You are correct about Neil Young’s voice. It often has a haunting melancholy sound. If you listen to more music from him, you’ll understand that, but there’s something beautiful in the sadness. Incredible artist!
I saw him play this while an actual October super moon was rising directly behind the stage, they projected the moon on the screens. One of the best moments of my life.
Likely, that’s a special kind of drumsticks that have brush ends on them as opposed to impact ends on them. They were used a lot in the old days and jazz ensembles.
The amazing Linda Ronstadt did the backup vocals on this song. And the female backup singer on the left in the video is the talented and beautiful Nicolette Larson. She did backup vocals for six other tracks on this album.
His voice has a lot of emotion in it. It has always touched me. Beautiful music and a touching, emotional voice can feel like sadness but it's more like melancholy, nostalgia but warm and sweet.
Speaking to the sadness: did you notice that about 20 years went by in the video and everything changed? Nothing lasts forever; there's some sadness for you. Or at least, for me.
This song resonated SERIOUSLY with Boomers, who were going through middle age and starting to watch their kids leave home and become adults. Lots of nostalgia in popular culture at the time outside of grunge + rap.
Harvest Moon is an amazing album, start to finish. He does sound sad, but it’s wistful, he’s thinking back over the years and about they fell in love, and how he still loves her. You absolutely need to listen to Linda Ronstadt, she’s absolutely amazing, and the whole reason The Eagles exist. I grew up listening to and going to her performances, she’s a national treasure, along with Dolly Parton and EmmyLou Harris. Keep up the learning and the good work! ❤😊
This song is very not sad and very loving. This man’s writing and musical skills to help carry me through the 70s 80s 90s till today. Thanks for playing him and recognizing him.
I think Neil's voice gives an aura of mystery and yet it befits any subject matter he sings about. His voice can also sound desperate on certain tunes he wrote. Tonight's the Night and Southern Man come to mind.
Love it. I am pretty sure as well that it's because I just like sound so much that I therefore like music so much and also particularly like being a musician now for many years. Well said.
Good reaction. Glad you caught the same vibe off Neil Young's voice like most of us did. I always felt like no matter how melancholy I felt if I heard Neil sing he sounded like he was having a worse day than you....😂😂😂 But I love his music all of his music. Harvest Moon was one of my favorites
For a more "rocking" Neil Young, listen to "Down By The River", where Neil is playing powerful electric guitar and singing with real intensity. And for a really sad downer song, listen to Neil singing "Don't Let It Bring You Down." You must listen to Linda Ronstadt! She is one of the GREAT rock singers, and could really belt it out. Try Ronstadt's "Tumblin Dice", "Your No Good", and "Long, Long, Time". The studio versions are all great, but so are her live performances.
Think of this song is perhaps to people who have gone through a hard time, divorced for instance, coming together and finding a new love, therefore, coming out of the fog of the previous break up. It’s like Joy,‘s coming back up to the surface of the water getting a breath of fresh air coming your way for a new day.
I remember my dad telling me growing up that Neil has a had a song that was a number 1 hit every decade he’s been out which is like 50 years… sometimes honestly he’s too much but sometimes he hits that mood
Neil Young did a lot of mellow stuff, but he also changed his style quite a bit from time to time. Two songs you should probably check out are Ohio with Crosby Stills and Nash in 1970 and Rockin In the Free World in 1989. And yes, that was a broom.
There is another song that came off the same album I think it’s called my dog Hank or just Hank? More upbeat, happy and there’s multiple songs like this that he has done.
Good reaction! You have heard the acoustic side of Neil, now you have to listen to the harder side and you will know why they call him the "Godfather of Grunge". Listen to Hey, Hey, My, My (Into The Black), or Rockin' In The Free World, or Like a Hurricane. Thanks.😎
Nicolette Larson ( the backup singer with the long brunette hair...standing on the left ) had a huge hit with 'Lotta Love'...which Neil wrote for her in the days of disco..
