Discord & Rhyme: An Album Podcast

Discord and Rhyme is a podcast where we discuss the albums we love, song by song.

118: Neil Young - After the Gold Rush (1970)

May 23, 2023  /  Amanda Rodgers

“I knew that I liked it. I could hear it - I could stand outside, listen, and it made me feel good. I want the music to feel like I'm immersed in it. You know it's right, you know you got the take of the song. That's what I'm looking for."

—Neil Young on After the Gold Rush

By the time he recorded his third solo album, After the Gold Rush, Neil Young had already been part of successful records by the Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and his second album had hit the top 40. As great as that music had been, though, Neil hadn't yet reached his peak - at least according to Ben. Ben explains why After the Gold Rush is a high point in a career full of high points, and why the album and its singer have meant so much to him since he was a teenager. Rich, Phil, and John also weigh in and discuss their varying - but generally substantial - levels of Neil Young fandom. 

Miscellany

  • The late David Crosby, never one to mince words, had this to say about Neil's band Crazy Horse: "They should've never been allowed to be musicians at all. They should've been shot at birth. They can't play. I've heard the bass player muff a change in a song seventeen times in a row. 'Cinnamon Girl' - he still doesn't know it!" (from Jimmy McDonough's excellent Neil Young biography Shakey.) 

  • Despite his loss in the 1972 presidential election, George McGovern was a war hero and an admirable politician who fought to end world hunger. Neil and Graham were right to back him musically. 

Other links 

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call 

  • Ben Marlin (host)

  • Rich Bunnell (moderator)

  • Phil Maddox

  • John McFerrin 

After the Gold Rush tracklist 

  1. Tell Me Why

  2. After the Gold Rush

  3. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

  4. Southern Man

  5. Till the Morning Comes

  6. Oh, Lonesome Me

  7. Don’t Let it Bring You Down

  8. Birds

  9. When You Dance I Can Really Love

  10. I Believe in You

  11. Cripple Creek Ferry 

Other clips used 

  • Neil Young:

  • Heart of Gold

  • Rockin’ in the Free World

  • Winterlong

  • I've Loved Her So Long

  • Down by the River

  • Let's Impeach the President

  • Cinnamon Girl

  • War Song (with Graham Nash)

  • Round & Round (It Won't Be Long)

  • Birds (45 version)

  • When You Dance I Can Really Love (live)

  • Transformer Man

  • Downtown

  • Don't Cry No Tears

  • Revolution Blues

  • Piece of Crap

  • Like a Hurricane

  • Powderfinger

  • Walk with Me

Others:

  • Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha

  • Autechre - Augmatic Disport

  • Arnold Schoenberg - Mondestrunken

  • BTS - Dynamite

  • Mike Post - Law & Order

  • Ministry - Filth Pig

  • The Squires - The Sultan

  • The Mynah Birds - It's My Time

  • Buffalo Springfield - Flying on the Ground Is Wrong

  • Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Helpless

  • Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Ohio

  • The Moody Blues - Higher and Higher

  • The Beatles - For No One

  • Saint Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart

  • Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama

  • Drive-By Truckers - The Three Great Alabama Icons

  • Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Southern Man (Live)

  • Yes - We Have Heaven

  • Don Gibson - Oh, Lonesome Me

  • Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On

  • Ween - Lullaby

Band/album personnel 

  • Neil Young – guitar, piano, harmonica, vibes, lead vocals

  • Danny Whitten – guitar, vocals

  • Nils Lofgren – guitar, piano, vocals

  • Jack Nitzsche – piano

  • Billy Talbot – bass

  • Greg Reeves – bass

  • Ralph Molina – drums, vocals

  • Stephen Stills – vocals

  • Bill Peterson – flugelhorn

Credits 

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of: 

  • Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

  • Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

  • The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

  • Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

  • Herbie Hancock - Hornets

  • Kraftwerk - Autobahn

  • Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

  • Neil Young - When You Dance I Can Really Love (this episode only) 

You can buy or stream After the Gold Rush and other albums by Neil Young at neilyoung.warnerrecords.com, your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Twitter @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich Bunnell, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and keep as cool as you can.

tags / Benjamin Marlin

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