For better and for
worse, one album looms large in Neil Young’s back catalogue. Harvest is not only Young’s best-known
album (and contains his only true hit single) but also one that Young has a
seeming love/hate relationship with. There is always an expectation from
audiences for Young to play songs from it but there is no guarantee he will
acquiesce. Recorded in short bursts of activity in Nashville, London and at
Broken Arrow Ranch, the stop/start approach to recording leading to a mixed bag
in terms of style and quality. Despite its flaws, it seems to be cemented into
the canon of rock’n’roll classics because, let’s face it, when it’s good, it’s
unbelievably good.
