Showing posts with label Neil Young. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Neil Young. Show all posts

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Neil Young's Harvest

This morning I listened to Neil Young's Harvest.  I'm fairly certain it's only the second time I've listened to it.  In any case, I found a Bob Dylan reference in "Out on the Weekend."  One of the later verses start with the lines. "She got pictures on the wall - / They make me look up / From her big brass bed," which has the same phrase as Bob Dylan's "Lay lady lay / Lay across my big brass bed" from "Lay Lady Lay" on Nashville Skyline.

I'm less sure on this, but I think "Are You Ready for the Country?" starts with a slight reference to Little Richard's "Slippin' and Slidin'."  The first line of both songs is "Slippin' and a-slidin'," and the melodies are faintly similar (although the tempo on "Are You Ready for the Country?" is much slower).  I'm not as convinced on this reference as I am the Bob Dylan one though.  Although I hadn't really thought of Bob Dylan and Neil Young in the same sphere, they do have some similarities (like country influences and harmonica playing), whereas there seems to be a greater distance between Neil Young and Little Richard.  It's certainly possible that it is a reference to "Slippin' and Slidin'," but I'm hesitant to assert it, especially since I haven't listened to this album very much and don't know much about Neil Young's solo career.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Buffalo Springfield's Buffalo Springfield Again

I just listened to Buffalo Springfield’s Buffalo Springfield Again.  What I found interesting was that on some of the tracks, the lead vocalist also sings the harmony parts.  Like on “Expecting to Fly,” Neil Young sings the lead vocal, and he also sings the harmony part.  See also “Broken Arrow” and Stephen Stills’ “Bluebird.”

Having both parts sung by the same person would give the song more coherence, but I’m not sure if that’s why they did it that way.  Judging by the Wikipedia page, it was more likely due to acrimony in the group or Neil Young’s frequent absences, but I’m hesitant to accept Wikipedia so readily and I’m not sure if those would explain all of the cases.  Incidentally, I have a book about Buffalo Springfield that I’d planned on starting soon.  Maybe I’ll find an answer in there.