Harvest Moon by Neil Young (1992-10-23)

On Record Store day several years ago, this was released on vinyl for the first time. Unfortunately, the vinyl was pressed with specks of (what I can only assume) was from the paper sleeves. Couldn’t clean it, didn’t want to return it. Dealt with the skipping every time the stylus hit the paper speck. Then this vinyl was released in a clear 180 gram pressing! Extremely low noise floor. Love this record and this pressing!BTW: Saw the Ragged Glory /Weld tour Feb 91. Just as the first Iraq war was being televised / broadcasted live on CNN. Heady times. Fast forward to Oct. 92. Important to recall internet was in infancy and broadband not yet developed. Dialup @ 1200 baud rate. All this means never saw it coming. After kicking Ass w/ the horse he’s pivoting to what is Harvest, part 2. The Beacon crowd was restless and Neil was perturbed. First time I ever heard an artist scold an audience. A buddy went to the Beacon on a different night of the run. Same sermon. On my night the audience was chatty and shouting out requests. “Not playing that, can’t hear the monitors”. On my buddy’s night crowd was reprimanded for clapping out of tim and throwing Neil off. Of course, he was right. And Neil. Being Neil. Classic & Epic!

Brand new! Arrived quickly!

Neil Young's manager once predicted that he would never be hotter than he was immediately following the release of " Harvest". Neil answered by telling him he would always burn, but never rust..... burning keeps you bright." Harvest Moon" reminds long time Young fans what they love about him in the first place; the gorgeous song writing. Of course the rowdy guitar sometimes takes center stage, as well as deference to the acoustic model, but this CD gives equal time to the vocal instrument paired with rolling melodies.The first two, " Legend..." and " Hank to Hendrix" have a similar tune, but the portraits are different. Young's writing creates a vivid picture of the everyday heroine in " Legend";he then proceeds to plead with the lady he's loved through many genres in " H to H"." War of Man" means more today than upon its release. We are in a literal war with the planet, one that escalates every day. Assaulting humanity, torturing the environment. Oh yeah, we are " Living With War."" Harvest Moon" is a beautiful love song; don't listen to the naysayers who tag it as middle aged drivel. In fact, most of these songs seem more genuine than other works, and with Neil Young that's saying a lot. Young always bears it all, but the songs featured here demonstrate an ability to continue to grow while reflecting on where you've been. That is the ultimate we can ask from a singer/songwriter.Neil Young observes and creates. With " Harvest Moon" he also mellows, painting a picture of fall in its finest form.

Great CD!!

It arrived quickly and the CD case is in pretty good shape. The CD itself is also good. No scratches or sign of abuse. Good value for the money.

"Harvest Moon" was released in October of 1992, and in typical Neil Young fashion, he did a virtual 180 from the rocker's paradise of his previous studio album, 1990's "Ragged Glory". "Harvest Moon", for the most part, is a very low-key album, with lots of country flavorings courtesy of the Stray Gators, and a majority of the songs having highly reflective lyrics.Some of these songs are really wistful, dreamy, and beautiful. "Unknown Legend" again finds Neil harmonizing with Linda Ronstadt who's vocals help the chorus really soar. "From Hank To Hendrix" has a terrific harmonica line that's masterfully 'thickened' by organ and by what sounds like an accordian, plus it features superb, instantly recognizable harmony vocals from James Taylor. The title track has a wonderful acoustic guitar riff which is actually borrowed from the bridge of Young's much earlier song "Little Thing Called Love" (from "Trans"), but I'm not complaining about it."You And Me", which intentionally recalls Young's own "Old Man", is an arresting minor-keyed tune where the late Nicolette Larson harmonizes with Neil, backed Neil's solely by Young's acoustic guitar. Young's acoustic picking on it is a tad sloppy, but it's a minor distraction.The edgy "War Of Man" is another excellently melodic tune, with haunting acoustic guitar parts. (It starts off, perhaps intentionally, sounding exactly like "Goin' Back".) Taylor, Ronstadt, and Larson are all featured on this song, as is Young's half-sister Astrid Young.The banjo-laden tribute to a deceased dog "Old King" has undeniably slight lyrics, but it's still much fun with a really catchy chorus. Nicolette unleashes her full-blown country-western accent on this one."Dreamin' Man" is similar in feel to "Unknown Legend", and it's highly enjoyable in its own right, with cleverly amusing lyrics and masterfully-placed counterpoint backing vocals from Nicolette and Astrid.On the downside... "One Of These Days" is nice and heartfelt, but kind of dull and musically underdeveloped. The sleepy, piano-based orchestrated ballad "Such A Woman" is marred by really slight lyrics. And the album-closer "Natural Beauty" is way over-extended, running for over 10 minutes--after a while it gets to feel aimless.Overall, "Harvest Moon" is a really satisfying, well-produced album from Neil--it's an obvious must for any serious Neil fan.

Neil Young is a music legend on all levels. This album - Harvest Moon is a testament to Neil's talent. His music can be haunting. Music that makes you think. It's what I'm all about. It's what Neil is all about. Long Live Neil Young. It's doesn't get better than this. Harvest Moon by Neil Young.

I know this will be a great Christmas stocking stuffer, Amazon makes it so easy to find cd’s you can’t find them in the stores anymore, especially an older cd