MoeFOH's Album of the Week... Week #19

[MoeFOH]

MoeFOH's Album of the Week 🎶

Same as the movie thread, each week we're going to spotlight an album... be it a classic, new release, hidden gem, or outright turd... and open it for discussion: i.e. post up your favourite tracks, clips, lyrics, experiences if you saw live, etc... or dive deeper and give us a critique on why you think it's great, overrated, or a complete train wreck... And finally score it for us...  

All contributors go into a monthly prize draw for a 3-cigar sampler! 

PM me with suggestions if there's an album you want to nominate for next week's discussion. 

 

Week #19: Harvest

Moe says:

Simply one of my all-time faves... has there been a more oddly unique vocal talent than Neil Young? Great songs that meld together in that accidentally special way which only truly great albums always seem to do... Anyhow, enough rubbish from me... 

Wiki says: Harvest is the fourth studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released February 1, 1972 by Reprise Records, catalogue number MS 2032. It featured the London Symphony Orchestra on two tracks and vocals by noted guests David Crosby, Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt, Stephen Stills, and James Taylor. It topped the Billboard 200 album chart for two weeks, and spawned two hit singles, "Old Man", which peaked at No. 31 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and "Heart of Gold", which reached No. 1. It was the best-selling album of 1972 in the United States. The album has since remained Neil Young's signature album as well as his best selling.

In 2015, Harvest was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Over to you...

Who's a fan? How highly do you rate this album?

Thoughts, memories, experiences, favourite tracks...? 

Post em up!

Score it out of 10!

[MoeFOH]

 

[Islandboy]

What, no love for Neil? 

I’ve never been a huge Neil Young fan myself, but I definitely have some good memories with my first love with this album - she was a California girl, and Harvest was as laid-back and California as it got in the 70’s. And the song Old Man, I mean, c’mon...that’s as classic as it gets.

Laurel Canyon in the late 60’s, early 70’s was definitely ground zero for some wild times and some great musicianship.

 

[Ken Gargett]

one of the greats. great album. great performer. seen him a couple of times - once in brisbane where he put on a concert for the ages and once in london where it might said, he didn't. i think he might have been 'experimenting' with substances before the london one (which translates to he was off his gourd). but the brizzy one, sensational. 

friend of mine knew him well when she was much much younger in nashville. spoke of him very highly. always a perfect gentleman - she did not speak so highly of a couple of other singers of the day and some of the stories would have had them jailed for very long periods. 

[La_Tigre]

Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A southern man don't need him around anyhow

Truth.

[Ken Gargett]

4 minutes ago, La_Tigre said:

Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A southern man don't need him around anyhow

Truth.

i gather that Neil Young and the guys from Lynyrd Skynyrd got on very well despite the songs but Young's 'Southern Man' is a song attacking racism and slavery (and as this was written over 50 years ago, i am assuming it can be categorised as history rather than current politics). it also attacks the practice of the KKK burning crosses. are you really attacking the song for what it says or is there something i am missing? seriously, i would love to know because it does seem i am missing something.

i would have thought it a message that "southern man" and a great number of other people around the world would do well to heed. 

one slight digression - it is from the album 'after the gold rush'. i always assumed that this referred to the gold rushes in california and the 49ers of the time (not the footballers) and so on. apparently not. the gold rush was a bar in nashville and after all the musicians in town had played their sets and concerts, they'd end up there for late night drinks. and then once it closed - as in 'after the gold rush' - they'd all head to someone's place to continue the party and to play music for each other. only reason i know this is because that friend of mine i mentioned above worked at the 'gold rush', which i gather is where she meant neil young et al. 

[joeypots]

One of the best. 10

[La_Tigre]

12 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

i gather that Neil Young and the guys from Lynyrd Skynyrd got on very well despite the songs but Young's 'Southern Man' is a song attacking racism and slavery (and as this was written over 50 years ago, i am assuming it can be categorised as history rather than current politics). it also attacks the practice of the KKK burning crosses. are you really attacking the song for what it says or is there something i am missing? seriously, i would love to know because it does seem i am missing something.

i would have thought it a message that "southern man" and a great number of other people around the world would do well to heed. 

one slight digression - it is from the album 'after the gold rush'. i always assumed that this referred to the gold rushes in california and the 49ers of the time (not the footballers) and so on. apparently not. the gold rush was a bar in nashville and after all the musicians in town had played their sets and concerts, they'd end up there for late night drinks. and then once it closed - as in 'after the gold rush' - they'd all head to someone's place to continue the party and to play music for each other. only reason i know this is because that friend of mine i mentioned above worked at the 'gold rush', which i gather is where she meant neil young et al. 

No. None of this.

Simply a cryptic and obscure way of stating opinion that Neil Young and his whiny-assed voice blows. No more, no less.

Listening to Diamanda Galás on 11 driving through a hailstorm whilst cats and dogs in heat take turns railing each other in the shotgun seat would be more calming.

More obscurity, who could believe Neil Young and Rick James were in The Mynah Birds…!?!? Superfreaky!

[BlueRidgeFly]

Great album. A few good songs make it a 9/10 for me, "Old Man" and "Needle and the Damage Done" in particular.

I saw him once, at MSG in NYC 1983 on his solo tour for the Trans album. First half was the techno part. He couldn't get a drum machine working, and everyone started booing. It got kind of brutal, but he persevered and carried on. After the break, all acoustic and most of his well known stuff made the show worth it.

[Chibearsv]

Nope, doesn't do it for me at all.  Can't stand the singing, don't like the preachiness, just too negative for me.  I'm pretty simple in my musical needs.  Give me some happy metal like Volbeat instead.  Harvest = 1/10

[helix]

 Part of my soul. BTW @La_Tigre big fan of Skynrd also. 10.

[Ford2112]

I love Neil Young. This is a solid album.8/10

[Ken Gargett]

15 hours ago, La_Tigre said:

No. None of this.

Simply a cryptic and obscure way of stating opinion that Neil Young and his whiny-assed voice blows. No more, no less.

Listening to Diamanda Galás on 11 driving through a hailstorm whilst cats and dogs in heat take turns railing each other in the shotgun seat would be more calming.

More obscurity, who could believe Neil Young and Rick James were in The Mynah Birds…!?!? Superfreaky!

fair enough.

[bassistheplace]

Neil has contributed a lot to folk/rock. This is probably the best of his output of the genre

college girls wore this out, ahem

and the Southern Man thing, yeah Neil painted with a broad brush, that's why Ronnie Van Zant set him back a few paces