7. Neil YoungHarvest
"Think I’ll pack it in/ And buy a pick-up/ Drive it down to LA…"
With these opening words I’m dreaming open horizons and yearning for big American skies. I bought this second-hand on vinyl in my late teens. The buff-coloured cover has darkened and become fuzzy-cornered with age but the music stays wondrous and deep. To my innocent ears ‘A Man Needs A Maid’ was an enigma although its impact was immediate. Over the years its meaning has moved me ever more deeply; I love the shameless expression of a man lost in love and longing for simplicity and the strings are epic as fuck.