| Harvest | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Neil Young |
| Cover: | NeilYoungHarvestalbumcover.jpg |
| Released: | [1] |
| Recorded: | January – September 1971 |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 37:10 |
| Label: | Reprise |
| Producer: |
|
| Prev Title: | After the Gold Rush |
| Prev Year: | 1970 |
| Next Title: | Journey Through the Past |
| Next Year: | 1972 |
Harvest is the fourth studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released on February 1, 1972, by Reprise Records, catalogue number MS 2032. It featured the London Symphony Orchestra on two tracks and vocals by 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.[2]
The album has since remained Neil Young's signature album as well as his best selling.[3] [4] In 2015, Harvest was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[5]
In 1970, Young released both Déjà Vu with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and his third solo album, After the Gold Rush. The year also saw Young tour as a solo act and with both CSNY and his collaborators Crazy Horse. In the fall of 1970, Young released After the Gold Rush, divorced his wife Susan Acevedo, and purchased Broken Arrow Ranch in Redwood City, California, where he would live for the next four decades. While renovating his new home, Young injured his back, limiting his mobility and ability to perform electric guitar. Around the same time, Young would also begin his relationship with actress Carrie Snodgress. Young's new home and romantic relationship would inspire several new songs.
After completing After the Gold Rush, Young promoted the album through a series of solo acoustic concerts. After playing Carnegie Hall in December 1970, Young returned to his ranch for a break in touring. While picking up a slab of walnut, Young injured his back, which prevented him from standing up while performing, limiting him to playing acoustic music. Young explains in an August 1975 interview with Cameron Crowe for Rolling Stone:
Young embarked on a solo acoustic tour in January and February 1971 where he debuted many of the album's songs. A performance on The Johnny Cash Show led to collaborations with record producer Elliot Mazer and Nashville studio musicians. In Nashville, Young recruited a group of country session musicians, whom he would dub The Stray Gators to record his new songs. The resulting record was a massive hit, producing a US number one single in "Heart of Gold". The album's success caught Young off guard and his first instinct was to back away from stardom. He would later write that the record "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."[6]
In a post on his website, Young shares that much of Harvest "was written about or for Carrie Snodgress, a wonderful actress and person and Zeke Young's mother."[7] In a radio interview, Young specifically cites "Heart of Gold", "Harvest" and "Out on the Weekend" as being inspired by his then blossoming love.[8]
"A Man Needs a Maid" was also inspired by Young's budding relationship with Snodgress, whom he contacted after seeing her picture in a magazine. At a Philadelphia concert in October 2014, Young shared that the song was also inspired by a light switch in a hotel he stayed at while touring with CSNY:
"Heart of Gold" has become Young's signature song and was his only number 1 hit in the United States. In 1974, he would tell a journalist that its composition was influenced by French song "Love Is Blue."[9]
"Are You Ready for the Country?" was written shortly before being recorded for the album. It, like "Words" and "Alabama", was recorded to provide contrast to the acoustic songs on the album. Young explains in a post on his website: "Are You Ready for the Country?" was written at the ranch shortly before the barn sessions happened. It's a simple song based on an old blues melody that has been used many times. I thought it would bring some welcome relief from the other songs."[10]
"Old Man" was inspired by Louis Avila, the caretaker of the Northern California ranch Young had recently purchased. He explains an audience in January 1971: "This is a new song that I wrote about my ranch. I live on a ranch now. Lucky me. There's this old man who lives on it, that uh, he came with the place when I bought it. Ranches have foremen you know usually that sort of like stay there with the cows, no matter who owns it."[11] He further describes Avila in his 2015 memoir, Special Deluxe:
"Alabama" is "an unblushing rehash of 'Southern Man'";[12] to which American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote their 1973 hit "Sweet Home Alabama" in reply, stating "I hope Neil Young will remember, a southern man don't need him around, anyhow". Young later wrote of "Alabama" in his autobiography Waging Heavy Peace, saying it "richly deserved the shot Lynyrd Skynyrd gave me with their great record. I don't like my words when I listen to it. They are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, and too easy to misconstrue."[13]
"The Needle and the Damage Done" was inspired directly by an overdose by bandmate Danny Whitten, who would later succumb to his addictions.[14] The song was also inspired by several artists Young had seen fall to heroin, as he explained to a January 1971 audience: "I got to see to see a lot of great musicians before they happened. Before they became famous. When they were just gigging. Five and six sets a night. Things like that. I got to see a lot of great musicians who nobody got to see for one reason or another. But strangely enough the real good ones that you never got to see was because of heroin. And that started happening over and over. And then it happened to some that everybody knew about."[11]
"Words (Between the Lines of Age)", the last song on the album, featured a lengthy guitar workout with the band. In his 2012 memoir Waging Heavy Peace, Young reveals that the song "Words" was inspired by Young's growing fame, and the first cracks in his relationship with Snodgress:
The album was recorded across several different sessions in multiple locations in 1971. "The Needle and the Damage Done" was taken from a live solo performance at UCLA on January 30 during a solo acoustic tour. Multiple sessions in February and April were held in Nashville with established local studio musicians, produced by Elliot Mazer. "A Man Needs a Maid" and "There's a World" were recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra with Jack Nitzsche on March 1. The album's electric tracks were recorded at Young's ranch in September.
