neil young - harvest moon c/d

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i don't really like neil young's music too much but the other day the title track came on my headphones unexpectedly and it is a gorgeous, gorgeous song, produced immaculately as well

always wondered if neil got in trouble for nicking the riff from this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swYgYHcm6HM&feature=related

hah wow I did not know that

I have similarly wondered if he ever got in trouble for nicking the melody from this for "Pocahantas"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArQLMBchkNg

It's the only B+ or higher Young album in my collection that I never listen to (it IS too long). Maybe I will tonight.

actually really like this cover
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU5jqVOW6gk
kind of as close we'll get to nina simone doing the tune.

and this one is kinda rad too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Z3Ikwj1xk

"Natural Beauty" is one of my fave Young choons.

That Cassandra Wilson cover is very very gorgeous. Back when I lived in a time and place when stuff could come on the radio and surprise me, that song came on the radio as I was parking the car and surprised the heck out of me.

i think i made the connection b/t pochahontas and that carole king song in a passing thought, and i'm glad someone posted it for posterity. i'm sure king doesn't mind.

that poolside cover is groovy

I'll stan for Unknown Legend, but I pretty much love the whole album

Always get a weird urge to play this record around Christmas for reasons I still cannot explain.

Unknown Legend is my fave Neil song.

i wouldn't say the 2nd side is weak(er) -- i like old king and dreamin' man is the highlight of the record IMO.

(responding to some folx above)

This, by the way, is his best-selling new studio album in America of the last twenty-five years.

not too surprising, it's his most accessible record of the past 25 years -- by a longshot. silver & gold and prairie wind are the closest in terms of sound, but they don't really have the tunes. the whole "sequel to Harvest" angle probably didn't hurt either...

having a classic-era-quality massive hit single too

wonder if this is going to get a vinyl reissue anytime soon. actually wondering that about ragged glory and sleeps with angels, too.

This is one of my favorite sappy NY records -- next to Comes a Time, really.
Totally unabashedly loooove the song "Harvest Moon". The video is so sweet, and I love how it's about old people being in love, and also how the guy sweeping outside does so along with the song, it's just lovely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVi0UvFu8Yo

MTV Unplugged > Dreamin' Man '92 > Harvest Moon. "Natural Beauty" is the only track from the original album I still have, for that "Will To Love pt 2" arrangement. Prefer the live and/or stripped down versions of everything else.

wanna second love for "Such A Woman". The sentiment is, er, sentimental, but I dig the purity of it; & the arrangement is bombastic, & if he pulled this kinda thing all the time it would be a problem, but here, "A Man Needs A Maid", once in a while, it's terrific.

yeah i dunno, i like man needs a maid fine, but such a woman makes me uncomfortable. maybe it's my problem. maybe i've never know such a woman?
as for da croupier's assessment, i think i'd go
PBS Centerstage > MTV Unplugged > Dreamin' Man '92 > Harvest Moon

Yeah, I think his sappy moments work so well and seem so genuine because they don't happen all the time. Harvest Moon is like a shimmering ray of moonlit middle aged romance. Romantic love doesn't belong to the young and beautiful in that song, and for me that makes it really sweet. I even liked it when it came out, and I was 18 at the time.

Hah, the younger stand in for Neil in that video (dude that kisses the girl in the car while driving) looks like Dale Crover!

ah "Such A Woman" is another Nitzsche arrangement, that makes more sense

I love Nicolette Larson's vocals on it too; Neil's voice can barely pull this one out, but a woman has his back.

agree with La Lechera's estimation of the song

fwiw Neil's wife was totally creeped out at it, couldn't stand to see him perform it live, etc. (according to Neil's bio)

haven't seen that PBS thing since it aired, but I sure loved it as a newly neil-fascinated middle schooler

yeah i haven't seen it in forever, don't think it's on vhs or dvd...but i remember loving it, just neil wandering around a sea of guitars and banjos.

i love how the corniness of the opening line becomes INSTANTLY endearing and sets the tone for the whole album.

Holy fucking shit, I think I love a Neil Young song. How did this happen?

I have hated Neil Young for, like 25 years at this point! It's not even his songwriting, which is actually brilliant and I love his songs so much when other people do them. His voice is just made of anti-WCC repellant material which causes instant cringe and makes my ears shut down and my hands leap towards the off button of the sound source.

But then I was in this pub yesterday, sketching, and this song came on, and I was just... entranced. My ears just went up at the reverb on the chorus and it stopped being "OMG, what is that terrible high-pitched whining droney noise" and started being "actually this is beautiful."

I thought maybe I had been mistaken, and it wasn't Neil Young, but I've had it stuck in my head for a whole day, and so I googled the lyrics, and it is indeed Neil Young and I do indeed love it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHBikURKkUM

How?

Am I going to have to readjust my hater status, or is this album just aberrant in some way?

Always avoided this album because I found "Harvest Moon" so ordinary. I guess I see why it appeals to people (I've encountered it in two or three films/TV shows), but it does nothing for me; I like "Harvest" a thousand times better. Anyway, bought a used CD a few weeks ago, and I think the album as a whole is quite good. "Harvest Moon" isn't even close to the best song. My two favourites are "You and Me" and "Natural Beauty."

I also don't own this album, for similar reasons - but I really should pick it up.

dreamin man is the one for me, I think