a long long looong time beloved album for me. In a way it is the template for Weil You g in his purest form. But I was also feeling complained at, and maybe I’ve been complained at too much lately.

Project partner’s review of this was faultless. I’ve never agreed with anything more, especially the spelling of the artist “Weil You g”.

i like the songs and everything he expressed in all of them. I didnt, however, love how some songs are super long and some are super short. A balance kept in all of them would have been better, in my opinion.

there are certainly a lot of good moments to be found in this album, like the solo on Southern Man, but i can't really understand why this is the top Neil Young album on RYM. it doesn't really do anything better than is done on Harvest. I'd rank it below Everybody Knows This is Nowhere and On the Beach too, even. Oh, Lonesome Me is an early 2000s alt-country song from 1970. that's pretty cool. still not a fan of Neil Young's voice, and his songwriting isn't there for me either. deserves to be one of the 1001? Neil Young has a few albums that should be cut but this one probably is most deserving of staying

Liker det ganske godt, altså 60-80%. Holder likevel kun til en treer. Blir en del treere her, kanskje jeg er for streng?

Always a classic…

I thought this was okay. I like harvest moon better peronally. 6/10

Look, Neil Young is great, but I don't know if I ever really want to hear another full album of his voice. Idk

I used to like Neil Young, but this list of albums has shoved so much of his whiny voice into my ears that I'm pretty over him.

NOT ANOTHER NEIL YOUNG ALBUM.

Banger after banger till the morning comes makes this a 5 alone

Reminded me of my dad

It’s just fine

Ты заебал со своим Нилом Янгом

Great pleasant thoughtful mellow , solid country rock . Solid 6.5/10

troppo ripetitivo ma chillino bello

Album #2 on the list from Neil Young. As mentioned earlier, I never liked his singing. This is probably his best effort. The first half of the album is good, then it goes downhill a bit. “Oh Lonesome Me” is a cover of the old Don Gibson song (which I heard today coincidentally), but with a totally different style. Overall 3.5 stars.

MORE NEIL YOUNG? >:( 2nd list appearance of 'After the Gold Rush' (after k.d. lang's version). Coulda fooled me. This song is bad and Neil Young's voice is bad. Flugelhorn is OK. Overall this is more dentist music. The lyrics are good, and it's pretty short, but I really don't like his voice and I think the music is uninteresting (other than flugelhorn). Linguistic intrigue: What's the object of "love" in 'When You Dance I Can Really Love'? Is it indefinite, or is it "you"? Darn it, now I need to research a Neil Young song :(

Look, I've come to the conclusion that I don't dislike Neil Young, but the incessant falsetto throughout this album really brought it down for me. High potential songs with great lyrics, I'd just love to hear it sung by just about anyone else in his/her normal vocal range.

I really like Neil’s voice. Great album lyrically

Might want to put southern man on my song singles list

Album cover is okay, way worse than On the Beach. This album is short, but thats welcome because its also middle of the road. I liked Birds, Tell me Why, When you Dance I can Really Love. Neal Young is just alright to me, wouldnt listen to this guy again unless I had to, which I likely will because this guys got mad glazers. Best Song: When you Dance I can Really Love. Worst Song: Cripple Creek Ferry

After the gold rush, is a good album, with stand-out songs like Southern Man and Only love can Break your Heart. Neil’s voice makes each song uniquely identifiable.

After the Gold Rush features some of Neil Young's best songs, and some of the worst. Stand-out tracks such as "When You Dance I Can Really Love" generally balance out the less memorable "Tell Me Why." The other songs are not particularly exceptional or repulsive. It averages out to a flawed album with its highlights — not Neil's magnum opus, but not career-ending.

I am not a fan of his voice but I do really like Till the Morning Comes and When You Dance. It grew on me during a second play.