Young engaged in a solo acoustic tour in North America and the United Kingdom in January and February 1971. During the tour, he played several new songs inspired by life on his new ranch or the beginnings of his romantic relationship with Carrie Snodgress. Several of the shows were recorded for potential release as a live album. Young arrived in Nashville in early February 1971 to perform on an episode of the Johnny Cash Show. Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor were also slated to appear on the broadcast.
While in Nashville, Young met record producer Elliot Mazer. Mazer had recently opened Quadrafonic Sound Studios in Nashville in a converted house. Mazer remembers: "The control room was the old porch. The living room and the dining room became the two live rooms, and the kitchen became a drum area. We called it 'Quadraphonic' as a joke, although it did have four speakers in the control room."[15] Eager to record his new songs, Mazer helped Young assemble a band of local Nashville musicians. Young remembers:
Young would continue to work with Mazer and Drummond on several subsequent projects. Ben Keith would become one of Young's most frequent collaborators until his death in 2010. Several of the musicians had performed with Nashville bands Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry. At these first sessions in early February the band was able to capture "Heart of Gold", "Old Man", "Bad Fog of Loneliness", and "Dance Dance Dance". Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor also visited the studio to contribute to the sessions with Young. The three sat on a couch and recorded the background vocals for "Heart of Gold" and "Old Man". Taylor overdubbed a part for the latter song on Young's banjo guitar. Ronstadt remembers the session in a Mojo interview: "We were sat on the couch in the control room, but I had to get up on my knees to be on the same level as James because he's so tall. Then we sang all night, the highest notes I could sing. It was so hard, but nobody minded. It was dawn when we walked out of the studio."[16] Mazer recalls Young's drive and the magical atmosphere:
At the end of February, Young traveled to London record a performance for BBC Television and to perform a concert at the Royal Festival Hall. While there, he recorded two more songs for the album with orchestra accompaniment. "A Man Needs a Maid" and "There's a World" were recorded by Jack Nitzsche with the London Symphony Orchestra March 1 at Barking Town Hall. Young recalled the sessions in Waging Heavy Peace: "I was in London and recorded "A Man Needs a Maid" and "There's a World" with the London Symphony Orchestra, produced and arranged by Jack Nitzsche. After hearing the playback in Glyn Johns's truck, where the pieces were recorded outside the Barking Town Hall, Jack said, 'I think it's a bit overblown.' We knew it was over-the-top, but we had done it and we loved it."[17] In the liner notes to Decade, Young remembers Bob Dylan reacting favorably to the production.[18]
In April, Young returned to Nashville to record "Out on the Weekend", "Harvest" and "Journey Through the Past" with Mazer at Quadrafonic.[19] Mazer recalls Young being specific about what sound he wanted from the musicians during the sessions: "At one point, Neil said to Kenny that his hi-hat was too busy, so Kenny said, 'Fine. I'll sit on my right hand.' He played the whole take (for "Out on the Weekend") sitting on his right hand.[16] [15] Buttrey elaborates on his experiences playing with Young in Shakey:
On August 11, Young went in for successful back surgery which allowed him to resume playing electric guitar with a band.[20]
The electric-based songs were recorded in a barn at Young's ranch in California in September. Using a remote recording system, Mazer set up PA speakers in the barn for monitors rather than have the players wear headphones. This resulted in a lot of "leakage" as each microphone picked up sound from other instruments, but Young and Mazer liked the resulting sound. "Are You Ready for the Country", "Alabama", and "Words" were recorded in these sessions with Buttrey, Drummond, Keith, along with Nitzsche on piano and lap steel. Young named this band, which would accompany him on his tour in the winter of 1973, The Stray Gators.
