Last year, we featured a few interviews by musician Otis Gibbs -- “The best unknown songwriter in music today” -- who also happens to be a big Neil Young fan amongst other notorieties. (Thanks Jim!)
In his latest video podcast, Otis Gibbs tells the story of the great photographer, Henry Diltz, who claims Neil Young's Harvest album was meant to have a different cover. Interesting speculation here on what might have been.
Here is an image that the above interview references by photographer Henry Diltz from "The Barn" and the Harvest album sessions (see "Old man look at my life..." - Photos of Neil Young and His Inspiration by Henry Diltz )
The Unused Harvest Album Cover Photo???
Photo by Henry Diltz
If a photo was used instead on the Harvest album cover, the whole "loner hippie cowboy" image of Neil Young would have certainly had a different impact. Certainly, Neil on a haybale was not the image that the record label wanted to establish.
Lastly, check out comments around ~3:00 about our website Thrasher's Wheat as a "Neil Young rabbit hole." Thanks for props Otis!
Also, check out an interview with Kenny Vaughan on why Neil Young is intentionally out of tune.
Beautiful photo. I'm surprised it didn't make its way into the Harvest artwork in any capacity.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it dawned on someone, that sitting on a haybale and smoking in a barn isn't exactly what one would call appropriate behavior? It's not what I would call being ready for the country...
ReplyDeleteOh, and it occurred to me that we should have a comment by "Abner Snopes" regarding this issue.
ReplyDeleteHarvest has a classic cover. It’s interesting to me that Neil has this possible alternate cover image which shows him as a non conformist counterculture hippie, with boots! The boots ramp up the danger. He looks like a guy that small town USA squares would have been nervous to see walking down their street. He is from a mysterious place which throws conventional values out the window.
ReplyDeleteThe alternate cover photo could have changed his sales numbers for Harvest significantly, I suggest. Harvest is a non-threatening album with the Harvest Sun cover. But the photo shows Neil already headed for the ditch. I like the photo & I would have been glad to buy the album either way. Time Fades Away was one of the earlier Neil Young LP’s I listened to, along with Trans, which I got at the bargain bin at college. TFA was borrowed from a college professor friend of mine. Harvest is one of the major intersections of Neil’s music with society at large, containing his only number one hit.
Your Brother Alan in Seattle
if you have a hippie smoking a butt on a dry hay bale, then you don't need Abner Snopes.
ReplyDeleteand maybe the hippie even has shit on his boots for the white rug!