Neil Young's Harvest [33 1/3 NEIL YOUNGS HARVEST] [Paperback]

33⅓ Main Series #3

by SamInglis

Neil Young's Harvest [33 1/3 NEIL YOUNGS HARVEST] [Paperback]

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Rock N Roll, Biography, Pop Culture

Paperback

First published September 17, 2003

Reviews

[Antonomasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A highly competent and interesting book about an album I have little passion for.

I started reading the 33 1/3 books in order - the ones about albums I know, any road. Looked back at the list, and I'd missed out Harvest. It beigeness makes it easy to overlook ... an album I listened to a lot at a barren time in my life, 2002-05, and which feels relatively unconnected to my friends or the aesthetic world I favour/ed when younger and older. As several reviewers mention, Inglis likes, but doesn't absolutely love the record; for me it was easier to get on with this book than it would have been if it had been written by a fan who was head-over-heels with Harvest.

The author appears to have a wide-ranging knowledge of Neil Young's career; I certainly don't. Over the years I know I've heard plenty of his songs, but aside from this album, I can only remember 'Harvest Moon'. Perhaps I should investigate further, but my heart isn't in it. (I just want to hear lots more Kinks records after reading The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society ). And in male singers my preferences are for a deep voice, clever cultural allusion and wordplay ... that's 0 out of 3 then Neil ... sorry mate.

Though I do have a weakness for steel guitars; that must have been it. (It's a pretty big weakness; busk near me with a steel guitar when I have coins in pockets, and you will get money.)

The other appeal of Harvest is that it's good, but not stretching, singing practice for my contralto-of-limited-range. (I mean, have you tried singing along to many of these deeper-voiced female vocalists? Their voice gymnastics can be very hard work to keep up with, and sometimes just plain impossible, Amy.) But with a small range of notes, it's not easy getting depth of feeling into lyrics that really need it, like 'The Needle and the Damage Done', which increases my respect for Young as a singer, even if he's not exactly my favourite voice to listen to.

The most interesting bits of the book for me are the ones that aren't about Neil Young - about the differences in recording techniques in 60's and 70's Nashville, compared with London, New York and L.A., and the tightly-controlled world of country music, a sizeable island apart from the rest of the popular music business. Inglis seems like a guy who knows his stuff, even if his lack of enthusiasm for Harvest may make this book a bit frustrating for the album's biggest fans.

[Raymond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very informative but it seemed like the author wasn't very fond of the album. The only complementary statement Inglis made on Harvest in its entirety was that he couldn't get tired of it. Inglis gives us some insight on Young's development as an artist but undermines the quality of the album with discussion about its palatability. With all the talk about rehashing songs , celebrity appearances and extravagant musical arrangements; the reader is sometimes led to believe that Harvest is merely a pop record. I guess my conflicting views on the album caused me to give this book a lower rating. For example, I think that 'Alabama' is far superior to its predecessor 'Southern Man'. Inglis addresses the reuse of subject matter in a sensitive way but does discuss the improvements in these rehashed songs.

I didn't care much for the ending of the book. The final chapter was focused on DVD- audio and other formats for music. It didn't have much to do with Neil Young. I would have liked to have walked away with more insight on the artist.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

[I have decided to read all the 33⅓ books because a) i'm a sicko, and b) whilst they are often awful, they are rarely middling, and I just want to feel something. Also, I'm gonna review the albums as I go, cos if these guys can get up their arse about music, so can I.]

The book: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Easily the best of these so far. While I kind of like that there's obviously no overriding plan for these books, if there was one, then this book's format should have been it. No moaning about ex girlfriends or tortured attempts to relate the author's life to the album, this is just a concise, informative look at the circumstances around the record's construction, its impact, and an in-depth look at the songs themselves. It still has personality (and it probably helps that the author's opinion of the record almost exactly matches my own) and is very readable. Nothing mindblowing, but kind of exactly what I want to read when listening to an album.