Background vocals by Crosby, Stills & Nash were later recorded by Mazer in New York.
Mixing was done both at Quadrafonic and at Young's ranch. Young invited Graham Nash to review playback of the album as it was being completed. Graham Nash recalls the experience in his 2013 memoir, Wild Tales:
During the production of the album, Young hired filmmaker David Myers to film the sessions.[21] The footage was used in two documentaries, the 1973 film Journey Through the Past and the 2022 documentary Harvest Time. Harvest Time shows much of the recording process in Nashville, London, Los Angeles and New York. Dutch director Wim van der Linden also recorded footage of the artist at his ranch and in concert during the era for the Swing In German television documentary series.[22]
The album cover was designed by art director Tom Wilkes.[23] 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. Mo Ostin mentioned this request at the 22nd Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards.[24]
On October 15, 2002, Harvest was digitally remixed and remastered for the DVD-Audio format. The new 5.1 mix was the subject of minor controversy due to its unconventional panning, with the vocals in the centre of the room and the drums in the rear speakers. Harvest was remastered and released on HDCD-encoded CD and digital download on July 14, 2009, as part of the Neil Young Archives Original Release Series. A 180-gram remastered vinyl edition was released on December 1, 2009, along with remastered vinyl editions of Young's first four albums.[25] The remastered CD exists both as a standalone album and as Disc 4 of a 4-CD box set Official Release Series Discs 1-4, released in the US in 2009 and Europe in 2012.[26]
Assessments by critics were not overwhelmingly favorable at the time. Rolling Stones John Mendelsohn called the album a "disappointing retread" of earlier, superior efforts by Young, writing of "the discomfortingly unmistakable resemblance of nearly every song on this album to an earlier Young composition – it's as if he just added a steel guitar and new words to After The Gold Rush."[27] A review in The Montreal Gazette gave the album a mixed verdict, calling it "embarrassing" in places but interesting lyrically, and singling out "Are You Ready for the Country?" as the record's best cut.[28] Reappraising the record in (1981), Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote:
More recent evaluations of the album have been far more positive: 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 years. In 2003, a full three decades removed from its original harsh assessment, Rolling Stone named Harvest the 78th greatest album of all time,[29] then was re-ranked 82nd in a 2012 revised list,[30] and re-ranked 72nd in the 2020 list.[31] In 2007, Harvest was named the No. 1 Canadian Album of All Time by Bob Mersereau in his book The Top 100 Canadian Albums. The album was featured in TeamRock's list of "The 10 Essential Country Rock Albums".[32] It was voted number 93 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition (2000).[33]
All tracks are written by Neil Young. Track timings are from the original 1972 vinyl release, catalogue number MS 2032.[34]
Musicians
The Stray Gators
Production
| Peak position | |
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[36] | 1 |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM 100 Albums[37] | 1 |
| Dutch MegaCharts Albums[38] | 1 |
| Finnish Albums Chart[39] | 12 |
| German Albums Chart[40] | 4 |
| Norwegian VG-lista Albums[41] | 1 |
| Spanish Albums Chart[42] | 4 |
| Swedish Albums Chart[43] | 12 |
| UK Albums Chart[44] | 1 |
| US Billboard Top LPs & Tape[45] | 1 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 Albums[46] | 1 |
| US Record World Album Chart[47] | 1 |
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
| Japanese Albums Chart[48] | 6 |
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
| New Zealand Albums Chart[49] | 48 |
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[50] | 54 |
| Dutch Albums Chart[51] | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[52] | 10 | |
| US Billboard Year-End[53] | 1 | |
| US Cashbox Year-End[54] | 3 | |
| US Record World Year-End[55] | 1 |
