This should be a piece of cake. Everyone loves Neil Young, and just a quick perusal of the track listing on Harvest shows a ton of his biggest hits. If you've heard "Heart of Gold" or "Old Man" then you probably get what Harvest is all about. I don't really know what I can add at this point. Neil Young has a pretty unremarkable voice and is largely known for playing acoustic guitar, yet somehow he's a rock god. I don't disagree with that but it is interesting. It's even more interesting given that Harvest is largely viewed as Young's best work, seeing as how Harvest is largely soft acoustic rock.
Then there's "A Man Needs a Maid". This song is baffling. It's almost like Neil Young wrote a small, heartfelt though slightly ridiculous piece about falling in love with his maid, then à la Let It Be Phil Spector got his hands on it who proceeded to Phil-Spector the fuck out of it. I just don't understand why this song has such an absurd orchestral backing, unless maybe to provide contrast with how insignificant and whiny the lyrics sound.
The same is largely true of "There's A World". Neil Young plus an orchestra doesn't really work. For a guy who feels so unassuming yet powerful when he sings over a guitar it's weird how self-indulgent but insignificant he feels against a full orchestra.
"Alabama" reveals a more nagging issue with Harvest, in that at least 4 of the songs share a simple rhythm. The opener "Out On The Weekend", "Heart of Gold", "Old Man", and "Alabama" all feature the drummer hitting the bass twice and the snare once per measure. I don't mind so much for "Old Man" and "Heart of Gold" because they're excellent tracks, but I wish Young had mixed it up a bit more.
In any case Harvest is a really good album, if for nothing else "Old Man", "Heart of Gold", and the haunting "The Needle and the Damage Done". It's also only 37 minutes- there's no excuse. Give it a listen. 4 stars- yeah I complain a lot but I still actually liked this album, so 4 stars.
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