The album: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The book gets it right: Harvest is an odd 'classic' album. Sequenced terribly, with a real clunker on each side, there is something nevertheless very compelling about the record that makes you want to listen again when you reach the end, almost as if it's a puzzle to be solved. The tonal whiplash of going from the pared-back country simplicity of 'Harvest' to the overwrought melodrama of 'A Man Needs a Maid' will always make me laugh, and I don't know how any album with the wretched 'Are You Ready for the Country?' and not much better 'There's a World' on it can be considered classic. Still, the highs are very high ('Out on the Weekend', 'Heart of Gold', 'Old Man'), and the concluding run of 'Alabama', 'The Needle...', and 'Words' sounds fresh and exciting every time. As I mentioned, the sequencing is INSANE, except for how the applause at the end of 'Needle' are obliterated by the woozy swamp rock of 'Words', which is one of the greatest transitions between songs ever.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for the most part. Some of it, near the end, got repetitive. But I did learn some new things, the most interesting parts being the biographical details about Young and not necessarily details about the album.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thankfully, this is not your stereotypical overly quirky 33 and a 3rd book. It is objective, thorough, insightful, and informative while not being dry or uninteresting. Locates the album in the artist's discography and the overall musical landscape of its time. If only they were all like this!

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book by Sam Inglis, part of the 33 1/3 series published by Bloomsbury, the author continually maintains an ambivalence about Neil Young's seminal 1972 album. It seems appropriate then that this review of the Inglis's work will also be ambivalent, in that the book is both very satisfying and informative, yet also not what it could've been, and perhaps even a bit shallow. Maybe that is because Neil Young, the man himself and his musical persona, provokes such divergent and complex responses. He and his music can be infuriatingly obtuse, indulgent and messy, and then there are moments of genius, of popular pleasantness and inventiveness that will charm anyone. So from the get go Inglis has succeeded in that his book about 'Harvest' captures much of this artistic conflict.

There is no reason to criticise the historical narrative provided by Inglis in Neil Young's Harvest (33 1/3) when one considers that the format of this book (and others in the series) means that the author must be relatively concise. More fanatically dedicated fans of Young and/or of 'Harvest' may find issue with the relative brevity of Inglis's account of Young's career before, during and after 'Harvest', however they are not the prime audience for this book. Just as the album is described as being the one Neil Young album that most people may own or recognise, the populist nature of his account means his book may be one that more people will engage with about Young than other more weighty or extensive tomes. It must be noted that as this book was published in 2003 it has a large lacuna at its close, with nothing beyond that date to help deepen or expand its depiction of Young or his music. That's okay; there are other books including Young's own autobiography to help fill in this gap.

The discussion of how 'Harvest' was recorded and the involvement of various musicians and other recording industry identities is fine; Inglis does a sterling job of making Young's processes clear. There is also some worthy, if abbreviated discussion of both individual tracks, the album as a whole, and the critical and commercial success of the record. Inglis is not shy of commending what he believes Young does well on the album, or damning what doesn't work (e.g. he demolishes 'There's a World' and is not so keen on the orchestration for either it or indeed 'A Man Needs a Maid'). Inglis also demonstrates an understanding of how 'Harvest' sits within the arc of both Young's career and where the musician sees the work himself. And therein lies the paradoxical problem for both the album and this book.

At its core Neil Young's Harvest (33 1/3) is a book that can'tt quite make up its mind about how great the album is, because Inglis has to some extent echoed the fragmented vision of Young's recording. The book continues to try and work both sides of the fence, in that there is commendation and recognition of the highly effective craftwork presented by Young on 'Harvest', yet Inglis seems to be reaching continually for reasons to diminish the album's achievements. Frankly I would've been more excited by what Inglis has written if he had been more provocative or more celebratory. It seems a little bit of a lazy way out to wax and wane between apathy and enthusiasm; a more effective text might have resulted if Inglis had been more foreceful in what he states critically.

Look, this is not a bad book; in fact Neil Young's Harvest (33 1/3) is a strong addituon to both popular music literature in general, and in the more specific area of being an exploration of the life and career of Neil Young. Perhaps the most valuable aspect of Inglis's work is that it will encourage anyone who reads it to either listen again or perhaps for the first time to Young's iconic album, and that's a good thing for all parties.

