Few musicians have had such an extended and influential a career as Neil Percival Young. From co-founding the band Buffalo Springfield in 1966, to reuniting with Stephen Stills by joining Crosby, Stills, Nash in 1969, Young’s career has lasted 40 years and over 34 studio albums, while continuing to experiment with different musical styles. His music is mostly known for his signature guitar playing (both acoustic and electric), high tenor singing voice, and always personal lyrics. He has been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: first as a solo artist in 1995, and shortly thereafter with Buffalo Springfield in 1997. Let’s take a look at his 1972 #1 album Harvest.
The album starts out with a very typical Young song for “Out on the Weekend,” as his harmonica comes in before the lyrics. Jack Nitzsche’s slide guitar has a great effect during the first chorus. Kenny Buttrey lays down a constant, simplistic beat on the drums, while Young references Dylan with the words “from her big brass bed.” The title track is next, and we can immediately hear John Harris join the band on piano. Nitzsche again knows exactly when to add his slide guitar fills. Unfortunately, there is no harmonica for the instrumental interlude. Young sings with solo piano for the first minute of “A Man Needs a Maid” before being joined by the London Symphony Orchestra. The mixing seems a bit off, as Young’s lyrics aren’t quite as loud as they should be, next to the orchestra. The strings do however emphasize the time signature change for the chorus.
James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt contribute the final background vocals to “Heart of Gold”, which peaked at #1 on the Billboard charts. Young’s harmonica interludes are almost as iconic in this song as the lyrics themselves. For “Are You Ready for the Country”, Young brings back his bandmates David Crosby and Graham Nash for background vocals. While the opening piano almost sounds like a practice session, the chorus with Young, Crosby, and Nash singing in harmony brings us back to the glory days of CSNY. This time, Young has a little guitar solo in between verses, even though the piano is trying its hardest to be prevalent. Taylor and Ronstadt return for “Old Man”, another one of Young’s biggest hits. Taylor actually plays acoustic guitar and Young plays the banjo overdub in the recording.
“There’s a World” actually starts off with the London Symphony Orchestra. Again, the vocals seem too soft, but the beautiful harp playing really bring an almost mythical feel to the song. We hear strong electric guitar for “Alabama”, which features similar themes to the song “Southern Man”. Crosby and Stills contribute background vocals to this one, whose chorus is louder than the rest of the album. The live version of “The Needle and the Damage Done” was taken from a live concert in UCLA in 1971. Obviously, the lyrics are about struggling with heroin addiction and the setting of just Young and his guitar seem to add even more to the song. Stills and Nash return for the final song “Words (Between the Lines of Age)”, which includes many long improvised solos. What makes this song stand out is its 11/8 time signature used exclusively for the interludes.
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