Emily: So Zack listened to this album almost 2 wweeks ago as he was packing up his old apartment. And he told me that he loved it. Loved it so much that he listened to it again and again and again until finally writing an essay of an album review. Clearly, this increased my anticipation for this album. My goal was, however, to listen to it without any information about why he gave it such a ringing endorsement. To do so, I didn't read his review nor did I really discussed the album with him (and I won't read his review until I finish writing this). And you know what? I really enjoyed it too. Harvest is a bit more country than my usual musical taste, but the rock influences and storytelling within the songs drew me in until the end. I definitely need to relisten to it in order to more fully flesh out my opinion, but for now I want to see what Zack had to say without further ado.
Favorite Tracks: There's a World; Old Man; Heart of Gold
Zack: It was but a week ago that I was complaining to
Emily that no album had really separated itself from the pack as a leader for
our slowly approaching 300 album award post. Obviously, there was and is still
time, but seeing as we were rapidly approaching halfway through, the fact that
nothing had really stuck out was alarming. Then I listened to Steely Dan and
Bob Dylan and felt somewhat relieved. “Maybe a jaw-dropping album is too much
to ask for,” I thought to myself. “Maybe I’ll just have to settle.” And then,
ladies and gentlemen, Harvest. I took a few seconds away from packing up all of
my worldly belongings to hit play, and immediately hit play again once it was
over. From top to bottom, Harvest was fantastic. As much as I love Rust Never
Sleeps, I had to admit that this was the superior product. You see, I’ve been
delving into the Neil Young repertoire ever since I was floored by Rust Never
Sleeps, or as best as I could. When an artist really wows me, I tend to do so.
It got a bit complicated here, though, since Mr. Young has so many albums on
the list (in a four-way tie for most with seven), and I didn’t want to listen
to any of them before it was time. So I cheated a little but – I made a Neil
Young Pandora station and listened to one or two live albums. I’ve heard some
of these songs from those avenues. But something about hearing them all
together is just so perfect. I think because the album really serves as a
harvesting (see what I did there?) of all Neil Young’s influences. There are
folksy songs, country songs, southern rock-esque songs (that lament the racist
nature of the south at the time), and traditional 70s rock songs. Some songs
are philosophic meditations and others are deeply personal laments. Some are
bare bones, acoustic guitar and vocals while others are much more grandiose,
even seeming like they belong on the Inception soundtrack. And all of it comes
together to form something beautiful. Being pressed to pick favorite songs is
hard because each song was tremendous in its own special way. Even the songs
that I didn’t like as much I could easily see someone else really connecting
with. Seriously, I’m going to pick three songs, but just know that Alabama or
Old Man or Are You Ready for the Country or really any of the other songs could
be in any of these places depending on the day and my mood.
Favorite Tracks: The Needle and the Damage Done; Heart of
Gold; There’s a World
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