Neil Young has a wide range of music. After 911 happened he went out on the stage somewhere and sung John Lennon song called imagine. It was amazing and I hope you look up this video. And then follow it with the song he wrote after 911 called let’s roll. This will help to give you insight into how he thinks there’s a space between the right and the left and he navigates that area quite well.
Tim Drummond, the bass player in The Stray Gators, Neil's backing band, is actually playing a broom on the recording. The girls in the video were not the backing singers on the record. Linda Ronstadt sang backup on the record.
One of my favorites off of this album is 'Natural Beauty. with Linda RONDSTAT SINGING BACKUP.......'Old King' is a song about his old hound dog.. 'Ohio'' is/was a very famous protest song he wrote..about the massacre at kent sTATE.I think he wrote it on thresame day it happened.
Such an amazing song - this one is happy! Just as he is the influence for grunge, he is also a huge influence on another mega-band I hope you one day journey through, Radiohead. Here's hoping, as you would love them and you are one of the best. For now, this is my favorite Neil song so this is a treat! Thanks and peace//
As far as the broom sound, I honestly don't know. But I will say that you can achieve that exact sound with brushes on a snare and sometimes maybe mixing in some really nuanced hi-hat work. But probably brushes on a snare.
Yes, you should definitely check out some Linda Ronstadt. If you're given the choice between Linda on a recording or Linda singing live, always go for the live performance. She's like Elvis, in the sense that she can sing pretty much any genre and she is better singing live. ❤
The 'broom' sound is the drummer using brushes, instead of drum sticks on the drums, with a 'coated' head on the snare drum, not a clear head. You can see him using them.
To answer your question at the end, I would substitute for the word sadness, a combination of three words. One which you also used called somber, but I would also throw plaintiv and wistful in there if you take three of those together I think you could have a pretty nuanced substitution for just saying that there's a sadness to it. Because there is always this positivity to it as well.
I think I understand what you're saying : there is pure sadness in this tender love song. And maybe this is the very definition of "nostalgia"... I'm afraid you'll have to wait until you're 50 to fully experience and understand it, though ;) ...
I think its time for you to really experience the best of Neil Young. The track called "Down by the river" performed with hisband Crazy Horse, live version.
On the Neil Young Channel there is a live audio recording from '74 of the song Ambulance Blues in the intro he hits on what you're saying....paraphrasing...Before I play this next tune I gotta tell you what happened to me. I use to play in coffee houses when I was younger. All of these Folk singers would get up there and jump around, then this cat would get up there and play these downers (referring to himself the crowd laughs) What am I doing here man... So here is another bummer for you(the crowd laughs really loud) What can I say it's my trip.....to some it up he has a melancholy to his songs but he has a sense of humor about it. To me it seems the more up tempo his songs are the darker the message...Revolution Blues, Southern Man, Ohio , Down by the River. The slower somber songs have an upbeat message...I am A child, Love in Mind. Look out for My love From the same album and NY channel as Ambulance Blues Pardon My Heart the intro goes something like ...this is the end of the show, thanks for putting up with my sad songs...this next one is one of the saddest loves songs I ever heard . I just learned it...I also wrote it.. so here it goes
Agree there is always some melancholy in Neil’s voice. And I think this song is about a relationship that comes and goes maybe. Breakups and getting back together. But the love remains. 🤷🏻♀️
Listen to "Vince Guaraldi Trio - Linus And Lucy" for perhaps the most FAMOUS use of a broom... I mean brushes...on percussion/drums.😁 There's a LIVE video of them performing it, so much better seeing it than just hearing. Found it! ua-cam.com/video/OODA_K5hxyc/v-deo.html Like a comment rightly states "This drumming is the epitome of 'less is more'." I heard another group play the same song WITHOUT the brushes on drum and it loses it's charm, sad but true. I read an article and it stared the brushes represent SNOW falling in winter, and I'd say also the sound when you walk in it.
So far you've reacted to the mellower , folksy side of Neil Young. Trust me he can rock with the best of them. He's done a little bit of everything in a career spanning 50+ yrs. Check out Cinnamon Girl , Powderfinger , Southern Man to hear his rockin side.
