After the Gold Rush

After the Gold Rush was Young’s follow-up solo project in the wake of the chart-topping success of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album Déjà Vu. It was his third solo album, and the second attributed solely to “Neil Young” after his eponymous debut (Everybody Knows This is Nowhere is “with Crazy Horse”). After the Gold Rush continued Young’s ascendency up the Billboard charts, reaching number 8.

At the time of release, After the Gold Rush received a scathing review in Rolling Stone, which concluded that “none of the songs here rise above the uniformly dull surface”.

However, in the years following its release, the album has gained significant critical acclaim. In 1997, After the Gold Rush was placed 47th on The Guardian’s 100 Best Albums Ever. This was followed by 74th place on a similar list by Rolling Stone in 2003 and placing on [Time Magazine’s All-TIME 100 Albums.

In a 2013 career retrospective, Stereogum placed After the Gold Rush as the 3rd best Neil Young album characterizing it as “not merely one of Neil Young’s best albums, or even one of the finest albums ever made — it’s Scripture.”