Really good stripped down recording. Not a fan of his singing voice

A strong album that I rate a strong 3. Neil young, his way of singing and his stripped back approach with his instrumentals remind me of Elliot smith in a way…even the subject matter spoken about in his songs…a lot of heavy or darker topics being covered throughout the album. Really enjoyed the tracks ‘tell me why’- because this one specifically reminded me of Elliot and I also really loved ‘birds’ where he still kept his usual vocal approach on this track but also showcased his vocals more…there was a rare moment with him playing around with his voice

I don’t really enjoyed it but some are great

I like Neil young but a bit too acoustic for me

Fantastic album

Don't like his voice on some tracks, as always love Neil but difficult to get into him on an album level

Too old for me 1 star

Not even 100 albums in and we already have 3 Neil Young albums. This is a great one. Harvest Moon is considered his best, but this is a close second. An album that contains Southern Man has to get 5 stars. Great songwriting with several recognizable tunes from yesterday. I know some don’t like his voice, but it’s unique and I enjoy listening to his work.

Basically my last chance to be a Neil Young fan, and this just aint it. Really enjoyed the first third of the album, and then fell apart. Just like the last one. 2.5 — there’s a better hidden amongst these albums, but too much filler, even for 35 minutes.

Solid, but not solid enough to overcome my Neil Young fatigue.

I’m a fan of almost everything that came out of Laurel Canyon in this era but for whatever reason Neil Young has never quite done it for me. I don’t love his voice, so when it’s just him I have a hard time with the songs. More tolerable when it’s blended in with other artists.

I genuinely had to listen to this twice to appreciate it. On first listen it felt a bit slow & meandering, but on second listen, the records qualities really shone through. It’s a brilliantly written, emotionally-driven album with beautifully arranged instrumentals & vocals. Whilst it doesn’t have any huge individual standout, memorable highs, it is a consistently good listen.

With this I am now half way through the Neil Young albums. This is the first one that feels truly essential. Every track on here is solid. Looking forward to Harvest.

Listened previously. Expectations: High - Verdict: Great - Tell Me Why is a great song to start things off. The harmonies are lovely and the strummed guitar sounds really good. The title track is gorgeous with some phenomenal, trademark Neil Young lyrics. Only Love Can Break Your Heart is a fairly simple song but it's very effective and the melody is very catchy. Southern Man rocks hard and the drums are really driving. The next couple of tracks can't quite reach the same heights but the guitar solo that just begins at the very end of Oh, Lonesome Me sounds like it could have been really cool if left to run a bit longer. Don't Let It Bring You Down is a great a tune with a very nice descending verse. I think the rest of the album loses some steam but that is only because the high points here are incredibly high.

Solid outing but nothing extraordinarily special

oh please, stop with all the Neil Young albums. I like Neil Young but this list doesn't need so many by him on it. That is just poor list making.

appreciated the brevity

Why is there so much Neil Young on this list?

A pleasant listen, as my experience with Neil Young usual is. Wild that he broke his writers block by reading a screenplay for a movie that was never made

Neil Young blijft zeikmuziek. Wel beter dan het vorige album. 2,5

Legendary

Now, we are talking - one of my fav albums of all time

Terceiro disco desse cara, não aguento mais não.

as expected.

I like some of Neil Young's songs. I just don't like that he sings them! I prefer the version of After The Gold Rush that Dolly, Linda and Emmylene sang on their Trio II album, and although I like the tune and compositions of songs like Tell Me Why and Don't Let It Bring You Down, his voice is too whiny for me, and I Believe In You, in particular, sounds more like a dirge due to this. Voice aside though, this isn't so bad, with upbeat moments in other songs such as When You Dance I Can't Really Love. Songs like Southern Man still remain socially important, and After The Gold Rush makes me picture the rockets our morally unconscious billionaires are building to plan their escape. 3 stars.

Still waiting for a rock Neil Young album. This was very folksy. Not my thing. Better than some of the others I've heard of his.

Hate is a strong word. I don't care for Neil Young's voice.

Kinda essential, kinda beautiful.