....don't wanna burst your bubble but the 'brushing with the broom' sound you hear on this song comes from the drummer using a type of drum stick called 'brushes'. They are quite common and used in multiple genres when you want the drums to be a little quieter.... 😇
As far as the back up signers. I'm 83.45 % sure that is Nicolette Larson and his sister Astrid Young ( I know some will say half-sister but family is family there are no halves. Nicolette Larson picked up a cassette of a deep cut of Neil's and recorded it " Lotta Love" Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris recorded After the Goldrush, Norah Jones has done some great covers of Neil's songs
“Powderfinger” is musically a little more Rocky and up tempo. The story it tells is as sad as hell but worth a look. I really enjoyed the Live Aid version but any version will do.
This is what the Godfather of Grunge was putting out while Nirvana was releasing their Insecticide album. I love that contrast. ❤ Neil once said, about having songs that became mainstream hits, that when that happens he purposefully aims for the ditch. ... perfectly illustrated by what he was releasing in 1992 while grunge was in its heyday, imo. (though this album was a huge success for him anyway - every Boomer in North America and many elsewhere bought this one, plus however many of my GenX hippie peers who were discovering his old stuff. I worked at a big record store at the time - Harvest Moon sold like *crazy*). (though admittedly not as well as Nirvana's albums, so maybe this was as close as he could get to the ditch in that era 😂) Me, I'm an Everybody Knows This is Nowhere album fan (... GenX hippie)... but also a Live Rust fan. I can appreciate this one; it's sweet - but it's not on my list of Neil Young faves. Mostly it reminds me of my Boomer mom, who probably still plays it weekly... ❤
You havent touched his harder rock stuff yet. Nobody ever does tracks from Ragged Glory or Freedom but some of his hardest stuff and best guitar playing is on those two albums. Also by the way, they were his two releases prior to Harvest Moon. His next, Sleeps With Angels from 1994, is also amazing with a mix of rock and acoustic. People have been pondering his voice and how it always sounds tinged by sadness for decades now. It is not just you.
Or the two people who divorced so to speak, are dispersing their tensions that arose during the divorce time or break up time you don’t hate the person things just didn’t work out and it hurts to see that person hurting.
![Neil Young - Harvest Moon [Official Music Video] Reaction/Review](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vZeOe3rjJeQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Neil Young's voice often has a haunting sense of melancholy that can't be ignored or forgotten. Good reaction video!
That was a funny observation. And it isn't just him. His voice just always tends to sound sort of grunge.
So beautiful.
You are correct about Neil Young’s voice. It often has a haunting melancholy sound. If you listen to more music from him, you’ll understand that, but there’s something beautiful in the sadness. Incredible artist!
Just Beautiful music from Neil !! Touches the soul !!!
I saw him play this while an actual October super moon was rising directly behind the stage, they projected the moon on the screens. One of the best moments of my life.
Likely, that’s a special kind of drumsticks that have brush ends on them as opposed to impact ends on them. They were used a lot in the old days and jazz ensembles.
The amazing Linda Ronstadt did the backup vocals on this song. And the female backup singer on the left in the video is the talented and beautiful Nicolette Larson. She did backup vocals for six other tracks on this album.
His voice has a lot of emotion in it. It has always touched me. Beautiful music and a touching, emotional voice can feel like sadness but it's more like melancholy, nostalgia but warm and sweet.
He's talking about lost love
My wife and my first dance ❤️
Speaking to the sadness: did you notice that about 20 years went by in the video and everything changed? Nothing lasts forever; there's some sadness for you. Or at least, for me.
This song resonated SERIOUSLY with Boomers, who were going through middle age and starting to watch their kids leave home and become adults.
Lots of nostalgia in popular culture at the time outside of grunge + rap.
Pretty song
One of his best
Harvest Moon is an amazing album, start to finish. He does sound sad, but it’s wistful, he’s thinking back over the years and about they fell in love, and how he still loves her. You absolutely need to listen to Linda Ronstadt, she’s absolutely amazing, and the whole reason The Eagles exist. I grew up listening to and going to her performances, she’s a national treasure, along with Dolly Parton and EmmyLou Harris. Keep up the learning and the good work! ❤😊
This is by far my FAVORITE song by Neil. Check out "Highway Men". You wont be disappointed.
