At one point, Young inquires, “Have you ever heard of Merle Haggard?” Later, Meecham mentions that the orchestra has recently worked with Pink Floyd, remarking, “They make some good noises. When these conflicting ethoses are brought together, the whole becomes less than the sum of its parts.Īn impending train wreck is foreshadowed by conversations between a persnickety Young and a game but somewhat clueless conductor David Meecham. Conversely, rock and roll values spontaneity and a certain organic looseness. Due to the very nature of orchestral music, a premium must be placed on precision in order to properly harness the sound of dozens of musicians performing simultaneously. To a great extent, it is a case of conflicting philosophies. The cut - from a shot of the band playing among hay bales to a shot of Young at a grand piano surrounded by orchestra musicians – points up the problems inherent when attempts are made to combine rock and roll and classical music. The less said, the better, as the song has aged about as well as a banana. There is no explanation given for the change in venue, but it soon becomes apparent that Young has booked the London Symphony Orchestra for a recording session, feeling perhaps that his song “A Man Needs a Maid” requires an orchestral framework upon which to hang some of his more questionable – though Young now says “misinterpreted” - lyrics. There are brief interview segments with some of the participants, but much of the time is spent watching the band jamming away as the tunes take shape. Stylistically, Young / Shakey appears to be a devotee of the cinema verité aesthetic, though at times a viewer might question whether it is a matter of philosophy or sloppy technique that gives the film its look. The atmosphere is one of granola and flannel shirts. The ranch itself appears to be in remote territory, and the studio is located – quite literally - in a barn. studio rat / Phil Spector protege Jack Nitzsche. The first portion of the doc takes place during recording sessions at the ranch, where Young has assembled some hotshot Nashville musicians (bassist Tim Drummond, drummer Kenny Buttrey and multi-instrumentalist Ben Keith), plus L.A. The film captures a moment in time when Young was at a creative and commercial peak, living the life of a “rich hippie” (his term) on his Broken Arrow ranch in northern California with actress Carrie Snodgress ( Diary of a Mad Housewife). But the most valuable component of the new set is the documentary Harvest Time, shot during the recording of the album and directed by Young under his nom de cinema Bernard Shakey. In addition to a remastered version of the album, we get a CD containing outtakes from the Harvest sessions, plus CD and DVD versions of Young’s 1971 appearance on a BBC television program. Two live sets dating from the early ‘70s are set for release next month. He has begun releasing this material at an increasing rate over the past several years, much to the delight of many old-timers. Young has always been meticulous (obsessive?) when it comes to preserving his legacy, resulting in a collection of archives that contains thousands of hours of studio tracks, live recordings, film, and video. Harvest is one of Young’s most beloved and best selling albums, so why wouldn’t we want to hear more? Which is why the release of a Harvest 50th anniversary box set is so welcome for those of us who loved the Neil Young of Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, After the Goldrush and even Tonight’s the Night. At some point, Young truly reached the “crap in a paper bag” phase of his career. More recently, he has railed against agribusiness, Starbucks, and big box stores, writing songs that have no subtext, broadsides that leave no room for interpretation. Since then, Young has, artistically speaking, wandered hither and yon, releasing over two dozen albums ranging from “old school” efforts like Harvest Moon to environmentalist screeds like Greendale (which was also technically a musical, though not of the Rodgers and Hammerstein variety). In essence, Young was sued for not sounding like himself. Label head David Geffen eventually sued Young for delivering “uncharacteristic” and “unrepresentative” albums. DVD cover Then came Everybody’s Rockin’, an excursion into hardcore rockabilly which represented a major passive-aggressive move after Geffen Records requested a “rock and roll” album from Young.
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