SOUNDTRACK: NEIL YOUNG-Harvest (1971).
I like loud rocking songs and I dislike most country. So really I shouldn’t like Neil Young’s Harvest (at least compared to his more rocking albums).
But Neil is Neil and while I would never say he can do no wrong (he definitely can), I give him the benefit of the doubt. And on this album he delivers. Plus, it’s really not a country album at all.
I think what I particularly like about Harvest is the looseness of it, which I see signified primarily by Neil’s harmonica which is never off, but which is never perfect either. Plus, and I’m sure this has a lot to do with it–I’ve heard these songs a lot and they have really sunk in.
“Out on the Weekend” is the opening track and it was one of the songs I knew least well–which is odd certainly for an opening song. There’s slide guitar and harmonica. But it’s followed by “Harvest,” which is so simple and so notable–bass, a gentle acoustic guitar and basically a snare drum play that simple up and down melody as Neil sings “dream up, dream up, let me fill your cup with the promise of a man.” It’s those steel guitar lines that seems to fade in from nowhere that really rather make the song.
“A Man Needs a Maid” is one of those weird songs that is so odd to me–the song is literally about him getting a maid (but much more): “keep my house clean fix my meals and go away.” Neil sounds like he is singing from a mile away as he plays the melody on the piano. And then after the first verse all kind of orchestration fills in–bells and strings and the song gets really really big. By the time the song comes around again, the chorus is swallowed by the strings and bells. It feels much longer than its 4 minutes. I sort of hate it but kind of like its oddness at the same time.
And then comes the wonder that is “Heart of Gold,” another simple melody with soft bass notes and that harmonica. Incredibly catchy and undeniably great.
Harvest is more of a folk album with slide guitar (and orchestration), but a song like “Ready for the Country” certainly leans toward country (or is it mocking country?). It’s got a good beat and is kind of fun, with a lighthearted joshing about the country.
“Old Man” is a another slow classic. When the harmony vocals come in later in the song it’s really wonderful. I never knew that James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt sang backing vocals on this song and that that’s Taylor on the banjo. “There’s a World” is a ponderous song from the get go–almost as if it left off from “Maid,” with strings and kettle drums. After a verse a harp swipes away the song and plays a delicate melody which is just as quickly wiped away as this song which seems so big comes to a rather quick ending–only 3 minutes in total.
“Alabama” introduces a fuzzy electric guitar with what seems like it should be a classic riff but which …isn’t. It doesn’t quite resolve into anything and the chorus is almost satisfying–it starts really big with a chorus of “Alabama!” but it also doesn’t exactly resolve into anything. I think I keep thinking it’s other songs, and yet it is distinctly its own.
“Needle and Damage Done” is just great. A terrific riff and a poignant song simple and brief (2 minutes!) but really powerful.
“Words (Between the Lines of Age)” is nearly 7 minutes it’s the longest by far on the record. It builds slowly with a big chorus. There’s a great instrumental section with a nice piano melody. The song ends with a very Neil Young guitar solo as well. Pretty great stuff.
I’m not gushing about the album only because it is a classic and all classics have flaws. But I could listen to this any day, even “Man Needs a Maid.”
[READ: July 1, 2016] Harvest
I have often thought I should read this series. Of course, the last time I thought about it, there were 50-some books in the series and that seemed like way too many. Well as of June 2017, there are 120 books in the series, which is an insane series to jump into. But at work, four of the books came across my desk and if that’s not an invitation to read something, I don’t now what is. So I’ve decided to read these four and we’ll see if that leads to more.
This story gives a lot of history of Neil himself and a lot of context of the albums surrounding this one.
Inglis starts by talking about how when Harvest Moon came out in 1992, it was a call-back to Harvest and it was highly regarded, even though Harvest itself wasn’t at the time. Even Neil himself seemed to recoil from the unexpected success of Harvest by playing every kind of music but folk/country for decades.
In fact, Harvest was panned when it came out–described as superficial and without meaning. It was deemed pleasant rather than passionate. It also worked to define Neil Young as a melancholy songwriter full of catchy tunes, smiling with prairie straw n his mouth. Meanwhile other fans dismiss this picture entirely, preferring the gritty songwriter from Tonight’s the Night. (more…)
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