Alternate Harvest
I’m very slowly writing a review for every Neil Young song as a hobby and I just finished reviewing every song on Harvest. When I finished I got an interesting idea, what could an alternate version of Harvest look like? Harvest is a good album, although it’s never been one of my favourites. Yet if you listen to the live albums from 1971-1973 and all the outtakes recorded during this time, Neil was sitting on a wealth of material.
Now I know Harvest is beloved, and rightfully so, but it’s not going anywhere. Anyway, here’s my attempt at an alternate tracklist for Harvest:
Out on the Weekend
Harvest
Love in Mind (Live at Royce Hall)
Heart of Gold
Old Man
Bad Fog of Loneliness
Journey Through the Past (Live at Massey Hall)
The Needle and the Damage Done
Soldier
Words (Between the Lines of Age)
I gave this a listen this morning and while it’s interesting, I think the flow and cohesion isn't quite there. After Bad Fog of Loneliness, the whole country side of the album is just gone, it’s a bit of a stark difference. It also only comes in at 33 minutes, so there’s space for at least another song on there. It's almost like Neil Young knows his own music better than I do.
I don’t know if anyone else wastes their free time doing this, but this is just a testament to how much I love Neil’s music! I tried to go for a mellower, more piano driven album with a big finish. Let me know if you have any ideas for this or have your own alternate versions of Neil’s albums.