Harvest Moon (album)

Harvest Moon is the 19th studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released on November 2, 1992. Many of its backing musicians also appeared on Young's 1972 album Harvest.

Harvest Moon
Studio album by Neil Young
Released	November 2, 1992[1]
Recorded	September 1991 – February 1992
Studio	Redwood Digital, Woodside (except "Natural Beauty" at Civic Auditorium, Portland, Oregon; and strings on "Such A Woman" recorded at Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California)[2]
Genre	Roots rock folk rock country rock
Length	51:58
Label	Reprise
Producer	Neil Young, Ben Keith
Neil Young chronology
Arc (1991) Harvest Moon (1992) Lucky Thirteen (1993)
Singles from Harvest Moon
"Harvest Moon" Released: 1993

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

Recordings

Recovering from a case of tinnitus that had come about after the recording of Ragged Glory (1990) and its subsequent tour (which produced the 1991 albums Weld and Arc), Young returned to the studio with Ben Keith, picking up the acoustic guitar, piano and banjo that had dominated albums such as Harvest, Comes a Time and Old Ways. 1970s-era analogue equipment was used instead of digital recording to achieve a "warmer" feel.

The subsequent 1992 tour was recorded and ultimately released on the 2009 Dreamin' Man live album, containing Young's solo renditions of all Harvest Moon tracks in a different order.

Reception

Music website Classic Rock Review named Harvest Moon its album of the year for 1992.[5] It earned the 1994 Juno Award for album of the year. Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic described the melody of the title track as "positively gorgeous".[6] The album continued Young's commercial and critical resurgence following Freedom and Ragged Glory, eventually outselling both of those records. The song "Harvest Moon" topped the AARP's list of "16 Songs Everyone Over 50 Should Own."

Track listing

All tracks written by Neil Young.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Unknown Legend"	4:32
2.	"From Hank to Hendrix"	5:12
3.	"You and Me"	3:45
4.	"Harvest Moon"	5:03
5.	"War of Man"	5:41
6.	"One of These Days"	4:55
7.	"Such a Woman"	4:36
8.	"Old King"	2:57
9.	"Dreamin' Man"	4:36
10.	"Natural Beauty" (recorded live at The Civic Auditorium, Portland, Oregon, January 23, 1992)	10:22

Personnel

• Neil Young – vocals, guitars, harmonica, banjo guitar, piano, pump organ, vibraphone

The Stray Gators

• Ben Keith – pedal steel guitar, Dobro, bass marimba, backing vocals
• Spooner Oldham – piano, pump organ, keyboards
• Tim Drummond – bass, marimba, broom
• Kenny Buttrey – drums

Additional personnel

• Larry Cragg – backing vocals on "War of Man"
• Nicolette Larson – backing vocals on "You and Me," "War of Man," "Such a Woman," "Old King," "Dreamin' Man," "Natural Beauty"
• Linda Ronstadt – backing vocals on "Unknown Legend," "From Hank to Hendrix," "Harvest Moon," "War of Man," "One of These Days"
• James Taylor – backing vocals on "From Hank to Hendrix," "War of Man," "One of These Days"
• Astrid Young – backing vocals on "War of Man," "Such a Woman," "Dreamin' Man"
• Jack Nitzsche – string arrangement on "Such a Woman"
• Suzie Katayama – conductor on "Such a Woman"
• Maria Newman – concertmaster on "Such a Woman"
• Maria Newman, Israel Baker, Betty Byers, Berg Garabedian, Harris Goldman, Robin Lorentz, Cindy McGurty, Haim Shtrum – violins on "Such a Woman"
• Valerie Dimond, Matt Funes, Rick Gerding, Carrie Prescott, David Stenske, Adriana Zoppo – violas on "Such a Woman"
• Larry Corbett, Ericka Duke, Greg Gottlieb, David Shamban – cellos on "Such a Woman"

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1992
	New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[7]	7
	Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[8]	6
	The Billboard 200	16
	UK Albums Chart	9

Single

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1992	"War of Man"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	7
1993	"Unknown Legend"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	38
1993	"Harvest Moon"	UK Singles Chart	36

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA (U.S.)	2× platinum	July 16, 1997

Covers

Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson recorded a rendition of "Harvest Moon" for her 1995 album New Moon Daughter

American singers Ann Wilson and Alison Krauss recorded a cover of "War of Man" for Wilson's 2007 album Hope & Glory.

Los Angeles electronic production duo Poolside recorded a cover of "Harvest Moon" for their 2012 album Pacific Standard Time

American folk duo Shovels & Rope recorded "Unknown Legend" with Shakey Graves in 2015.

Los Angeles indie rock band Lord Huron recorded a cover of "Harvest Moon" in 2018 for a Spotify Singles session.

Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell recorded a version of "One of These Days" on his 1997 album Nashville.

Tunde Adebimpe, the lead singer of TV on The Radio, performs an acapella version of Unknown Legend in the Jonathan Demme film Rachel Getting Married.[9]

See also

• Dreamin' Man Live '92, a live version of Harvest Moon, recorded on tour in 1992 and released in 2009

References

1. "Neil Young: Harvest Moon". neilyoung.com. Neil Young. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
2. Harvest Moon (album) at Discogs
3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (1992-10-27). "Harvest Moon - Neil Young | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
4. Kot, Greg (1992-11-26). "Neil Young Harvest Moon Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
5. "Classic Rock Review of Harvest Moon by Neil Young". Retrieved June 25, 2012.
6. "Harvest Moon – Neil Young". AllMusic. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
7. "Charts.nz – Neil Young – Harvest Moon". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
8. "Norwegiancharts.com – Neil Young – Harvest Moon". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
9. "'Rachel Getting Married': Wedding Movie Bliss". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-01-23.