I bought Neil Young’s Harvest in 1972 even though Young was far from my favorite singer. As Young himself said about his voice, “It’s an acquired taste.”
This is the 50th Anniversary of the release of Harvest. Harvest went on to become the best selling album of the year. “Heart of Gold” went to Number One on the Billboard chart–Neil Young’s only Number One song.
Harvest is only 37 minutes long. Short even for albums from the early Seventies. Yet, in all the Neil Young discography, Harvest stands out for capturing the Zeitgeist of the time. Are you a Neil Young fan. What do you think of Harvest? GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
All tracks are written by Neil Young. Track timings are from the original 1972 vinyl release, catalogue number MS 2032.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Out on the Weekend“ | 4:35 |
| 2. | “Harvest“ | 3:03 |
| 3. | “A Man Needs a Maid“ | 4:00 |
| 4. | “Heart of Gold“ | 3:05 |
| 5. | “Are You Ready for the Country?“ | 3:21 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Old Man“ | 3:22 |
| 2. | “There’s a World” | 3:00 |
| 3. | “Alabama” | 4:02 |
| 4. | “The Needle and the Damage Done (recorded in concert January 30, 1971)” | 2:00 |
| 5. | “Words (Between the Lines of Age)” | 6:42 |
I like Neil’s music, but leaving his dying wife (they’d been married over 30 years) for Darryl Hannah was a dick move; on the other hand, he didn’t treat Nicolette Larsen very well either—especially when her version of his “Lotta Love” was a bigger hit than his; s thumbs-up for Neil’s Spotify stance, thumbs down for his cavalier treatment of women. When it comes to his music, I prefer “After the Gold Rush” over “Harvest.” Some of my favorite Neil Young songs include “Cowgirl in the Sand,” “Mr. Soul,” “Cinnamon Girl,” “Don’t Let It Bring You Down,” and “When You Dance, I Can Really Love” (does anyone else think John Lennon totally ripped off that intro for “Woman”?)
Deb, the members of Crosby, Stills, and Nash can’t stand Neil Young. While I admire Young and Joni Mitchell and other artists standing up against Spotify and Rogan, Young’s behavior towards women has been deplorable! And yes, John Lennon “borrowed” that intro to “Woman”!
NO ONE in the group – not even Graham Nash – will talk to David Crosby any more.
Jeff, no likes David Crosby or Neil Young…as people. They were great musicals back in the day.
Yes, like Deb, I prefer AFTER THE GOLD RUSH (my favorite of Neil’s solo albums) and EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE with Crazy Horse (with the aforementioned “Cowgirl in the Sand”) to HARVEST, but I still like it a lot. (Notice these are all 1969-72, the same era of other favorites – like AMERICAN BEAUTY and LET IT BLEED.)
Jeff, I think Neil Young did his best work in the 1970s. I have some of Young’s later albums, but they’re not as good.
I have a fondness for REACTOR, but his best work did cluster in his early career. Didn’t know about his jackassery in his personal life.
Todd, I have more Neil Young to listen to and review in the months ahead.
I’ve been a huge Neil Young fan from the beginning, and still am. HARVEST is great, but it’s not my favorite by any means. I’d go with AFTER THE GOLD RUSH, ON THE BEACH, TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT, and RUST NEVER SLEEPS. Favorite song is “Powderfinger” from RUST NEVER SLEEPS. Although his folksy stuff gets the most attention, he’s a great guitarist and a furious rocker.
Michael, I’m fond of RUST NEVER SLEEPS, too. Neil Young is an exceptional musician…but not a Nice Guy.
I agree with you about the Zeitgeist moment but that train left the station a looong time ago. I quit caring for the man himself when he voted for Reagan and now really only seem to care for his music indirectly (like Bob Mould’s incendiary cover of “Cinnamon Girl” or Sun Kil Moon’s gorgeously Youngesque “Ghosts of the Great Highway” album.)
Byron, I agree Neil Young’s train left a long time ago. But, in his time, Young was a wonderful musician.
Once again…separate the artist from the art.
I like quite a few of his songs, including Cinnamon Girl, and Old Man.
I agree entirely, Rick. And no, Byron, Young did not vote for Reagan. He just recently became an American citizen in order to vote against Trump.
Rick, I have a 10-CD set of Neil Young’s work still to listen to. Most of the tracks are from the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties.
One I love, that gets some attention but not enough, is “Cortez the Killer.”
Jeff, I’ll have to re-listen to “Cortez the Killer.”
We’ve seen him do that in concert more than once, along with “Powderfinger” and “Old Man” and many others.
The only one I really didn’t like at all was GREENDALE, which made a bad concert.
Jeff, I’ve had opportunities to see Neil Young in concert over the years…but I passed on it.
I’ve seen Young 5-6 times, always good. My favorite was the Ragged Glory tour in 1990, which has the distinction of being the loudest concert I’ve ever heard. Young’s not always the mellow folkie. I didn’t see the GREENDALE concert but I saw the movie and didn’t care for it. Or the album.
Michael, I have a copy of GREENDALE around here somewhere. I don’t think I liked it, either.
Big fan but I didn’t like the Greendale concert either. No one has mentioned one of my favorite songs by Neil-Helpless.