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36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A BLUEPRINT FOR LATE 20th CENTURY ROCK MUSIC, 26 Oct 2006
"Think I'll jack it in and buy a pickup; Take it down to LA."
So begins one of the half-dozen-or-so greatest albums in the history of rock music - with a prosaic reference to teenage escapism sung over a laid-back country groove. But forty minutes later it's grungy distorted guitars that accompany the more metaphysical verdict:
"It's only words, words, Between the lines of age."
Thus Neil Young sets out his credentials as philosopher and prophet to the hippy generation. He foresees, and in less than three quarters of an hour he foretells, the future history of the children of freedom: Financial independence - lack of responsibility - search for belonging - divorce from reality - alienation - drug dependency - and finally a kind of uneasy reconciliation as experience supplants idealism.
Behind the lyrical journey there is a stylistic journey: from country to grunge via lush orchestration and rock'n'roll, that charts the future history of popular music. No wonder late `90's rockers saw Young as a creative godfather: they saw with hindsight how music had followed the agenda he had first set out a quarter century earlier.
But the most wonderful thing about "Harvest" is that even at it's most harrowingly prophetic, it is still sweet on the ears. Prophesy isn't usually this much fun: listen to Stravinsky or early Dylan or punk or early rap for evidence that in music (as in all areas of life) good medicine often leaves a bad taste. "Harvest" must be one of the most important landmarks in rock to have tasted good at the time and still to taste good nearly three decades on. Most impressively of all (and unlike some of Young's later work), the message still rings true.
I think this record is probably an indispensable part of any modern record collection, but it's not just an important museum piece . . . it's fine music that can be listened to over and over again without ever losing its appeal.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Peerless Genius., 14 April 2008
Okay. Pub argument Number 120. Who is the greatest song-writer ever? Dylan, Lennon and McCartney are all in with a shout. Brian Wilson, Kurt Cobain, Roger Waters, the list goes on. But seriously, how could anyone take this title other than Neil Young. I mean it, this guy is so good, it defies belief.
I did try to collect a few Neil Young albums a few years back. In time they disappeared or got sold, and I continued to listen to all sorts of mindless rubbish (what the hell was I supposed to know, I was only a punk kid). But over the last few years i've come to the conclusion that not only is Neil Young far better than even people think he is, but even amongst the elite, he's virtually untouchable.
Don't believe me? Then listen again. Every single song on 'Harvest' is masterful. Honestly, not a single note is wasted anywhere. My favourites are probably 'A Man Needs A Maid', a touching ballad about then-girlfriend Carrie Snodgress, 'Needle And The Damage Done', concerning heroin addicted rock musicians and 'Old Man', a song about old and young lives being similar.
But whatever the merits of the rest of the album, it's 'Heart Of Gold' that remains Young's masterpiece. His only number one single and the fan's firm favourite, a beautifully soft ballad that for me, is endlessly re-listenable.
If there's one thing I hate, it's hyperbole. But for 'Harvest' i'll make an exception. And if William Blake was a rock star, he'd be Neil Young. He really is that good.
So to conclude, there are great song-writers, and then there's Neil Young. And anyone who wants to disagree had better step outside.
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure Emotion, 13 Sep 2002
Unlike many of his other noise-drenched full-on rock albums, this album sees Neil Young adopt a more stripped down frame of mind. Most of the songs are based around his beautiful and relaxed acoustic rhythm guitar playing, backed up by his band -"The Stray Gators". If you are looking to categorise this album into a certain genre then it could justifiably be called a country based album, with flavours of folk music. However, I would prefer to label it simply - "Pure Emotion" music. On many of the songs you can hear in his voice that he seems to be very close to tears, that's how much emotion and feeling he puts into them. Just check out "The Needle and the Damage Done" (a tribute to a friend who succumbed to drug abuse) - you can just see the pain on his face as he sings it. With appearances from James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, the London Symphony Orchestra and old friends Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and David Crosby - this truly is a great album. Buy it, and feel that "Pure Emotion".
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