![]() ![]() The album’s mainstream success, and massive cultural influence, would take him by surprise and send him reeling into his Dark Period as he grappled with the devastating loss of Whitten, who died of an overdose, in the wake of it all. ![]() “Heart of Gold,” with its quietly profound acoustic guitar and harmonica, hit No. ![]() Released in 1972, Harvest was the biggest selling album of the year in the U.S. That something was that Harvest would change everything. With all this in mind, it was certain that Young was on the brink of something as he began those sessions spontaneously, recruiting a crew of session musicians called the Stray Gators, as well as James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, and the London Symphony Orchestra to record his country rock album. (“I hit the city and I lost my band / I watched the needle take another man,” he sings on Harvest’s “The Needle and the Damage Done.”) He was also in immense physical pain as the result of a slipped disc, and, in a bright spot, enjoying the early flush of romance with actress Carrie Snodgrass, future mother to their son, Zeke. Young was witnessing the irrevocable damage heroin was doing to those closest to him, like to his Crazy Horse bandmate Danny Whitten. Though Crosby, Stills & Nash would contribute to this very album, CSNY, as a band, had officially broken up. And, to be sure, it’s an accurate one: with all the success he had with Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and fan-favourite, 1970’s After the Gold Rush, Young established himself as one of the greats a distinct voice, the “Californian poet with a Canadian passport.” (I read that somewhere and it got stuck in my head.)īut underneath the accolades and groovy rock and roll lifestyle, there was a lot of tumultuousness in Young’s life when he started recording Harvest in 1971. This is a distinction he gives to himself in Harvest Time, the documentary accompanying the 50th anniversary reissue of his landmark album, which offers an intimate look into its recording sessions and a particular moment in Young’s life. īy the time he made Harvest, Neil Young was already a “rich hippie.” Want to get our stories Straight to your inbox (see what we did there)? Sign up for our newsletter here. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |