Neil Young's Harvest Named Top Canadian Album of All Time

CBC Arts has a story today on journalist Bob Mersereau's new book, The Top 100 Canadian Albums.

Neil Young's Harvest gets Mesereau's nod as the best of the best:

Neil Young's Harvest has claimed top spot in a newly released tally of the top 100 Canadian albums, besting the work of music stars like Joni Mitchell, the Band, Gordon Lightfoot and the Tragically Hip...

The top 20 albums are:

1. Harvest, Neil Young (1972)


2. Blue, Joni Mitchell (1970)


3. After the Gold Rush, Neil Young (1970)


4. Music From Big Pink, the Band (1968)


5. Fully Completely, the Tragically Hip (1992)


6. Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette (1995)


7. The Band, the Band (1969)


8. Funeral, Arcade Fire (2004)


9. Moving Pictures, Rush (1981)


10. American Woman, the Guess Who (1970)


11. Songs of Leonard Cohen, Leonard Cohen (1967)


12. Reckless, Bryan Adams (1984)


13. Five Days in July, Blue Rodeo (1993)


14. Twice Removed, Sloan (1994)


15. Up To Here, the Tragically Hip (1989)


16. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Neil Young with Crazy Horse (1969)


17. 2112, Rush (1976)


18. Court and Spark, Joni Mitchell (1974)


19. Whale Music, Rheostatics (1992)


20. Acadie, Daniel Lanois (1989)

I can readily agree with the selection of Harvest. It is an ageless work that has always been near the top of my own "best of" list.

The album was released in 1972, and went triple platinum in 1986.

An early review hailed its genius:

Well, Neil Young has finally graced us with a new album and, as was expected, it's a gem. It's been a year and a half since After The Gold Rush, and while Neil's compatriots, CS&N, have been turning out their own solo ventures, Neil Young, again, firmly established his unique musical genius. His haunting tenor, vividly coherent lyrics, seemingly simple music and superb instrumental and vocal support coalesce into a flowing pastiche of musical brilliance.

To salute Mersereau's selection of Harvest, here are a few gems from the album, via YouTube.

Heart of Gold

This is a live, 1971 version of Heart of Gold, a major hit when Harvest was released:

Old Man

My own pick as the album's strongest and most enduring song, this is Old Man, recorded live at Massey Hall in Toronto, also in '71:

Needle and The Damage Done

Lastly, Young's seminal Needle and the Damage Done:

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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