Neil Young Harvest Moon 2XLP Reissue for Record Store Day

Thanks for the heads up OP . While I'm happy with the reproduction I get from my current versions, unless pricing is completly insane for this release I'll pick it up as NY is one of my top 5 fav artists

 

Too true it is!

Out of the frowned upon four titles mentioned above...I much prefer Trans and to a lesser extent, Landing On Water to Harvest Moon, which I have an original vinyl copy of but rarely
play.

 

My preference is for two sides if at all physically possible.
But three sides is a better format than 4 if the track sequencing works,
because it means less flipping sides. So i'm fine with this reissue,
and certainly not spending three figures for an original.

 

MFSL did Old Ways on Anadisk 200 vinyl.

 

Looking forward to this one but will likely wait after the RSD release.

 

Pretty cool release

 

Ya know, I'm listening to the Discogs player of this album ( too lazy to pull the CD out ), and I'm reminded of a sweet memory of a beautiful, since departed Friend.
I worked for the state, and one day my buddy, and I discovered the *new Girl*, and she was literally breathtaking. Long story short, we became Friends. Her daddy was Kenny Buttrey.
Next thing you know, we're hearing stories of a little girl, waking up in the middle of the night, going to the kitchen, to get a drink of water...mommy, daddy, and Bob Dylan ??? sittin' around the kitchen table.
Naturally, our jokes, and innuendos became " tell us another story, please ! "
Well, in the summer of 1991, she tells us how daddy has to fly to California, to stay at Neil's ranch, and that they're cutting an album. But it's hush-hush now, because daddy's not supposed to be working ?, I guess union stuff that's none of my business, then, or now.
Kenny, we know, has passed.
His gorgeous daughter following, a couple of years ago.

 

This album seems to fall pretty naturally onto three sides:

Side A
Unknown Legend (4:32)
From Hank to Hendrix (5:12)
You and Me (3:45)
Harvest Moon (5:03)
Total Side A: 18:32

Side B
War of Man (5:41)
One of These Days (4:55)
Such a Woman (4:36)
Old King (2:57)
Total Side B: 18:09

Side C
Dreamin' Man (4:36)
Natural Beauty (10:22)
Total Side C: 14:58

Really looking forward to this reissue. It will provide an interesting point of reference in the "digital vs. analog vinyl" debate, since this is going to be cut from CD-resolution masters. Presumably Chris Bellman will be cutting this one, so we're going to find out just how much improvement the mastering to vinyl can make.

And hopefully it will come with ORS branding. I was a bit surprised that Decade didn't have any ORS branding, though I suppose that might be reserved for original albums only. Don't see why it wouldn't be considered part of the NYA reissue series though, especially since it's an essential part of his discography owing to some of the unique tracks included. If Harvest Moon is assigned an ORS number, we should be able to get some sense of where the ORS series is headed. If they keep up with the boxes that include four or five albums each, the next box will be split between Reprise and Geffen releases. The next eight albums in line, from Hawks and Doves to This Note's For You, all charted but failed to reach RIAA metallic certification levels after a solid string going all the way back to Everybody Knows this is Nowhere. Perhaps the imminent release of Harvest Moon suggests that they're going to skip ahead. A four-album box of Freedom, Ragged Glory, Weld/Arc, and Harvest Moon would be pretty killer.

 

RSD releases confuse me. This will be widely available as a regular release after RSD, correct?

 

This question and the uncertainty it brings will cause several people to accept inflated prices and overpay in a couple of weeks. While others will advertise this edition at thE bay with taglines like "Only 5000 made!!!" or "Don't sleep on this!"

It might take a couple of months - see Iron Maiden's "Brave New World" - but eventually there will be an almost identical "regular" release. So if you don't insist on that hype sticker and have no luck on Black Friday itself the smart thing to do would be to wait.

Or pay the 150$ and insist later that the RSD release was a bit better

 

Yeah I am interested in this angle as well, just to hear how much can be done with 16-bit and all that related discussion. People here are gonna deep dive and geek out on that, big time. Plus I agree about being curious where it fits in with the ongoing series -- although my hunch is that I don't think this release is really part of the thinking for those earlier series.

 

Harvest Moon was the first Neil album released after I'd become a fan - I'd only heard Live Rust before this album.

I really enjoy this album, and have very fond memories of this period, investigating Neils's catalogue. In fact, the title track was the first dance at my wedding.

I also think the original vinyl and cd releases sound pretty good so probably won't pick this one up, but certainly think it's a good idea to re-release it on vinyl. Those original copies can get pricey.

(Incidentally I recently baulked at £80 for an original vinyl Mirror Ball, so hope that might be next!)

 

Actually, it kind of is.

Buttery was a retired musician collecting a disability pension, thus not allowed to professionally play.
That is him in the shadows playing on Neil's Unplugged performance/cd credited as Oscar Butterworth.

 

Maybe it helps to clear the confusion by explaining there are three different kinds of RSD releases.

1) "RSD Exclusives": are limited editions that are offered once in a predetermined quantity, and sold through the retail channel that participates in RSD events.
2) "Regional Focus releases" are also limited run, but not offered in all markets, only in some regions. Most are sold only through independent shops.
3) "RSD first" titles are launched on RSD ( Promoted to add another reason to visit the shop on RSD) but they will be sold more widely at a later date, and are not limited editions.


Harvest Moon is an "RSD First" title, you can see the type for each title on the RSD website:
http://recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleases

 

Never heard this, I thought Neil owned all his masters?

 

Any possibility that this was recorded on both analog and digital simultaneously? I believe a few albums (not NY that I'm aware of) were recorded like this.

 

What about Everybody's Rockin'?

 

Certainly possible, but I've never heard that it was recorded in anything other than digital only. A shame, as music like Harvest Moon really cries for an analog treatment.

 

Whoever edited the album's Wikipedia page seems to think it was recorded analog, but since no source is cited I'd take that with many grains of salt.

 

A minority view, but I enjoy Old Ways far more than Harvest Moon.

 

I'm for the 45rpm format. If you merely want convenience, get the CD. If you want the best sound quality, have it remastered the way it will sound the best. It doesn't cost much more to release a 2LP set at 45rpm vs. 33 1/3.

 

This would be a terrible aesthetic mistake, as some of those 80s albums (Landing on Water, for instance) are fantastic and in dire need of reappraisal.

 

If I'm not mistaken, this reissue is being billed as a 25th anniversary sort of thing.

 

This was not recorded analog??

Well, it's not impossible to get great quality from CD resolution masters. The Nils Lofgren Acoustic Live sounds great in its CD incarnation, and the Analogue Productions 2LP set is supposed to sound even better. It was recorded 16/44.

 

Same with the recent Cowboy Junkies "Trinity Sessions" reissue.