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neil Young is one of those music artists who I’ve listened to a lot, sometimes even whole albums, but never was a fan. He appealed to me slightly more than Bob Dylan, with whom he shares many attributes: great songwriter, imperfect vocals, with a high standard deviation in quality material (oh, that will get the Dylan lovers to hate me; sorry, Bobheads, but it’s true). In Young’s case, as Inglis describes here, that’s an obvious choice: Young preferred live recording with all its imperfections over meticulous studio work. The latter was a trademark of the supergroup he was an on-again, off-again member with Stephen Stills, David Crosby, and Graham Nash. For his solo work, however, Neil called the shots. Sometimes those shots hit center, like his biggest hit, “Heart of Gold,” recorded in one day in Nashville. Others, like the orchestral bombast of “A Man Needs a Maid” didn’t even come close to the target. Yet he chose both of those songs to be a part of his album, Harvest. If ever there was a poster child for an artist who had trouble knowing when he had something good versus something bad, Neil’s your man.

The pleasure of reading a book like this today, about an album made 50 years ago, is I have access to most of the songs talked about in the book, including rare takes and live versions, through streaming music services. I could pop up old Buffalo Springfield songs like “Mr. Soul” and “For What It’s Worth” and remind myself what those sounded like, then move over to CSN and CSYN songs, then finally to Neil’s solo work. When Inglis talked about the fact that James Taylor played banjo on “Old Man” and that he and Linda Ronstadt sang background on “Heart of Gold,” I could listen to both of those songs and hear for myself. And it’s that kind of thing that I love in these 33 1/3 books; discovering something I never knew before about these songs I’ve heard all my life.

Growing up, I tended to like more electronic, progressive, hard rock bands than the folky country-tinged stuff, i.e., Rush and Styx rather than CSYN and the Eagles. But simply listening to album-oriented rock stations, one got exposed to the full range. Later, after I escaped the countryside, I could go back and listen to that with a new attitude. I would have hated Harvest as a 16-year-old; while I can’t say it’s my new favorite album at 56, I do have a new appreciation for it after reading Inglis’s book, as well as a couple of songs beyond the hits I favorited on Apple Music.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like to listen to music in albums: they normally are coherent, may tell a story, represent a slice of an artist’s vision of music in particular moment of time, songs are put in specific order by artists themselves and so on. I also have a sweet spot for lists and canons, and I like to educate myself and widen my music taste with lists like “top-100 most influential albums of 20th century”. The question is where to get a high-quality list like that.

I found a possible answer in this “33⅓” series of books. It contains several hundreds of books, each dedicated to a single album and written by a different author. The logic goes as follows: if an album has been included in the series then it’s interesting enough to listen to, since it was selected by a serious publisher rather than a random Redditor or blogger.

Ok, so far so good, but then I decided to read a book or two on the albums I like and “Harvest” by Neil Young is one of them. The book is short and sweet, gives one certain context around the album and several totally different views. It feels like the author is like me: he likes to hesitate and to give an all-around picture covering both positive and negative reviews and sides. In one paragraph he says that Neil liked the album, but on the hand he considered it just fine, but on the other hand it was a commercial success, but on the other hand critics from “Rolling Stones” didn’t like it, but... You get the idea. Also, I was somewhat disappointed by lack of journey into Neal’s soul, i.e. lack of personal touch and tasty biographical details. There are some, but not many.

Reviewing songs one by one was nice, probably the best chapter. I also learnt new things about recording music, studios and so on, which was interesting.

Overall, a good book for people interested in Neil Young’s music who can tolerate the negative reviews as well as positive ones.

[T. H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Most of its lines are descriptive, plain, almost understated, but together they have no obvious message or story to convey."

– Sam Inglis, Neil Young's Harvest (2003)

Yes, that epigraph is from the book itself. It's meant to describe the song "Harvest," but it can also describe this book as well. It is not terrible by any means: there are no factual errors, no over-analyses or esoteric references, no creepy stories about staring into women's windows to watch them get 'intimate...' (Yes, I will take any opportunity to rip on Warren Zanes and his Dusty in Memphis book.) It's just meh. The prose is alright and not too cliched, but nothing that blows me away. I'm not exactly sure who the target audience is here: it contains a lot of references to Neil Young's life and other work, so I'd think it would be made for them, but I imagine that they would have already known a lot of the stories told here.

