Harvest

这张出版于1972年的《HARVEST》的专辑近乎完美，当年极为畅销。不过切不可因其曾热卖而认为它不值一听，大部分听过它的人都会被打动。好的音乐将超越主流、非主流，地上、地下的界限。专辑中最出色的歌曲应属《HEART OF GOLD》，这首歌扑面而来的是锋利的可以挥割一切的吉他以及如同涨满风帆的口琴，气势磅礴。歌曲的旋律简洁优美，歌词明快诚挚，不禁使人联想起那首著名的《THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND》。   “I HAVE BEEN TO HOLLYWOOD I HAVE BEEN TO REDWOOD I CROSS THE OCEAN FOR A HEART OF GOLD I HAVE BEEN IN MY MIND，IT IS SUCH A FINE LINE IT KEEPS ME SEARCHING FOR A HEART OF GOLD AND I AM GETTING OLD” 节选自《HEART OF GOLD》   这首歌复活了流淌于那些美国早期飘流者血液中坚定、乐观的精神；《A MAN NEEDS A MAID》是一首近乎绝望的内心表白。一个因不再相信周遭一切而陷入黑暗的年轻人渴求着幻想中的爱情，NEIL YOUNG自己弹奏的钢琴在黑暗、空洞的房间里低语，逐渐铺展开的弦乐暗示着歌者内心中时而泛起一丝希望、时而又重陷绝望的矛盾心情，最后以一句“WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN”凄然而止；《NEEDLE AND DAMAGE DONE》如同一声叹息，表达了对那些吸毒致死的同伴的哀惋，这是一首NEIL YOUNG在每场演唱会都会演唱的歌曲，可以想见那些先逝的友伴们在他心中占有怎样的位置；《OLD MAN》是年轻人对父辈关于自身境遇的倾诉；《ALABAMA》是对牧歌田园工业化的质疑；整张专辑诗意盎然，用曲曲精彩来形容并不过份。   正如整张专辑沉稳的音乐步调一样，歌曲无论表达的是何种情感，即使是绝望，我们仍能感觉到在其背后作为支撑的强大的人格力量以及无处不在、无所不覆的温情。   到了九十年代，昔日的CROSBY已经发福得不堪入目，NASH也早已是一付绅世派头，而NEIL YOUNG依然身着黑色T恤，牛仔裤，披头散发地“KEEP ON ROCKING IN THIS FREE WORLD”，透过长发，我们在他眼中看到的是随时间而来的平静、忧伤与智慧。   这张专辑在滚石杂志选出的500张历代最强专辑中排名第78位。   Neil Young's most popular album, Harvest employs a number of jarringly different styles. Much of it is country-tinged, although there is also an acoustic track, a couple of electric guitar-drenched rock performances, and two songs on which Young is accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra. But the album does have an overall mood and an overall lyric content, and they conflict with each other: the mood is melancholic, but the songs mostly describe the longing for and fulfillment of new love. Young's concerns are perhaps most explicit on the controversial "A Man Needs a Maid," which contrasts the fears of committing to a relationship with simply living alone and hiring help. Over and over, he sings of the need for love in such songs as "Out on the Weekend," "Heart of Gold," and "Old Man," and the songs are unusually melodic and accessible; the rock numbers "Are You Ready for the Country" and "Alabama" are in Young's familiar style and unremarkable, and "There's a World" and "Words (Between the Lines of Age)" are ponderous and overdone. But the love songs and the harrowing portrait of a friend's descent into heroin addiction, "The Needle and the Damage Done," remain among Young's most affecting and memorable songs.