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Young was born on 12th November 1945 in Toronto, Ontario. His interested in music began to develop at the age of fifteen when his family broke up. He idolized Elvis Presley and grew up listening to people like Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. He began playing in bands all throughout his schooling years, and did his first solo tour in 1965. The next year he joined Buffalo Springfield who, according to many musical sources, helped create the genre of folk rock and country rock.
The band’s success was unfortunately shortlived, and after another solo stint, Crosby, Stills & Nash, the folk super group, asked Neil to join them as a siderunner, but he refused unless he received full membership. This therefore sparked the birth of the quartet Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in 1969. But this partnership too was not to last long, as Young’s own musical direction was fighting with that of the band’s. The years that followed were to be the most successful for Young, producing albums like After The Gold Rush and Harvest.
The song I have chosen to cover is, I think, the best example of Young’s beautiful vocals and songwriting - After The Gold Rush. The beauty is in its simplicity – aside from his vocal, there are simply two instruments used on the track, a piano and a French horn (replaced by Young’s staple harmonica in live performances). In terms of the song’s meaning, it’s hard to say. Dolly Parton even asked the man himself when covering the song in the 90s, and Young answer pretty truthfully:
“Hell, I don't know. I just wrote it. It just depends on what I was taking at the time. I guess every verse has something different I'd taken.”
Well. At least he was honest. Nevertheless, enjoy!
