Hometown: Toronto, Canada
First Solo Recordings: 1969

Personnel:

Neil Young -guitar, harmonica, vocals
Kenneth A. Buttrey -drums
David Crosby -guitar, vocals
Tim Drummond -bass, drums
Dr. John Harris -piano
Ben Keith -guitar, guitar (Steel), vocals
The London Symphony Orchestra -orchestra
Graham Nash -vocals
Jack Nitzsche -guitar, keyboards, piano, slide guitar
Linda Ronstadt -vocals
Stephen Stills -vocals
James Taylor -vocals

Bands In The Family:
Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

Harvest was released in February of 1972 and immediately went to the top of the American charts. By the end of the year, Harvest was the best selling album of the year, and became Neil Young's watershed record. "Heart of Gold," "A Man Needs A Maid," and "The Needle and the Damage Done" all ring like echoes throughout contemporary music. Everyone from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Pearl Jam - whom have worked extensively with Young - all pay homage to Young's stylings and orchestration. It's an album of unpretentious honesty and emotional exploration. The songs tell stories like classic folk tales with Young never shying away from an opportunity to spell out what he sees to be truth and reality.

From top to bottom, the harmoies and melodies bring tears to the eye and energy to the heart. The tracks are bittersweet and will drive grown men to stand up in the middle of their liviing rooms to raise their glasses and sing along. I know because I've seen it happen. If the opening bars to "Harvest" don't bring a rise in your heart and a tear to your eye, you aren't human. Possibly the most powerful song on the whole album, "The Needle and the Damage Done," is only two-minutes long, and is recorded live.

For sheer power, the album has few equals. Guests include James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, the London Symphony Orchestra, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and the Stray Gators. Most of the album was recorded in Nashville, the bosom of everything that has to do with American music. Even Young himself has called "Heart of Gold" his "finest record ever made" giving a touch of creedence to claims that Harvest is Young's best album.