Harvest By Neil Young
His self-titled 1968 self-titled solo album, following his exit from Buffalo Springfield, bridged what was and what would be. Though his only album not to chart-’The Loner’- its most memorable track-Neil Young marked the launching point of an illustrious solo career.
Featured Neil Young
- Record Label: Wea
- Catalog#: 9362497905
- Country Of Release: NLD
- Year Of Release: 2009
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Great Early Neil, Remastered at Last,
This is a terrific album, and now that it’s been newly remastered in pristine HDCD sound, I hope that it will be rediscovered by legions of Neil Young fans who may have overlooked it as one of Neil’ as earlier efforts. In style, it’s transitional between the rhapsodic, if slightly spacey, Neil Young who appeared in Buffalo Springfield classics like Broken Arrow and “On the Way Home” (written by Young, but sung masterfully on Buffalo Springfield’s final album by Richie Fury), and the rockin’ in the free world Neil who would emerge in glorious full plumage with his next album, the timeless “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” in which he teamed with Crazy Horse. In his later solo efforts as well as his inspired collaborations with Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Young would go on to display a kind of mastery of taut, rock rhythm and soulful melody that hadn’t quite gelled at the time he laid the tracks for this album, but which still can be seen just below the surface and some of the more accomplished tracks, such as “What Did You Do to My Life,” “I’ve Been Waiting for You,” and others. Still, this inaugural release was a wholly individualistic and inspired effort, which laid the path for Young’s later individuality and iconoclastic career as a rock star who challenged so many of the boundaries and conventions of the genre.
The history of the mixing and mastering of this album is quite unusual. The first LP release was quickly withdrawn from circulation by Young, because he didn’t like the sound quality, and he was right. I have the original Neil Young LP, and the sound was muddy and thin. The subsequent LP release (you can tell the difference because it has “Neil Young” in block letters at the top) was a big improvement, but frankly, still left a lot to be desired, certainly compared with Young’s later LP and CD releases. The mastering of the first 1990 CD release, which is still in print and still offered by Amazon (at a higher price!) was a typical disaster of the early CD era, and appears to have used a hissy LP master of indifferent quality. For this release, Young and his team of dedicated engineers have gone back to the original master tapes and remastered all the tracks in pristine HDCD, a high definition format that I personally prefer to SACD, and which has the advantage of not requiring a special player to get improved sound. (Although, those with HDCD players, such as those made by Denon and Mark Levinson will notice even more improvement.) It sounds great, with Young’s voice moved up closer on the soundstage, and with greater definition to the background vocals and fascinating instrumentation from producer Jack Nietzsche.
That said, I do have one little quibble with the remastering. Although it is a huge improvement overall, like most CDs today, this one plays extremely loud, which requires you to adjust the volume constantly if you’re using it as part of a compilation on your iPod or on your CD carousel player. But no big deal, this is a great album, that should finally get its day in the sunshine as a notable, if early, contribution of Neil Young’s magnificent, long career oeuvre.
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|“I Don’t Care if All of the Mountains Turn to Dust in the Air”,
This past weekend I purchased and listened back-to-back to the newly remastered and restored versions of Neil Young’s first two solo albums, Neil Young and Everybody Knows this is Nowhere (the latter recorded with his backing band, Crazy Horse.) This was a great experience not only because of the wonderfully improved sound quality of these reissues but also because it afforded me the opportunity to reacquaint myself with all of the material–some of it undeservedly forgotten–on both of these albums. In the case of this album, Neil’s first solo outing after his three records with the Buffalo Springfield, The Loner is the only track that has proven to be immortalized, which is unfortunate as it is only one of many strong songs on here. The most consistent thing about this album is the strength of the melodies– not one of them is a clunker and the majority is likely among Neil’s strongest ever:
The first track, The Emperor of Wyoming, is a pleasant country-tinged instrumental that grows rapidly on the listener. It is a catchy melody and one of the most upbeat and completely happy-sounding things Neil has ever penned. Not so much a gem as it is an unjustly neglected trinket, Emperor gives gives the album a characteristic quirky edge right off the bat, being absolutely nothing like what follows.
