A fairly quiet week at the Towers this week and a return to some basics with old stalwarts Neil Young (still top of the leaders' charts) and Gram Parsons (his first appearance at the blog!).
Euphony In Electronics - One Point One
Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim
Fairport Convention - Who Knows Where The Time Goes?
Efterklang - Magic Chairs
Neil Young - After The Gold Rush
Gram Parsons - GP and Grievous Angel
I think After The Gold Rush was the first or second album of Neil Young's I heard. It's probably still one of his most famous along with Harvest and Harvest Moon I guess these days (the latter 1992 album pretty good in the context of much of his output in the previous decade but also very overrated in my opinion and not a patch on its namesake). I remember being fascinated by the minimalist black and white cover of After The Gold Rush, the chunky gold font of the title and the fish eye centre fold view of Young laid across a dressing room sofa in those jeans surrounded by guitars.
There are some fascinating pictures of famous album cover shoots out there on the www. Here's one of this one with Graham Nash in the foreground, superimposed on the New York street as it is seen today.
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| Courtesy: http://www.popspotsnyc.com/ |
The music is an excellent introduction to the full range of Young for those who prefer the original albums over Greatest Hits compilations, with some heavy rock, acoustic guitar and piano (oddly a young Nils Lofgren, a great guitarist in his own right, guested on piano).
We need some simple parts and we’re confident that you’ll find them on the piano.
The Nils Lofgren one is an interesting story and just shows what can happen if you have a bit of front sometimes. Aged 18 he went to a Neil Young gig, blagged himself backstage, met Young, played him a couple of his own songs, got invited back to Young's Topanga Canyon ranch, ended up playing on After The Gold Rush, and having his own debut album produced by Young's producer David Briggs.
Lofgren went on to spend much of his career in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band but has recently returned to playing live with Young again as part of the latest Crazy Horse incarnation.
Gram Parsons of course had a much shorter career than either Young or Lofgren. Having started in The Byrds and then The Flying Burrito Brothers he had become a bit of a poster boy for the new Country Rock by the time of his first solo album GP in 1973. However he was also on a downward drugs and booze spiral (including hanging out with the Rolling Stones in the Mojave Desert and Nellcote) and his second album Grievous Angel was released posthumously the year after after his death in 1973. The two albums have long been available together on one CD.
[Now is the first time ever I've noticed Gold Rush is two words - not only in this context but anywhere - it has never been one word!]
Lofgren went on to spend much of his career in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band but has recently returned to playing live with Young again as part of the latest Crazy Horse incarnation.
Gram Parsons of course had a much shorter career than either Young or Lofgren. Having started in The Byrds and then The Flying Burrito Brothers he had become a bit of a poster boy for the new Country Rock by the time of his first solo album GP in 1973. However he was also on a downward drugs and booze spiral (including hanging out with the Rolling Stones in the Mojave Desert and Nellcote) and his second album Grievous Angel was released posthumously the year after after his death in 1973. The two albums have long been available together on one CD.
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| Gram Parsons hanging out with Keith Richards at Nellcote, France, 1971 |
[Now is the first time ever I've noticed Gold Rush is two words - not only in this context but anywhere - it has never been one word!]
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