Crying with happiness.
Those are percussion brushes, I've seen them mostly in jazz or mellow tunes that call for gentle percussion.
If I was to get married again, this would be the bride and grooms dance song that you’re playing right now😊
It's not just you. I cry every time I hear this song.
His voice just seems to make each song emotional.
Hit the song Long Long Time by Linda Ronstadt, you won't be disappointed.
This song is very not sad and very loving. This man’s writing and musical skills to help carry me through the 70s 80s 90s till today. Thanks for playing him and recognizing him.
Literally a perfect song.
My favorite all time song. Watch this video live unplugged. Amazing
You do hear melancholy. It’s true. It is his vibe, but it’s okay. One of the reasons we love him.
Beautiful song. And yes, you need to listen to Ronstadt ❤
I think Neil's voice gives an aura of mystery and yet it befits any subject matter he sings about. His voice can also sound desperate on certain tunes he wrote. Tonight's the Night and Southern Man come to mind.
Love it. I am pretty sure as well that it's because I just like sound so much that I therefore like music so much and also particularly like being a musician now for many years.
Well said.
Good reaction. Glad you caught the same vibe off Neil Young's voice like most of us did. I always felt like no matter how melancholy I felt if I heard Neil sing he sounded like he was having a worse day than you....😂😂😂 But I love his music all of his music. Harvest Moon was one of my favorites
My favorite of his….hands down ❤❤❤
You’re a really exceptional and gifted listener - it’s not just you - but you can really be affected by music that way is a gift.
Thanks, MMB.. such a beautiful song.. and the "throw-back" to the younger days (haunting, I would say...)... appreciate your reaction...
For a more "rocking" Neil Young, listen to "Down By The River", where Neil is playing powerful electric guitar and singing with real intensity. And for a really sad downer song, listen to Neil singing "Don't Let It Bring You Down."
You must listen to Linda Ronstadt! She is one of the GREAT rock singers, and could really belt it out. Try Ronstadt's "Tumblin Dice", "Your No Good", and "Long, Long, Time". The studio versions are all great, but so are her live performances.
I love this so much. ❤❤❤
Think of this song is perhaps to people who have gone through a hard time, divorced for instance, coming together and finding a new love, therefore, coming out of the fog of the previous break up. It’s like Joy,‘s coming back up to the surface of the water getting a breath of fresh air coming your way for a new day.
That IS a broom! I saw it live; they had a guy onstage sweeping a pad they had mic'd up.
You're hearing endearment in his voice, not sadness.
Harvest is a great album!!!!
I remember my dad telling me growing up that Neil has a had a song that was a number 1 hit every decade he’s been out which is like 50 years… sometimes honestly he’s too much but sometimes he hits that mood
There is a live version of this song. And, yes, there is a broom player on stage.
Neil Young did a lot of mellow stuff, but he also changed his style quite a bit from time to time.
Two songs you should probably check out are Ohio with Crosby Stills and Nash in 1970 and Rockin In the Free World in 1989.
And yes, that was a broom.
Neal Young was performed at Woodstock with Cosby Stills Nash and Young
There is another song that came off the same album I think it’s called my dog Hank or just Hank? More upbeat, happy and there’s multiple songs like this that he has done.
Yes, that’s Tim Drummond on broom!
Also, he has made movies on his own money. Young people like at Coachella and such love him still.
Good reaction! You have heard the acoustic side of Neil, now you have to listen to the harder side and you will know why they call him the "Godfather of Grunge". Listen to Hey, Hey, My, My (Into The Black), or Rockin' In The Free World, or Like a Hurricane. Thanks.😎
If you watch the Unplugged live version you will see the man "playing' the broom! Its awesome! lol
It's music to listen to when you want to relax.❤ You should check out "Don't Let it bring you down". It'll bring you right down.😅😂
Nicolette Larson ( the backup singer with the long brunette hair...standing on the left ) had a huge hit with 'Lotta Love'...which Neil wrote for her in the days of disco..