The Loner is by far the most well known song on the album and one of Neil’s strongest rockers, with a driving melody and some of his most intense and brilliant lyrics ever, centered on themes of isolation and loneliness. I’ve loved this song since I first heard it and am delighted that it now sounds better than ever, the awesomely powerful rhythm section rocking harder than a sailboat caught in a storm at sea while Neil’s guitar bursts through the melee with new crispness. (Needless to say, the people behind the restoration did a good job.) Continuing one of Neil’s most effective album sequences, we segue into If I Could Have Her Tonight. Once again, the remastering job has done wonders– I’ve always thought that musically it’s near-perfect pop but for the first time, I’m aware of just how underrated this short song is. It’s a direct and emotional story of romantic yearning, told in the eminently relatable manner it seems only Neil can effect– the listener is completely convinced that everything being sung is real, that’s it’s based on true events. I’ve Been Waiting for You is even better, an absolute work of art by an artist in a determined search for the love. While the rhythm section (highlighted by George Grantham’s excellent drumming) propels this second heavy rocker, a swirling mist of keyboards and guitars wraps itself around the listener, steadily building through the verses as the desire is expounded upon, building to a crescendo at the chorus as the artist’s fantasy of meeting his greatest love is envisaged. Young’s guitar soars once again during the instrumental break with an epic passionate solo.
Ending out a superb side one is The Old Laughing Lady, a rambling song about vice. Musically, it is a deceptively gentle, lulling ballad. Lyrically, it is as restless, conflicted, and mournful as most of the songs on here. Verses one, two, and four are especially excellent, particularly with the line “you can’t have a cupboard if there ain’t no wall”, whereas verse three (“see the drunkard of the village’) states the theme almost too literally and directly as compared to the subtlety and poeticism of those around it. The song has one of the album’s more complex arrangements, with intricate string sections by co-producer Jack Nitzche (who also produced Neil’s Expecting to Fly on Buffalo Springfield Again) and backing vocals from several female soul singers, apparently signifying the titular character. The number ends with a hypnotic repetition of notes as the Old Laughing Lady does her thing…
The String Quartet from Whiskey Boot Hill and Here We are in the Years act as a sort of suite. String Quartet was written by Nitzche. In another context, I think I’d really enjoy this but here, it’s the least interesting track in sight. Still, with its quaintness and tranquil tone, it leads well into Here we Are in the Years– which has really grown on me over the years that I’ve listened to it. Them most interesting thing about it is that it features almost no repetition of melody. It coasts from tune to tune at mid-tempo carried by atmospheric piano as Neil atmospherically describes the beauties of the countryside and laments the fact that it seems that some are working to destroy it, one bit at a time. One of my favorite Neil Young lyrics can be found here: “Time itself is bought and sold. Spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play”–so completely true and so well-stated.
The next two songs also seem to go together: What Did You Do to My Life? and I’ve Loved Her So long. The former, another mid-tempo, also seems connected…
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|An understated, but fabulous, debut from a legend.,
After a few years of coming and going with Buffalo Springfield, the “first American supergroup,” Neil Young parted ways for good in 1967 with his band. In 1968, with Crazy Horse pianist Jack Nietsche arrangement, Young’s self-titled debut was unleashed. Out of all his following albums, “Neil Young” is the most cohesive, mainly because Nietsche helped keep the budding artist on track. It probably has more overdubs than anything that Young did with the Springfield, and certainly everything since Granpa Crispy struck out on his own. The album starts off, ironically, with one of Nietsche’s own compositions, “The Emperor of Wyoming,” a nice, pleasant country instrumental. “The Loner” follows, and now we are clearly in Neil’s world of angst and paranoia. “The Old Laughing Lady” is a great track, with female background vocals reminiscent of anything done for Motown, despite the fact the song is clearly not a Motown product. Besides the aforementioned, Neil’s other songs of longing, like “If I Could Have Her Tonight” and “What Did You Do to My Life,” make this a thrilling ride. The final track, “The Last Trip to Tulsa,” is Young accompanied only by his acoustic guitar. The track is about nine minutes long, with the most arcane, non-sensical lyrics I have ever heard. The crazier the song become lyrically, the harder Young strums his guitar, until you think the strings will crack under the strain. With Nietsche’s brilliant arranging, “Neil Young” is a fine start to a long, storied career.
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