Harvest Moon

Since it came exactly 20 years after Harvest and employed most of the same musicians, 1992's Harvest Moon has all the markings of a sequel. A simple enough notion, but the simple answer never fits for Neil Young. Yes, the heavy country and folk leanings are there, but the dreamy, reflective Harvest Moon has a very different feel. Young sounds wiser, less tense, and, in some ways, more optimistic and less jaded than he'd been as a much younger man. Young is finally, desperately, trying to make peace with the world around him, remorseful at times, but hopeful of the future. "Harvest Moon," an elegant, sauntering attempt at rekindling the flames of love, is one of Young's most delicate tunes. "You and Me," which rips very overtly from "Old Man," and "Hank to Hendrix" are deeply heartfelt pleas to save a dying relationship. "One of These Days" is perhaps the most affecting song here, one in which Young decides he's going to "sit down and write a long letter" to all of his good friends. There are a number of memorable, truly tender moments here.