At the very least, the track-by-track section was nice. It was the most thoughtful part of the book, and some of the insights were at least mindful, but not outright groundbreaking. I will admit that I finished the entire book in just an hour because I wanted to move on to the next books; I'm a pretty quick reader, but attention's usually an issue with me, and I did get distracted a few times. My quick finish isn't necessarily a good thing, though. I usually like to take time reading so that I can absorb each bit of info provided by the author and really immerse myself in the story: I couldn't really do that there. But again, the book does its job. I just wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for something more deep.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This was one of the first entries in the 33 1/3 series (I think it's number #3) and it feels very much like standard rock criticism/history, unlike some of the later volumes which are much more inventive and playful. Inglis claims that most fans and critics don't like Harvest that much because it was so popular, and tries to build a case for it being one of Young's finest albums. However when he starts breaking it down song by song this argument falls apart, because there are some real stinkers on this album ("A Man Needs a Maid" and "Words," I'm looking at you). On the Beach, After The Gold Rush, and Everybody Knows This is Nowhere all have their weaknesses, but I would never skip any songs on those albums.

I love Neil but I haven't read any of his biographies so the parts about the making of the album were interesting to me. It's also somewhat dated now, as Live at Massey Hall has been released, along with some other albums that were still unreleased in 2003. I wouldn't suggest this one to anyone besides serious Neil Young fans. It could have been more interesting if Inglis tried to explain why this particular album became Young's most popular album, but he doesn't really examine that question in any depth.

[JJ Lehmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite so far in the 33⅓ series. It's not because of the actual album. Instead, it was because it focused more on the album. The first blatantly says it is not about the album (the incredible Dusty in Memphis by Dusty Springfield), and the second (the amazing Forever Changes by Love) went deeper but still focused on other issues. I'm not expecting, nor wanting a standard review, nor do I want a book about the recording and engineering equipment and techniques (at least not with this series), but I do want more information on the making of the album, why the songs were written, and information on the times, culture, etc that led to the album's production. This is where this book excels.
I am not a fan of Neil Young, but I'm not not a fan. He's always been someone who I'd not change the radio if one of his songs came on, and I love much of CSNY. I'm not sure I've become a fan, but I know for certain that I am no longer ambivalent. I'd like to explore more of his music as long as it doesn't swerve too much into country music.

[Hope Harbeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first time I’ve read a book that critiques a record album. I became a huge Neil Young fan after the Harvest album was released. It’s one of my favorite albums of all time. I loved Heart of Gold and it spurred me to buy the album. Over the following years and through the 90’s, I bought most of his albums. I consider Harvest his best album.
It was interesting to read about what critics said about this album and some of his others. However, I have just bought music based on whether I liked it. I rarely read what critics said and really didn’t care what they said. I know very little about the technical aspects of playing or recording music. I did find this book to be informative in terms of details about Neil Young’s work & career as well as the many musicians, engineers, producers, collaborators etc that worked with him.
I do not regret buying and reading the book, but it is probably the last time I will read a book reviewing an album.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suspect fans will find things to like and hate about this short bio. It seemed pretty fair to me. Harvest and After the Goldrush are the two Young solo albums with which I'm most familiar, seeing his oeuvre as too eclectic to embrace. That seems to be an opinion shared and documented by the author of this work, Sam Inglis. But he's "more qualified" to say it since he knows much more about music, the music industry, and Neil Young.

This is my third book in the beginning of the large 33 1/3 series and I suspect it will be my last. I've learned things about the three works and artists (Dusty Springfield, Love, and Young) but I'm not sure I need to know it or have great interest in retaining any of it. But I hope true fans of the history of Rock and of Neil Young specifically enjoy this little book.

[Patrick Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite of the 33 1/3 series thus far, though it may at least partially be because Young is the artist I’ve the greatest familiarity with coming in. Suffers from reading more like a Wikipedia entry than a critique, positive or negative, while the critiques which are present are often uninspiring or seemingly confused. I appreciate the attempt to analyze Harvest given its interesting status as “fine” but not great, & the author’s engagement with the point is the highlight of his work, but it isn’t enough to overcome the feeling that this book should have either A. Been about Tonight’s the Night or On the Beach, or B. Been written by someone else

[Isaiah Espinoza · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems strange to me that the author focused on this particular record. Perhaps because it is arguably the one most people are likely to have listened too. Young has always has always been eclectic in his musical range. Yet Inglis seems like he would rather have written about another Young album. That being said he writes briefly on everything. Young’s background, the recording of the album, track by track reviews, those involved in the recording and the multiple versions of the album that have been released.

