Oakland's Vinyl Vault - Harvest

Hello again, friend. I've been at trial in Southern California for the past two weeks and haven't had any time to post (the courthouse doesn't have free wifi, which is total bullshit. What are my taxes even paying for?) Being away from home also means that I'm away from my records, so I haven't really listened to any in a while. Luckily, the randomizer spit out an album that I'm very familiar with, so I really didn't have to listen to it to review it (though of course I did). The Vinyl Vault returns with Neil Young's Harvest.

Release date: February 14, 1972
Singles: Heart of Gold, Old Man

This marks Neil Young's fourth appearance on the Vault, but his first as a solo artist (he previously appeared twice as part of CSNY and once with Buffalo Springfield). You can probably tell this by now, but I kind of like his music so this certainly won't be the last time he appears.

Harvest was the height of Young's mainstream success, and was the best selling record of 1972 and eventually went platinum 4 times over in the US. There's no mystery as to why it was such a popular album: it's got great songs. The two singles off this album are probably Young's most popular songs to date, despite being written over 40 years ago. The songs that fill out the album are nearly as good. It's a moving album that flows beautifully and doesn't lag for a second.

Rating: 14 thumbs up - Neil Young was never comfortable with all the limelight he got as a result of this album, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy it. It is truly one of the best albums ever. It's one of those albums that I can listen to over and over and never get sick of. A must have for your collection, and as a bonus it shouldn't be too expensive or hard to find since there were so many sold.

Now comes the tough part: choosing a song. I think I'll go with "Alabama," if only to mention that this song, along with Young's "Southern Man," inspired Lynyrd Skynyrd to write their biggest hit, "Sweet Home Alabama." See what you think.