AFTER THE GOLDRUSH

SEAN OGILVIE

1970 Review

"none of the songs here rise above the

uniformly dull surface."

1975 Review

"masterpiece"

Neil Young’s Life

Neil Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian born singer and songwriter. He started out playing in a band called the Shadows in Ontario before moving to California in 1966. There he started the band Buffalo Springfield along with Stephan Hills and Richard Furray. After Buffalo Springfield, Neil started a solo career and had Crazy Horse as his band. He later joined Crosby, Stills, and Nash as the fourth member in 1969. Over a span of 40 years Neil has produced 35 studio albums and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame once in 1995 as a solo artist, and a second time as a member of Buffalo Springfield. (Neil Young Bio, Pg. 1-2)

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2013

Neil and Buffalo

SpringfieldThe Band Buffalo Springfield was created when Neil young and Stephen Stills crossed paths in Thunder Bay, Ontario in 1965. At the time Young was playing with the Squirrels and Stills was lead singer and guitarist for The Company. They both didn’t just quit there bands to form a new one, but their time together in Ontario left them both with a strong desire to work together. A year later Stills and Young got together with Richie Furray, Dewey Martin, and Bruce Palmer to...

2012

1968

Neil and Buffalo Springfield Extended

Form the band Buffalo Springfield, which got its name from the side of a steamroller, made by the Buffalo-Springfield Roller Company . The band only lasted two years because of  infighting, drug-related arrests, and line-up changes. The band released three albums Buffalo Springfield, Last Time Around, and Retrospective. The most famous song the band played was “For What its Worth”. This song is about rebelling against the City of L.A. who were infringing on Club-goers rights. The song was also used and made famous as an Anti-war song later in the 70’s, but wasn’t intended for that.(Buffalo Springfield Bio Pg. 1)

(Buffalo Springfield “For What its Worth)

(World News, Pg.1)

Neil Young with Crazy

HorseIn 1968 after Buffalo Springfield broke up, Young played with the Rockets at the Whiskey A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. Yong liked jamming with them so after a name change Young started writing with them. Neil and Crazy horse have turned out 22 albums with the most recent one in 2012 called “Psychedelic Pill”. Young played with them on and off for many years until 2012 where they started a U.S tour and are on tour now over seas. Many of Young’s famous songs like, Down by the River and Oh Lonesome from the album After the Goldrush have come playing with Crazy Horse. (Band Biographies Pg. 1)

1975

(Neil Young - Interview 1986)

1986

(Crazy Horse , Google Images)

Neil’s Depiction

The album’s major theme is consisted of politics and human greed towards mother nature. Neil uses the power of his lyrics to help portray his theme. In the song, After the Gold Rush, he sings "Flying Mother Nature's silver seed”, this invokes a scenario similar to a movie from 1972 called "Silent Running," where life on Earth had to be saved from human greed. In 1970 the EPA was formed to help regulate the environmental harms in business. In another song, Ohio, Neil sings “Tin soldiers and Nixon coming…Four dead in Ohio” this described the Kent State University shooting that happened in 1970 during a protest against the Vietnam War, where U.S. soldiers shot and killed innocent civilians.(Neil Young SongFacts Pg. 1)

(Neil Young After The Gold Rush) (Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young Ohio)

About The Album

Released in August 31, 1970 it was Neil’s third album. The album consisted of eleven songs which was inspired by the Dean Stockwell-Herb Berman screenplay After the Gold Rush. It peaked at number eight on Billboard Top Pop albums, but critics initially weren’t impressed, but as time went on it has been considered a masterpiece, and appears on a number of greatest albums lists. (Britannica After The Gold Rush, Pg. 1)

Song List

Side one "Tell Me Why" – 2:54"After the Gold Rush" – 3:45"Only Love Can Break Your Heart" – 3:05"Southern Man" – 5:31"Till the Morning Comes" – 1:17 Side two"Oh Lonesome Me" (Don Gibson) – 3:47"Don't Let It Bring You Down" – 2:56"Birds" – 2:34"When You Dance I Can Really Love" – 4:05"I Believe in You" – 3:24"Cripple Creek Ferry" – 1:34

Analysis of Southern Man

The song is describing racism towards African Americans in the American South. The lyrics "I saw cotton and I saw black, tall white mansions and little shacks. Southern Man, when will you pay them back?“, Neil is describing how the Southern whites made so many fortunes, while the Blacks were mistreated and forced to work as slaves. In a response to this the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote their song “Sweet Home Alabama.(Thrashers Wheat Pg.1)

Golden Age of Rock

The transformation from the early 60’s rock with the Beetles to Bob Dylan when he performed at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 . His songs of social protest like "Blowin' in the Wind” transformed rock into the “Hippie Age”. Neil has many songs that speak about social protest like the song Ohio, Almost cut my hair, and Rockin’ in the Free world. During this time in history there were many doubts about the government that created a free love hippie culture. Like the the Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK assassination, Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement, oil shortages, the economy, abortion, inflation, the green revolution and many more.(Rock Music ,Pg. 1)

(BobDylanTv) (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young-Almost Cut My Hair) (Neil Young , Ohio )(Rockin’ in The Free World)

Legends From 1960’s

The Rolling Stones, Let It Bleed is an album from 1967. It connects to Neil’s album because it’s lyrics talk about how violence is corrupting the world and about the usual 60’s topics which are, drugs and free love. Many other great album from the time period are Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) by The Beatles, Pet Sounds (1966) by The Beach Boys, Highway 61 Revisited (1965) by Bob Dylan, and Are You Experienced? (1967), by Jimi Hendrix (Madini, Pg.1)

(Beatles- Good Day Sunshine)(Jimi Hendrix Live At Woodstock)(Beatles - A Day in the Life) (Beach Boys Wouldn't It Be Nice)