Neil rocks pretty hard at times. Usually with Crazy Horse. When you get to it.
Neil Young has a wide range of music. After 911 happened he went out on the stage somewhere and sung John Lennon song called imagine. It was amazing and I hope you look up this video. And then follow it with the song he wrote after 911 called let’s roll. This will help to give you insight into how he thinks there’s a space between the right and the left and he navigates that area quite well.
Yes. On his MTV unplugged episode a man is literally sweeping a broom on stage 😂
That's why he is called the Grandfather of Grunge...😉
Tim Drummond, the bass player in The Stray Gators, Neil's backing band, is actually playing a broom on the recording. The girls in the video were not the backing singers on the record. Linda Ronstadt sang backup on the record.
Neil Young is soo real,and that not uncommon Canadian mix of folky brilliant poetic countryish music. Lolol
One of my favorites off of this album is 'Natural Beauty. with Linda RONDSTAT SINGING BACKUP.......'Old King' is a song about his old hound dog.. 'Ohio'' is/was a very famous protest song he wrote..about the massacre at kent sTATE.I think he wrote it on thresame day it happened.
Such an amazing song - this one is happy! Just as he is the influence for grunge, he is also a huge influence on another mega-band I hope you one day journey through, Radiohead. Here's hoping, as you would love them and you are one of the best. For now, this is my favorite Neil song so this is a treat! Thanks and peace//
Linda Ronstadt effing rules.
listen to yes close to the edge
In a live video he does have a guy on stage sweeping with a broom.
As far as the broom sound, I honestly don't know. But I will say that you can achieve that exact sound with brushes on a snare and sometimes maybe mixing in some really nuanced hi-hat work. But probably brushes on a snare.
The Wikipedia page for the album listed broom.
Yes, you should definitely check out some Linda Ronstadt. If you're given the choice between Linda on a recording or Linda singing live, always go for the live performance. She's like Elvis, in the sense that she can sing pretty much any genre and she is better singing live. ❤
Yes you do need to do Linda ronstat
The 'broom' sound is the drummer using brushes, instead of drum sticks on the drums, with a 'coated' head on the snare drum, not a clear head. You can see him using them.
In this case I hear nostalgia in his voice - which is a kind of sadness
To answer your question at the end, I would substitute for the word sadness, a combination of three words. One which you also used called somber, but I would also throw plaintiv and wistful in there if you take three of those together I think you could have a pretty nuanced substitution for just saying that there's a sadness to it. Because there is always this positivity to it as well.
I think I understand what you're saying : there is pure sadness in this tender love song. And maybe this is the very definition of "nostalgia"... I'm afraid you'll have to wait until you're 50 to fully experience and understand it, though ;) ...
The bartender is James Taylor!
The sadness may be the realization of one’s morality.
I think its time for you to really experience the best of Neil Young.
The track called "Down by the river" performed with hisband Crazy Horse, live version.
On the Neil Young Channel there is a live audio recording from '74 of the song Ambulance Blues in the intro he hits on what you're saying....paraphrasing...Before I play this next tune I gotta tell you what happened to me. I use to play in coffee houses when I was younger. All of these Folk singers would get up there and jump around, then this cat would get up there and play these downers (referring to himself the crowd laughs) What am I doing here man... So here is another bummer for you(the crowd laughs really loud) What can I say it's my trip.....to some it up he has a melancholy to his songs but he has a sense of humor about it.
To me it seems the more up tempo his songs are the darker the message...Revolution Blues, Southern Man, Ohio , Down by the River. The slower somber songs have an upbeat message...I am A child, Love in Mind. Look out for My love
From the same album and NY channel as Ambulance Blues Pardon My Heart the intro goes something like ...this is the end of the show, thanks for putting up with my sad songs...this next one is one of the saddest loves songs I ever heard . I just learned it...I also wrote it.. so here it goes
👍
I know a broom was used in live performances of Harvest Moon and I suspect it was also a broom on the recording. You've got good taste!
