- Harvest (album)
Infobox Album | Name = Harvest
Type =Album
Artist =Neil Young
Released =February 25 ,1972
Recorded = Jan.-Sept. 1971
Genre =Folk rock Country rock Rock
Length = 37:11
Label = Reprise
Producer =Neil Young Elliot Mazer Henry LewyJack Nitzsche
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Akrkqikz6bbo9 link]
*Robert Christgau (B+) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=neil+young link]
*Rolling Stone Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/neilyoung/albums/album/306863/review/5941446/harvest link]
Last album = "After the Gold Rush " (1970)
This album = "Harvest" (1972)
Next album = "Journey Through the Past " (1972)
Misc ="Harvest" is an album by
Neil Young , which was the best-selling album of 1972. The album featured several high calibre guests, including theLondon Symphony Orchestra ,Linda Ronstadt ,Stephen Stills ,Graham Nash ,David Crosby andJames Taylor . "Harvest" hit #1 on theBillboard Music Charts (North America) pop albums chart, spawning two hit singles, "Old Man", which peaked at #31 on theBillboard Hot 100 , and "Heart of Gold", which peaked at #1.After the supergroup
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young split, Young recruited a new group of country session musicians, which he christenedThe Stray Gators and recorded a country rock record in "Harvest". The record was a massive hit, producing a US number one single in "Heart of Gold". Other songs returned to some usual Young themes: "Alabama" was "an unblushing rehash of 'Southern Man '"; [So characterized by Jim Miller in "Rolling Stone"; quoted in Inglis, Sam (2003), "Harvest", pp. 93-94. The Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0826414958.] "Words (Between the Lines of Age) " featured a lengthy guitar workout with the band; and "The Needle and the Damage Done " was a lament for great artists who had died ofheroin addiction. The album's success caught Young off guard and his first instinct was to back away from stardom. He would later write that "Heart of Gold" "put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there." [Bronson, Fred (2003). "The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits", p. 308. Billboard Books. ISBN 0823076776.]Reception
In 1998 "Q" magazine readers voted "Harvest" the 64th greatest album of all time. In 1996, 2000 and 2005, "Chart" polled readers to determine the 50 greatest Canadian albums of all time — "Harvest" placed second in all three polls, losing the top spot to
Joni Mitchell 's "Blue" in 2000, and to Sloan's "Twice Removed " in the other two polls. In 2003, "Rolling Stone " named "Harvest" the 78th greatest album of all time. In 2007, "Harvest" was named the #1 Canadian Album of All Time inBob Mersereau 's book "The Top 100 Canadian Albums ".According to a "
Rolling Stone " interview, Young had wanted the album sleeve to biodegrade after the shrink-wrap was broken, but was overruled by the record company on the basis of expense and the possible product loss due to shipping accidents.DVD-Audio Edition
In 2002 (the 30th Anniversary of the album) Harvest was digitally remixed and remastered for the
DVD-Audio format. The new 5.1 mix was a minor subject of controversy due to its unconventional panning (with the vocals in the centre of the room and the drums in the rear speakers).Track listing
ide one
#"
Out on the Weekend " – 4:34
#"Harvest" – 3:11
#"A Man Needs a Maid" – 4:05
#"Heart of Gold" – 3:07
#"Are You Ready for the Country?" – 3:23ide two
#"Old Man" – 3:24
#"There's a World" – 2:59
#"Alabama" – 4:02
#"The Needle and the Damage Done " – 2:03
#"Words (Between the Lines of Age) " – 6:40All songs written by
Neil Young .Chart positions
Personnel
*Neil Young with
The Stray Gators :
**Neil Young : guitar, piano, harmonica, vocal
**Ben Keith : pedal steel guitar
**Kenny Buttrey : drums
**Tim Drummond : bass
**Jack Nitzsche : piano, slide guitar
*John Harris: piano
*Teddy Irwin: guitar
*James McMahon: piano
*James Taylor : banjo-guitar, vocal
*David Crosby : vocal
*Graham Nash : vocal
*Linda Ronstadt : vocal
*Stephen Stills : vocal
*"A Man Needs a Maid" & "There's a World":
** Neil Young: piano, vocal
** TheLondon Symphony Orchestra , conducted by David MeechamReferences
External links
* [http://www.thrasherswheat.org/tnfy.htm Neil Young Album/CD reviews]
succession box
before = "American Pie" byDon McLean
title = "Billboard" 200 number-one album
years =March 11 -March 24 1972
after = "America" by Americasuccession box
before = "American Pie" by Don McLean
title = Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
years =June 19 -June 25 1972
after = "Machine Head" byDeep Purple
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