Definitely one of my desert island discs (unless I can cheat and count Decade as one release), Harvest came out in 1972. This would be an absolute classic even if you took out two or three songs: Out on the Weekend, Harvest, A Man Needs a Maid, Heart of Gold, Old Man – then closing with both The Needle and the Damage Done AND Words (Between the Lines of Age) – on which Graham Nash and Stephen Stills provide guest vocals.

The surprise for me in getting this on vinyl (2009 reissue as part of the Neil Young Archives Official Release Series) – previously I’d had a CD copy – was noticing guest vocals on both Heart of Gold and Old Man by Linda Rondstadt and James Taylor. I know about the additions of Crosby, Nash, and Stills on a number of songs but not those two.

The backing band here is the Stray Gators, with Jack Nitzsche and Spooner Oldham.

My copy direct from Amazon as I briefly tried out their classic vinyl subscription – definitely loved finding this one.