On paper, Greendaledoesn't sound like one of Neil Young's better ideas: a whimsical ... more
concept album-cum-community theatre piece that mixes his cosy view of small-town America--insular, sentimental, occasionally xenophobic--with well-meaning if woolly anti-corporate, pro-environment sloganeering. Such clarity of purpose rarely suits Young. Indeed, the eco-hymn "Be the Rain" makes After the Goldrushsound more gnomic than ever. But what Greendalelacks in mystique, it makes up for with love and eccentricity. Though his voice is thinner than ever, Young sounds more engaged than he has in years--certainly more so than on the sleepwalking slush of 2001's Are You Passionate--and the obvious pleasure he takes from his grand idea here is enough to carry you through the album's ropier passages. Young's peculiar blend of control-freakery and sloppiness ensure Greendale is raw where concept albums are usually over-polished. Crazy Horse play with that bewildering naivety so typical of them, and the wrinkled spirit that they and Young bring to "Devil's Sidewalk" and the beautifully aimless "Carmichael" makes you forgive most of their self-indulgences. Even the spellbindingly crass "Be the Rain" is redeemed by Young interrupting the platitudes sung by his wife, as he bawls semi-coherently through a megaphone. There are signs, too--especially in the thoughtful "Bandit"--that he's smuggling very personal reflections on age into what initially appears to be a detached drama (much as Lou Reed, an unlikely fellow traveller, did on his underrated The Raven). Try and circumnavigate the schtick: this is the most endearing Neil Young album for some time. --John Mulvey
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Advantages: Alternative country/rock classic Disadvantages: none
From the delicate opening bars of "Out on the Weekend" till the closing sunrise of "Words", Harvest paints an emotional portrait of the post 60's world as seen through the eyes of NeilYoung, godfather of alternative rock and grunge.
Harvest is NeilYoung's biggest selling album that still resonates today. It is a must have album for NeilYoung fans and fans of alternative music across the world in this post grunge post britpop era. It is an unashamed alternative country album with contributions from notable country singers James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, with further involvement of NY stalwarts David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash.
A gentle melancholia fills each song, and is one of the first things which strikes you about this record. Although this may have been due, in part, to the heavy medication which Neil was ...
Advantages: beautiful music, makes life worth living Disadvantages: I REALY WISH THE AUDIO QUALITY WAS GOOD
Neil Percival Young was born on November 12, 1945 in Ontario, Canada to Scott Young, a sportswriter and novelist and Edna-Ragland (Russy). His parents decided to part ways when he was 12. her mother moved to her family home in Winnipeg, Manitoba and here youngNeil began his distinguished music career.
NeilYoung is a true artist, a very highly gifted singer, song-writer, musician who was at ease with number of musical instruments like piano, harmonica and of course who can forget his claw-hammer acoustic guitar. With his electric guitar solos he drove his fans to frenzy.
I cann?t but say the selection of songs in the album couldn't been better just have a look at the least of songs this album contains:
(1) Harvest
( 2) Heart of Gold
(3) A Man Needs AMaid
(4) Out on the week end
(5) Needle and the damage is done
(6)There ...
Advantages: Great Tracks Throughout With Some of The Best Lyrics Around Disadvantages: There's A World Slackens The Pace A Bit
I am in all truth, no great fan of rock critics, many of whom either rely upon flattering their own ego to produce a piece of musical criticism that usually falls into simply stating faults and then adding a couple of lines relating to positives. This though can also be reversed, with the positives given and the negatives pushed under the rug, and yet even though I do admit that I would do much the same in many cases, the review that Rolling Stone Magazine, (previously) one of the most respected rock magazines around, gave for Harvest by NeilYoung seems to me more self-indulgence than criticism. The rock critic who rated this review panned this album on far too many levels, when it is now, rightly, seen as a brilliant piece of rock history and now sitting as No.78 on the Rolling Stone Magazine 500 Greatest Albums, retribution if there ...
SANCTUARY VISUAL ENTERTAINMENT; UNIVERSAL MUSIC OPERATIONS
Release date
06/09/2004
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
SVE 4004
Barcode
5050361740041
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Documentary - 1. THE MAKING OF GREENDALE with brand-new interviews plus behind-the-scenes foota, 3 Live performances of Greendale songs, Lyrics, Complete Discography
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Stereo
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Stereo English
Professional reviews
Review
"...Wondrously eccentric..." (A.O. Scott) (New York Times, )
"...Splendiferously primitive... A triumph..." (J. Hoberman) (Village Voice, )
DVD Description
Using the music from his acclaimed "Greendale" album, Neil Young turned the themes from the record into this epic drama. The story is centred around the mythical town of Greendale, a formerly idyllic place rocked by the sudden shooting of a policeman. Fingers point at young Jed Green, forcing his family to rally around him after the media impinges on their lives. Shot by Young on his own German Super 8 underwate camera, and songs from Young and his faithful band Crazy Horse proliferate throughout, make this an awesome aural and visual treat for any fans of the innovative rocker.
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