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the first time that Neil Young entered into my mind was when I saw a parody on the Uncle Floyd show of Netto doing Neil Yuck and singing “Only beans can make you fart” — before then I knew of Neil Young, but I never really paid attention to him in any real sense.

Then I started noticing songs I liked — Cinnamon girl being my favorite, and for some inexplicable reason, Sugar Mountain too. I tend to like his folk stuff better than when he went a little grunge. This book was a good overview of Young as a person and how Harvesat came about as a record in terms of his bigger career.

[SusanA · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an okay book, if you don’t know much about Young or if you’re an audiohead who wants every detail on a track. No surprise, since Inglis is the editor of Sound on Sound, the UK magazine about, well, sound.

Not to be a snob about it, but good grief, do they not have proofreaders at this publishing house? The typos are legion and distracting as hell.

It’s also a strange mixture of music criticism, side stories about the players, explanations of the songs and processes, and a bit of gossip.

The fun takeaway was that Young was in a band with Rick James. No lie. I was surprised, too.

[Jill Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. No matter how Inglis describes this album - I love it. I've lived it since it came out in the early 70's. He finds 'Needle and the Damage Done' to be a bit nice; too pleasant to be about the horrors of heroin. I find it raw and quite emotional. So no matter how he talks about Harvest this book reminds me how much I love it, got me to listen to it again and told me a lot of back story. Thank you Anne G for loaning it to me.

[David Camp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've recently realized how much I love Neil Young. This is not one of my favorite albums (or even one of my favorite Neil Young albums) but a really interesting book that covers the individual songs, the album's place in and effect on Young's career, and its relationship to the music industry at the time overall. Definitely worth the read as far as I was concerned

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inglis provides good context on the cultural history of the album, and the step-by-step process of its creation. He does however come across as a bitchy old biddy when he criticizes about half of the songs. While it's true that few devoted fans of Young hold this as his best album it's also a pretty damn good collection of tunes.

[Travis Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely the first one of these I have read that actually gives you information about the album proper and not some philosophical treatise on an individualized response to some idea maybe lingering in the album. Hopefully more of these books take this approach.

[pianogal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts of this book were interesting but it was a little flat. It's a lot of facts about Neil Young in general and some about this album. I wish it had been more about what the author liked about the album and why he picked it.

[Alanna Why · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and concise history of Neil Young's career, with particular attention paid to Harvest. The early 33 1/3's were wild in terms of structure, but this did a really good job of explaining Young's career in a very brief amount of pages!

[Lee Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best written of the books I’ve read in the series to date, it is probably the most solid piece of criticism. It’s a nice survey of the album, it’s place in both NY’s discography but also AOR. This is probably what most people want out of these books and an enjoyable read.

[Benjamin Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the informational parts of this more than the music criticism - interesting that the writer does not find the album to among Neil Young's best but I don't agree with many of his specific gripes.

[Jesse C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved learning more about one of my favorite albums/artists. The last chapter being about the DVD/CD thing was a little underwhelming but there was so many interesting tidbits of information about this album and Neil’s career as a whole that I really enjoyed reading it.

[Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straightforward account of a very fine album. Inglis does a great job addressing how music fans/critics have a hard time assessing successful albums from non traditionally pop artists. He also does a great job of some introductory Young history.

[Mace · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty straightforward "making off" chronicle that's a bit opinionated but still always informative. dunno if big Neil Young fans will learn a lot new from this but me who is only a casual fan found it pretty engaging

[Rafael Ristow · Rating 1 out of 5]

O disco é um dos meus favoritos. Mas não parece ser do autor. Ele basicamente reclama de tudo. Estranho terem escolhido alguém que detesta tanto o disco para escrever um livro inteiro sobre ele.

[Rivers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe they should have had someone who actually likes the album write this?