The best art is a mirror, not a window.
Agree there is always some melancholy in Neil’s voice. And I think this song is about a relationship that comes and goes maybe. Breakups and getting back together. But the love remains. 🤷🏻♀️
Listen to "Vince Guaraldi Trio - Linus And Lucy" for perhaps the most FAMOUS use of a broom... I mean brushes...on percussion/drums.😁
There's a LIVE video of them performing it, so much better seeing it than just hearing.
Found it!
ua-cam.com/video/OODA_K5hxyc/v-deo.html
Like a comment rightly states "This drumming is the epitome of 'less is more'."
I heard another group play the same song WITHOUT the brushes on drum and it loses it's charm, sad but true.
I read an article and it stared the brushes represent SNOW falling in winter, and I'd say also the sound when you walk in it.
So far you've reacted to the mellower , folksy side of Neil Young. Trust me he can rock with the best of them. He's done a little bit of everything in a career spanning 50+ yrs. Check out Cinnamon Girl , Powderfinger , Southern Man to hear his rockin side.
It’s sad because it’s a song that deals with a passage of time. As we get older nostalgia and love is amplified.
....don't wanna burst your bubble but the 'brushing with the broom' sound you hear on this song comes from the drummer using a type of drum stick called 'brushes'. They are quite common and used in multiple genres when you want the drums to be a little quieter.... 😇
Dude. Hope you get to do a song "Electric Worry" by Clutch. Awesome song. Good vids. God bless.
As far as the back up signers. I'm 83.45 % sure that is Nicolette Larson and his sister Astrid Young ( I know some will say half-sister but family is family there are no halves. Nicolette Larson picked up a cassette of a deep cut of Neil's and recorded it " Lotta Love" Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris recorded After the Goldrush, Norah Jones has done some great covers of Neil's songs
“Powderfinger” is musically a little more Rocky and up tempo. The story it tells is as sad as hell but worth a look. I really enjoyed the Live Aid version but any version will do.
This is what the Godfather of Grunge was putting out while Nirvana was releasing their Insecticide album.
I love that contrast. ❤
Neil once said, about having songs that became mainstream hits, that when that happens he purposefully aims for the ditch.
... perfectly illustrated by what he was releasing in 1992 while grunge was in its heyday, imo.
(though this album was a huge success for him anyway - every Boomer in North America and many elsewhere bought this one, plus however many of my GenX hippie peers who were discovering his old stuff. I worked at a big record store at the time - Harvest Moon sold like *crazy*).
(though admittedly not as well as Nirvana's albums, so maybe this was as close as he could get to the ditch in that era 😂)
Me, I'm an Everybody Knows This is Nowhere album fan (... GenX hippie)... but also a Live Rust fan.
I can appreciate this one; it's sweet - but it's not on my list of Neil Young faves. Mostly it reminds me of my Boomer mom, who probably still plays it weekly... ❤
He has a angrier political side, songs like Rockin In The Free World
You havent touched his harder rock stuff yet. Nobody ever does tracks from Ragged Glory or Freedom but some of his hardest stuff and best guitar playing is on those two albums. Also by the way, they were his two releases prior to Harvest Moon. His next, Sleeps With Angels from 1994, is also amazing with a mix of rock and acoustic.
People have been pondering his voice and how it always sounds tinged by sadness for decades now. It is not just you.
You turn d your head ata point where they show the sign on harvest moon - Neil Young
Or the two people who divorced so to speak, are dispersing their tensions that arose during the divorce time or break up time you don’t hate the person things just didn’t work out and it hurts to see that person hurting.
The drummer is using brushes.
No, Tim Drummond, the bass player in The Stray Gators, Neil's backing band, is actually playing a broom on the recording.
@@John_Chu NO! He played a Brush in a ROOM, called it a BROOM technique. 😁
The harmonica was kinda somber/sad undertones 🎶💯
Harvest Moon means you're old by then.
It's you. 😆
My ex-wife HATED his voice. it's ok - I hated all the nasally urban boy bands she loved. I got Neil in the divorce.