Show notes
Neil Young's most successful solo album is also considered his signature album. Harvest was Young's fourth solo studio album, and it topped the Billboard 200 chart in the US for two weeks while also spawning two top 40 singles.
Young grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, and began playing and songwriting there in several groups. His first success as a songwriter came for a song he wrote for The Guess Who which made it to the top 40 in Canada. He was in the Mynah Birds, a Toronto group fronted by a young Rick James. The Mynah Birds were attempting to get signed by Motown when James was arrested for being AWOL from the Navy reserves. Shortly after this, Neil Young and bassist Bruce Palmer sold the group's equipment, bought a hearse, and used it to move to Los Angeles. He then worked as a session musician and a member of Buffalo Springfield before striking out on his own solo work while also joining Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Harvest was written after an acoustic tour the previous year, a tour prompted by a back injury Young sustained that required him to play sitting down for an extended time. The album contains significant acoustic elements, as several tracks he played on that tour would appear on the album. Many of the lyrics are related to Young's growing relationship with actress Carrie Snodgress. Young was a success before recording this album, and was able to bring in a number of session musicians on several tracks including Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, and the London Symphony Orchestra.
Surprisingly, the album met mixed reviews when released, though over time the critics' assessments would turn much more positive. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015.
Wayne brings us this California country-tinged album for this week's podcast.
Heart of Gold
One of the tracks that arose from Neil Young's acoustic tour, this song topped the charts in the United States and Canada, and went to number 10 in the UK. Despite its success, Young had mixed feelings about the popularity he gained from the song. Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor provided backing vocals on this track. The lyrics talk about a man who may be overthinking life, searching for something just beyond his grasp.
Old Man
The origin of this song was an encounter that Neil Young had with the caretaker of the Broken Arrow Ranch, which Young purchased in 1970. The old caretaker was not pleased with the young (literally) hippie-looking Young purchasing the place, and this song's lyrics talk about how the two of them were not that different.
Alabama
A continuation of a diatribe from Young's “Southern Man,” this track condemns the racism of the white people in Alabama specifically, and the southern United States in general. Neil Young would eventually come to see the lyrics as too accusatory, and too easy to misconstrue as a general condemnation of all Southerners.
The Needle and the Damage Done
The inspiration for this song was a number of musicians whom Young had observed as they fell apart due to heroin addiction. More specifically, Young wrote this song about bandmate Danny Whitten, whom Young had to let go from his tour due to his heroin use. Whitten would die of an overdose shortly thereafter.
ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:
Cabaret by Liza Minnelli (from the motion picture “Cabaret”)
Minnelli stars in this period musical drama based on the Broadway show, set in Germany before World War II.
STAFF PICKS:
Mother and Child Reunion by Paul Simon
Rob leads off the staff picks with a one of the earlier rock songs with reggae influences. The song was written in response to a Jimmy Cliff song in which a mother receives a letter that her son had been killed in battle in Vietnam. It was also inspired by Simon's loss of his dog. The title was inspired by a menu item in a Chinese restaurant in New York - chicken and eggs - entitled “Mother and Child Reunion.”
I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony) by the New Seekers
Bruce brings us a hit song which originally appeared as a commercial jingle. Coca-Cola produced an ad called “hilltop” featuring young people of various races coming together over a Coke. The success prompted a rewrite of the jingle into a full-length song, dropping the product references. It became a big hit for both the New Seekers who recorded the radio jingle, and the Hillside Singers who recorded the television commercial.
Let's Stay Together by Al Green
Lynch features the song which hit the top of the US singles charts, and was named number one R&B song on the Billboard Year-end chart for 1972. It has been covered by a number of artists, with Tina Turner being the most prominent. It was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
Do You Know What I Mean by Lee Michaels
Wayne's closes out the staff picks with a song about a girl that a guy lost to his best friend after taking her for granted. It reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lee Michaels came out of the San Francisco music scene, originally as a surf band before moving into a more "blue eyed soul" direction. Van Halen opened for Lee Michaels at the Whiskey a Go Go in 1977.
INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:
Joy (feat. Tom Parker) by Apollo 100
This jazz instrumental covers the baroque chorale "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by J.S. Bach.
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