Man, the harmonies on Tell Me Why are just one of the best things ever. Also, that voice is just undeniable. Great stuff, totally soothing.

meh, 2 stars. But I didn't know that St. Etienne covered his song Only Love Can Break Your Heart

Neil Young has great albums and terrible albums. This one's just a dull

bonito

I could get into this under the right circumstances

Neil being Neil

Classic Neil

The playing on this is tremendous. Such lovely melodies. However Neil then starts singing. Oh no oh no no no

This did nothing to improve my opinion of Neil Young. There is no pleasure in listening to his wining voice. St Etienne have proven that there might be good songs in there but I just can't spot them!

It's hard for me to decide between a 4 and 5 for this album, because upon first listen, I do hear the same thing critics did when they first heard this album, which is something that seems subtle, somewhat predictable, and just passes by. However, digging deeper and thinking of the influence this album has had since it was released in 1970, I feel good about bumping it up to a 5. This is an album that was monumental in helping form grunge, mixing the distorted guitars with melody and simpler rock music that wasn't in the prog rock or glam rock or heavy metal previous to this album, in the same way.

I just don't like Neil Young. Sorry.

Straight off the bat I didn’t love it and that vibe kinda kept throughout. The title track made me want to crash my car just to shut it up. I realise this is probably really profound if I dig Deep into to the lyrics but I just find it boring and in some cases really annoying. The highlighted songs actually aren’t terrible, just overall I don’t love it . Is worth noting on a second listen I enjoyed it more. It’s very bluesy so maybe in a different mood I’d be on it Highlights: When you Dance I really can love Cripple creek ferry Only love can break your heart

After the gold rush Neil Young Not a particularly exciting or inspiring album. I may have enjoyed more if I was depressed. When you dance you can really love is my favourite track since it has a more uptone vibe than others on the album which is more my style.

Great album!

This one is an automatic 5 stars, since I already like all of the songs on this one - so it's a perfect album. Neil Young is one of my favorite artists. I have 78 songs liked by him on Spotify - which puts him in my top 6 based on song count. I saw him once in concert in the 90s in a solo acoustic show and then last year (2025) with the Chrome Hearts. Great shows each time. I've already reviewed 3 of his albums on here: 1 5 star: On the Beach 2 4 stars: Rust Never Sleeps, Ragged Glory Funny - was just looking at this - I have the song "After the Gold Rush" liked 4 times - the original on this album, and then 3 covers: one by Thom Yorke (of Radiohead), one by The Flaming Lips and also one by Dolly Parton/Linda Ronstadt/Emmylou Harris. It's such a great song. That and the song "Southern Man" are the ones that I originally knew from the radio - that led me to discover this album and I ended up liking all of it. I've had the CD since sometime in the late 80s but I'm pretty sure I taped it from someone's LP before that. So, I've known this for a really long time. Love that Nils Lofgren is on a lot of these songs. He's played extensively with 2 of my favorite artists - Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. Relistening to this in full today was like revisiting an old friend you haven't seen in a while, but pick up right where you left off. I was just grooving with it and singing along. It's mostly his folky style, but also a bit of his jammy side - particularly on "Southern Man". Good stuff Neil! I went and looked at some of the other reviews and see some (not all) people complaining about his voice. I don't get it, I think his voice is great. Maybe I've just been so used to it since I was a little kid. I have a problem with a lot of the voices I've heard through this project - but definitely not Neil. Liked songs on Spotify: 11/11 (perfect album) Rating: 5/5

Mystically Melancholic, a masterclass in solo singer songwriting, every song is crafted and delivered with heart and authenticity. Southern man being timeless stand out track. Heartwarming southern comfort folk rock at its finest.

Not worth my time. Fav tracks: Birds

Whiner than usial

Meh

embarrassed to admit that I didn't realise Only Love Can Break Your Heart wasn't a Saint Etienne original some truly lovely songs, others a bit warbly another strong 3/5 from Neil - may need to reassess my rating of ektik