Harvest (original recording remastered)

by

Neil Young

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Few artists can match Neil Young in musical artistry, creative versatility, and artistic/personal intergrity - Dylan, Lennon, Hendrix, Stipe, Young - the list does not go much beyond that. Young's *Harvest* is further reminder that we are dealing with a legendary composer and performer, one who defies categorization while still remaining relevant to so many categorized styles. Not many artists can lay claim to that(see the short list above and maybe add three or four more).

Harvest ranges from the understated, pensive mood of songs like "Out on the Country," "Harvest," and "Old Man" to the sheer desperation of "A Man Needs a Maid," and "Words" to the acoustic heartbreak of "Needle and the Damage Done," to the Moody Blues-style optimism of "There's A World," to the dark country rock of "Are You Ready for the Country," all the way down to the proto-grunge social criticism in "Alabama" (Made famous on the top 40 thanks to Lynard Skynard). With the possible exception of "There's a World," (which, a la Moody Blues, rather lays the London Symphony on a bit too thick - it works on "A Man Needs a Maid owing to the sheer drama of the song, but goes over the top on "There's a World), each track is a masterful cut, demonstrating Young's ability to conquer and mix numerous genres. Lyrically Neil is at his best, capturing mood and evoking emotion in ways that few composers can even touch. Young's singing, in spite of criticisms of the alleged "thin quality" in his voice, is superb - skillfully phrasing his lyrics so that they play well off of the Stray Gators heavier sound. You have to go pretty far to find a better Neil Young album - *Everybody Knows This is Nowhere* and *After the Gold Rush* are superior, but not by much, and after that there isn't much from the Young catalogue that beats it. Indeed, there aren't many albums from anyone that surpass *Harvest*. I've been playing it since 1972 - and I still find it fresh and meaningful. Highly recommended.

Neil Young - Harvest (1972)

I'm hardly an audiophile and sometimes I actually get annoyed with reviews that trash albums because of the remastering job. But even I can hear how bad this version sounds. It sounds flat but with too much bass and not enough treble. It's muddy and sounds like it's compressed to hell! (note - some audiophiles in the comments below have analyzed the sound waves and claim there's no frequency "clipping", but that still doesn't mean it sounds good - to my ears, it sounds terrible!)

This rating has nothing to do with the music itself - it's intended to warn people to avoid this particular release. As for the music, I would rate HARVEST four stars on the strength of its best songs, especially "Heart of Gold," "Old Man," and "The Needle and the Damage Done" which rank among his best ever.