This track has been kicking around on bootleg discs, P2P networks and torrent sites for roughly ten years, an aching cover of the Neil Young classic where Neil’s fragile, quavering voice is replaced with a slightly lower, slightly sadder tone. There’s an innocence to the original that Thom reshapes into weariness and nostalgia, to heartbreaking effect. A lot of people do simple acoustic covers, I guess, but this has always been one of my favourites. It’s available now as part of the Bridge School Benefit Concerts: 25th Anniversary Edition, a three CD set of rare live material lifted from the annual concert series (which is organised by Neil Young to aid students with severe learning disabilities). The collection includes four different generations of rock royalty, from Elton John and Brian Wilson to Sonic Youth, Metallica and Fleet Foxes.
Thom Yorke : After The Gold Rush
