7.
Neil Young – Harvest
This is a record my mum loved so it was played in our house all the time when I was growing up.
Harvest was a huge commercial success for Neil Young but the songwriting is also unbelievable. It’s as good as any album that Bob Dylan ever put out or anything The Beatles did. To me it’s one of those iconic records that will always stand the test of time – it’s as good as it can get. There’s not really one bad song on the record, it’s almost so stripped down and gradual sounding at spots. There’s nothing in the way – the production is spot on. Neil’s singing is so beautiful and fragile at the same time. I really think it’s a perfect album. I recently saw a BBC session, I can’t remember where, but Neil Young was playing at the Round House and there’s this amazing performance. He’s playing a lot of songs from ‘Harvest’ before it came out and he’s just so comfortable – it’s just him and either a piano or an acoustic guitar, and it’s so unbelievable. When you can tap into songs that simple, without the need of any production or band or anything, you realise how good the songwriter is. That’s why the record sounds so good – because the songs are flawless.
