“After the Gold Rush” (1974) – Prelude * Written by Neil Young* Produced by Fritz Fryor * 45: “After the Gold Rush” / “Johnson Boy” * LP: After the Gold Rush * Label: Dawn (UK) / Island (US) * Charts: Billboard Hot 100 (#22); UK #21
British a cappella trio version of Neil Young’s curiously titled visionary song from 1970, which taps into the sparseness of the original, with its “Look at Mother Nature on the run in the 1970s” refrain, along with the marketable declaration that “I felt like getting high,” to memorable effect. (But wait a minute – they’re actually saying “in the 1917,” aren’t they?) Young’s song already rang with end-of-an-era poignancy, but Prelude, at a point in time when the dust had truly settled, transformed it into a proper postlude, regardless of their weird year switch.