SONG OF THE DAY
“Out On Weekend” by Neil Young (Harvest, Reprise Records, 1972). Written by Neil Young.
INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)
– Harvest is the fourth solo album by Neil Young.
– It featured the London Symphony Orchestra on two tracks, while noted guests David Crosby, Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt, Stephen Stills, and James Taylor contributed vocals.
– It topped the Billboard 200 Albums chart for two weeks, and spawned two hit singles, “Old Man”, which peaked at #31 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Heart of Gold”, which peaked at #1.
– It was the best-selling album of 1972.
– After Young left Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, he recruited a group of country session musicians (whom he christened The Stray Gators) to record a country rock record in Harvest.
– The album’s success caught Young off guard and his first instinct was to back away from stardom. He would later write that the record “put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there.”
– According to a Rolling Stone interview, Young had wanted the album sleeve to biodegrade after the shrink-wrap was broken, but was overruled by the record company on the basis of expense and the possible product loss due to shipping accidents.
– In 1998 Q magazine readers voted Harvest the 64th greatest album of all time.
– In 1996, 2000 and 2005, Chart polled readers to determine the 50 greatest Canadian albums of all time — Harvest placed second in all three polls, losing the top spot to Joni Mitchell’s Blue in 2000, and to Sloan’s Twice Removed in the other two polls.
– In 2003, Rolling Stone named Harvest the 78th greatest album of all time.
– In 2007, Harvest was named the #1 Canadian Album of All Time by Bob Mersereau in his book The Top 100 Canadian Albums.
– On October 15, 2002 Harvest was digitally remixed and remastered for the DVD-Audio format. The new 5.1 mix was a minor subject of controversy due to its unconventional panning, with the vocals in the centre of the room and the drums in the rear speakers.
– Harvest was remastered and released on HDCD-encoded CD and digital download on July 14, 2009 as part of the Neil Young Archives Original Release Series.
– It is also planned to release the remastered version on audiophile vinyl and in high resolution digital on Blu-ray disc, although release dates for those formats have not yet been announced.