Harvest Moon (album)

Harvest Moon
Studio album by Neil Young
Released	October 27, 1992
Recorded	September 1991 - February 1992 at Redwood Digital, Woodside (except "Natural Beauty" at Portland Auditorium, OR, and strings on "Such A Woman" recorded at Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA)
Genre	Roots rock, folk rock, country rock
Length	51:58
Label	Reprise
Producer	Neil Young, Ben Keith
Neil Young chronology
Arc (1991) Harvest Moon (1992) Lucky Thirteen (1993)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]

Harvest Moon is the twentieth studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released in 1992. Many of the musicians appearing on it also appeared on his 1972 album Harvest, and it is considered by many to be like a "sequel" to Harvest.

Recovering from a case of tinnitus that had come about after the recording of 1990's Ragged Glory and its subsequent tour (which produced 1991's Weld and Arc), Young was determined to return to the studio. Returning to Nashville and joining up with compatriots like Ben Keith, Young put down the electric guitar, returning to the acoustic guitar, piano and banjo that had dominated albums such as Harvest, Comes a Time and Old Ways.

The album earned the 1994 Juno Award for album of the year. The 2009 release Dreamin' Man is a live album of the subsequent 1992 tour and contains live renditions of all Harvest Moon tracks in a different order.

Reception

Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic wrote glowingly of the title track, "Harvest Moon", calling the melody "positively gorgeous".^[3] Classic Rock Review named Harvest Moon its album of the year for 1992. ^[4] The album continued Young's commercial and critical resurgence following Freedom and Ragged Glory, eventually outselling both of these records.

Track listing

All tracks written by Neil Young.

1. "Unknown Legend" – 4:32
2. "From Hank to Hendrix" – 5:12
3. "You and Me" – 3:45
4. "Harvest Moon" – 5:03
5. "War of Man" – 5:41
6. "One of These Days" – 4:55
7. "Such a Woman" – 4:36
8. "Old King" – 2:57
9. "Dreamin' Man" – 4:36
10. "Natural Beauty" (recorded live at The Civic Auditorium, Portland OR, January 23, 1992) – 10:22

Personnel

The Stray Gators

• Neil Young – guitar, harmonica, banjo-guitar, piano, pump organ, vibes, vocals
• Kenny Buttrey – drums
• Tim Drummond – bass, marimba, broom
• Ben Keith – pedal steel guitar, dobro, bass marimba, vocal
• Spooner Oldham – piano, pump organ, keyboards

Additional personnel

• Linda Ronstadt – vocals
• James Taylor – vocals
• Nicolette Larson – vocals
• Astrid Young – vocals
• Larry Cragg – vocals
• Strings on track 7 (arranged by Jack Nitzsche):
  • Maria Newman
  • Robin Lorentz
  • Berg Garabedian
  • Betty Byers
  • Valerie Dimond
  • Carrie Prescott
  • David Stenske
  • Larry Corbett
  • Greg Gottlieb
  • Haim Shtrum
  • Cindy McGurty
  • Harris Goldman
  • Israel Baker
  • Rick Gerding
  • Matt Funes
  • Adriana Zoppo
  • Ericka Duke
  • David Shamban
  • Michael Feeth

Cover versions

• Cassandra Wilson recorded a cover version of the song "Harvest Moon" on her 1995 album New Moon Daughter.
• Ann Wilson, lead singer of Heart, recorded a cover version of the song "War of Man" for her 2007 solo release Hope & Glory with Alison Krauss.
• Ben Gibbard, lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie, sang a live cover of "Harvest Moon" on May 7, 2007, at a show in Somerville, Massachusetts.
• "Unknown Legend" is sung a cappella by TV on the Radio's lead singer Tunde Adebimpe in the 2008 film Rachel Getting Married.
• Pearl Jam covered "Harvest Moon" frequently during their fall 2005 tour of Canada.
• Neko Case covered "Dreamin' Man" on her 2001 EP Canadian Amp, with background vocals provided by Kelly Hogan.
• Jane Birkin covered "Harvest Moon" on her 2006 cover album Fictions^[5]
• Kevin Devine recorded a version of "Harvest Moon", see Put Your Ghost to Rest
• Poolside recorded a version of "Harvest Moon," released in July of 2011 to their soundcloud page.
• Elliott Smith covered "Harvest Moon" during his 1999 tour
• Bill Frisell recorded a version of "One of these Days" on his 1997 album Nashville
• Scott Matthew recorded a version of "Harvest Moon" in his 2013 cover album "Unlearned"
• Country music enthusiast Warbling Craigy Ross famously sang Harvest Moon at the funeral of Fred West

Charts

Album

Single

Certifications

References