32nd....End of a quartet

Harvest. Four and a half stars.

Put out of commission by a back injury, there was no word from Neil Young in 1971. I am quite sure this contributed to '72's smash hit Harvest. Everyone was keyed up for his latest statement and of course, singer-songwriters had come into their own at the time. James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, etc, so a mild-mannered, folky, dusty, countryish record was destined to sync with the times. Is it perfect? Heck no; the production is all over the place, as we'll soon see.

Out on the Weekend showcases Neil's lovely harmonica first off, over a gentle, wistful melody. It's more a grower than an attention grabber. Dwelling on the classic Young motif of loneliness and isolation, it's everything you'd expect and includes some haunting guitar on the left; however, there is amazingly little lyric for four minutes.

Piano takes over for Harvest, on another soft and pleasing tune. His voice is somewhat rough and thin, an acquired taste that I forgot to mention on my last three reviews because I acquired it so fast. It is my belief that such voices are at many times more rewarding than the classically beautiful.

Onwards to A Man Needs a Maid, still controversial in some quarters. I guess it's supposedly sexist or something. I find the sentiment he expresses touching, for what it's worth. As the song goes on, the whole London Symphony Orchestra rises up around him, adding Musical overtones, but Neil's plaintive singing really saves the whole shebang. Jack Nitzsche produced.

Heart of Gold was the No. 1 hit. Harmonica! There are only two verses, but it's really the delivery that makes it brilliant. Neil's sincerity makes the simplest statements into some of his finest work. Added to a lovely guitar part and with James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt on backing vocals, could this have been anything but a hit?

Now things veer wildly off-center again. Instead of orchestration, Are You Ready for the Country? sounds like it was recorded in the barn on the back cover. This is what the phrase "backwater footstomper" sounds like. You've got the false start, Neil too far from the mike, slide guitar...see what I mean?

Returning to center on Old Man, a bar-none classic sporting one of the lengthier lyrics and a banjo (!), and being another treatise on the lonely. Elegant. Yes, it has a banjo.

There's a World takes up the London Symphony Orchestra again...to lesser results. Instead of joining in later, it starts on full-throttle bombast, sounding more like Les Baxter than anything from Harvest. Harp...flutes...and a singer in plaid shirt and blue jeans? The lyric is one of his more abstruse works, which is the only reason this song can survive. Deliciously eccentric, if nothing else. Jack Nitzsche produced.

Back to the barn with Alabama, very much a Southern Man, part 2. The only real rocker, and it's still a bit staid. However, Neil's singing is better than the earlier southern tune, and the song's progression is actually more complicated and unexpected than Southern Man was. Instant highlight, and it defies the usual gimmick, "hear the banjos" and you listen and there aren't any! Good job.

Miraculously, the jump from a full band to single guitar is pulled off without a hitch. The Needle and the Damage Done is a live recording with audience roar at the end of a brief warning about heroin, chillingly sung and with good cause. Crazy Horse' Danny Whitten would overdose in '73.

Jumping back into full ensemble with Words (Between the Lines of Age), a desolate, trance-inducing work that lasts a frightening near-seven minutes. The lack-luster quality of the guitar noodling adds to the depressionary tone. It's longer than necessary, but makes an exit from the mood of the record and leaves me wondering if it all points to the next phase of the story.

So I've reached the end of the remastered Neil Young quartet, and Harvest is full of personality under the mild-mannered finish. I would argue that the lack of cohesive production is a flaw, making both Everybody Knows This is Nowhere and the neglected Neil Young album better listening experiences. It has the same mix of pros and cons that After the Gold Rush does. I recommend all four very highly, and look forward to the next batch of remasters....