Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’ Gets 50th Anniversary Expanded Edition
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Neil Young’s acclaimed album Harvest has received an expanded edition for its 50th anniversary. The album, Young’s fourth studio release, topped the U.S. sales chart shortly after it was originally issued on Feb. 1, 1972. Among its many well known songs are “Old Man,” “The Needle and the Damage Done,” “Out on the Weekend” and “Heart of Gold,” which became Young’s only number one single. The new editions, that arrived on Dec. 2, 2022, are available as a 2-LP/2-DVD-7″ Single set and a 3-CD/2-DVD set, via Reprise Records.
A film, Neil Young: Harvest Time, shot between January – September 1971, with never-before-seen footage, has received a limited release to theaters worldwide, with an encore showing on Dec. 4. The docu-film, notes the Nov. 3 announcement, takes viewers on an intimate journey to Young’s Broken Arrow Ranch in Northern California for the “Harvest Barn” sessions, to London for an iconic performance with the London Symphony Orchestra, and to Nashville where the then 20-something Neil Young worked on various tracks of this signature album. Performance and rehearsal content is intertwined into creative storytelling and includes most of the tracks from album Harvest (released in 1972) including “Heart of Gold,” “A Man Needs A Maid,” “Alabama,” and “Old Man.”
Watch the official Harvest Time trailer
The screening event includes an introduction by Young, recorded exclusively for movie theatre audiences. He highlights the significance of Harvest, 50 years after its release, and how the recording of the album and the movie came together.
Young said, “This is a big album for me. 50 years ago. I was 24, maybe 23 and this album made a big difference in my life. I played with some great friends, and it’s really cool that that this album has lasted so long. I had a great time and now when I listen to it, I think I was really just lucky to be there.” Tickets for the theatrical showings are available here.
Watch an extended clip from Neil Young: Harvest Time
The new collections contain Young‘s 1971 live performance on BBC In Concert as well as three tracks from the original Harvest sessions that were not included on the album: “Journey Through the Past,” “Bad Fog of Loneliness” and “Dance Dance Dance.” (Listen to the outtakes below.)
Watch Young perform “Old Man” from the BBC broadcast
Audiences will receive a new glimpse into Harvest through the two DVDs included in the box set. The first is Harvest Time, an unreleased two-hour film shot during the making of Harvest, with footage from Young’s ‘Harvest Barn’ sessions in Northern California, recording sessions in Nashville and London. The second is a film of the unreleased solo BBC concert recorded on February 23, 1971. Additionally, a hardbound book will include never-before-seen photos along with extensive liner notes by photographer Joel Bernstein. The CD edition includes a fold-out poster; the vinyl set contains a lithograph print.
Watch the official unboxing video
Harvest was released after Young had recorded Deja Vu with Crosby, Stills and Nash in 1970 and after his initial Crazy Horse collaboration, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. Young’s 1970 solo album, After the Gold Rush, reached the top 10 on Billboard‘s LP chart. Among the guests appearing on Harvest were Crosby, Stills and Nash, as well as James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt. In addition to Young himself, three other producers are credited for work on the album: Elliot Mazer, Henry Lewy and Jack Nitzsche.
Related: Our Album Rewind of Harvest
Watch Young’s live performance of “Heart of Gold” from BBC In Concert
The complete track listing and more music appears below the Amazon links.
Neil Young Harvest 50th Anniversary Edition Track Listing
CD1: Original Album
Out on the Weekend
Harvest
A Man Needs a Maid
Heart of Gold
Are You Ready for the Country?
Old Man
There’s a World
Alabama
The Needle and the Damage Done
Words (Between the Lines of Age)
CD2: BBC In Concert
Out on the Weekend (Live)
Old Man (Intro) [Live]
Old Man (Live)
Journey Through the Past (Intro) [Live]
Journey Through the Past (Live)
Heart of Gold (Intro) [Live]
Heart of Gold (Live)
Don’t Let It Bring You Down (Intro) [Live]
Don’t Let It Bring You Down (Live)
A Man Needs a Maid (Intro) [Live]
A Man Needs a Maid (Live)
Love in Mind (Intro) [Live]
Love in Mind (Live)
Dance Dance Dance (Live)
CD3: Harvest Outtakes
Bad Fog of Loneliness
Journey Through the Past
Dance Dance Dance
DVD1: BBC In Concert
Video of the BBC In Concert
DVD2: Harvest Time
2 hour documentary filmed by Neil Young and crew in 1971
2 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationI hope that the vinyl and CD will subsequently get a standalone reissue in the future – as in standard editions.
Do not want or need vinyl, cd and dvd of film is key, I remember going to the theater to see “Journey Though The Past” also have the LP, no clue why this was never re-released, great Barn scenes, probably now being used on dvd.