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51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning Sound Quality For An Album Already Perfect, July 15, 2009
I'm not going to waste your time with a long winded review of one of the greatest albums of the last fifty years. If you are a fan then you know how good it is. If you are not a fan or unfamiliar with his work, then this 1970 album should do the trick. If it doesn't get you into Neil then nothing in his catalog will. I'm also not going to post the same review for all four albums released, this review applies to all of the newly remastered solo albums (Neil Young, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After The Gold Rush & Harvest) with regards to sound quality.
I had a sneaking suspicion they were going to remaster his catalog since it took way too long for the Archives box set to come out, especially considering how little unreleased material was actually on it. To some extent the box set, in my opinion, was a bit bloated and padded to charge a higher price. In any event, it appears the real reason it took so long was due to the fact that they were remastering everything possible in his catalog and wanted to have it all ready to release in the same general time frame.
I mainly want to focus on the remastering of this album, which is absolutely incredible. The liner notes state it was remastered from the original analog tapes and was an analog to HDCD 24 Bit 176 KHZ digital transfer...uh...OK...sounds good to me! This album sounds so far superior to the original CD pressing that it made my weak car speakers sound like they had had a BOSE makeover. Upon hearing some of the album tracks on the Archives box set it was obvious how incredible they sounded and I hoped they would do the same treatement to his catalog. Each album is numbered in the order they were released and a label on the back states it's part of the "Neil Young Archives Official Release Series" so there should definitely be more to come. All of these remasters come in a standard jewel case and there are no bonus tracks.
The sticker on the outside of the packaging stated that it was "remastered from the original analog tapes...because sound matters", and they're right. Someday pre-packaged music will be gone to a large extent and the younger generation doesn't give a rat's behind about sound quality so we have to get the best sounding versions while we can. Yes, I'm getting old and crotchety, I admit it. Now get off my lawn!
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great album, great sound restored, July 20, 2009
Released in the same year as Déjà Vu, Young's landmark reunion album with former Buffalo Springfield collaborator Steven Stills, David Crosby and Graham Nash, After the Gold Rush understandably focused on Young's solo compositions and idiosyncratic vocal style. Although it always had a slightly hastily put together quality, as if Young were rushing to his next assignment with Stills, it was highly successful at the time both commercially and artistically, and has aged extremely well. In fact, along with Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, which had a more rock orientation and which also produced the classic "Down by the River," After the Gold Rush is arguably young's best overall album, blending rock-tinged songs like "Southern Man," basically a one off on "Down by the River," with lovely ballads such as "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," and "Don't Let It Bring You Down".
Like all the recent Neil Young reissues, this has benefited immensely from the remastering to HDCD sound. Unlike some remastering efforts these days, which tend to be aggressive and edgy, this one has made the sound more "musical and mellow while at the same time restoring the dynamic impact of Young's forceful guitar strumming and twangy lead guitar playing. In other words, it sounds about as close as a CD can come to sounding like an vinyl LP, without the clicks and pops of course. This reissue is long overdue, and it's great to finally hear it again with all the force and mastery of the original.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"...Morning Brings Another Sun...", August 14, 2009
As we all know, Neil Young has famously resisted the remastered reissue of his huge catalogue on CD because of what he feels is the format's less than stellar representation of analogue tapes' 'original sound' - and almost a full 20 years after 1989's first issue of "Gold Rush" on a dullard CD - it looks like the guy is having the last laugh - because this meticulously prepared tape transfer is GLORIOUS. It really is.
First to the details - "After The Gold Rush" was released in September 1970 on Reprise Records RS 6383 in the USA and RSLP 6383 in the UK (it went to Number 8 in the USA and Number 7 in the UK). This 2009 NYA OSR remaster (Neil Young Archives - Original Release Series) is Disc 3 of 4 and carries the HDCD code on the label and rear inlay (High Definition Compatible Disc). Until now, 2004's "Greatest Hits" set (which offered us three Gold Rush tracks remastered into HDCD sound quality) was the only real indication of just how good the album 'could' sound (this is the first time the 'entire' album has been given a sonic upgrade). The Audio Tape Restoration and Analog-To-HDCD Digital Transfer of the Original Master Tapes was carried out by JOHN NOWLAND (24-Bit 176 KHZ) with the Editing and Mastering done by TIM MULLIGAN - and they've done a stunning job.
The inlay faithfully reproduces the foldout lyric sheet with his black and white grainy handwritten lyrics and the print isn't cramped either - it's very readable. (The Harvest inlay has the textured feel of the original LP sleeve and lyric insert too - a nice touch).
Also - as these are the first four albums in a long reissue campaign - to identify them from the old CDs, the upper part of the outer spine has his new NYA OSR logo at the top and an 'issue' number beneath - D1, D2, D3, D4...on upwards of course.
However, the big and obvious disappointment is the complete lack of musical extras or any new info in the booklet; they're in "The Archives Vol.1 1963-1972" box set that's still sitting in shop windows at varying extortionate prices. Still - at mid price - this remaster of "Gold Rush" is great value for money and with this hugely upgraded sound - it makes you focus on the music as is and not anything else.
Some have complained that the sound is a little underwhelming after all the hype that has preceded these releases - I don't think that at all. The danger in remastering would be the cranking of everything, ultra-treble the lot - but I'm hearing ALL the instruments on this carefully prepared remaster - especially the bass and drums which now have a clarity that is so sweet rather than flashy. The sound is very subtle - there's no brashness, very little hiss. So many highlights - the meaty guitars of "Southern Man" and the slyly lovely cover of Don Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me" is great too. But then there's a triple whammy of "Don't Let It Bring You Down", the beautiful "Birds" (lyrics above) and the rocking "When You Dance, I Can Really Love". Each is so beautifully done but in different ways. They're not bombastic, nor trebled up to the nines, but subtle - the music is just THERE in your speakers to a point where everything seems new and up for grabs again. Fans will love it and feel like they're revisited long cherished old friends while newcomers will now understand what all the 5-star fuss is about.
The gold sticker on the jewel case of each of these issues states - "Because Sound Matters" - and although it took him a few decades, on the strength of this reissue, I think Rock's great curmudgeon was right to wait to get it right...which in many respects is the ultimate nod to his fans.
Highly recommended.
PS: I've reviewed "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" and "Harvest" also - just as good soundwise...
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