HiRez Poll Young, Neil - HARVEST [DVD-A]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this 2002 Reprise DVD-Audio release of Neil Young's classic album "HARVEST".

This disc has a very controversial 5.1 mix and many think there may have been an error in the creation of the disc. For those interested, check out the QQ thread - - - - - "Futzing with Harvest".

Please vote on the actual mix as this is the way the artist originally released it,

Yes that's me with the 2 ! I hated that disc and got rid of it as quick as I could. Sorry guys. At least I admit it was me! Hated the mix. Sue me!

I would have given this one a 10 if not for the vocal mix. I really hate the "Neil on your lap" effect of centering the vocals in the room. It just sounds odd. Other than that, the mix is truly fabulous. I knocked it down a couple of pegs for the vocal treatment and gave it an 8. If I didn't love the music so much, and if the recording didn't sound so friggin' brilliant, I would have knocked it down another notch as well.

daved64 said:

Yes that's me with the 2 ! I hated that disc and got rid of it as quick as I could. Sorry guys. At least I admit it was me! Hated the mix. Sue me!

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This is one of those that you either love or hate, like DSOTM, etc. :sun

To me it sounds like the rear speakers should be the front speakers and the front speakers should be the rear speakers.... So swap the front and rear channels around and I think you'll find it a whole lot more interesting to listen to.

but as it originally comes it is just annoying.....

I gave it the 10 because with the expected mix philosophy it's greater than 11...

the mix matches the picture on the back

Well I personally loved it. One of the best "you are there" mixes I've seen attempted. What probably helps (or hurts, depending on your opinion) is the rather "natural" way most of the album was recorded (i.e., lots of bleed-through between instruments, etc.). And, hey, Neil Young sitting in the middle of my living room playing for me isn't a bad thing, in my opinion.

My only (small) complaint is that the mix REALLY requires that you have your speakers and balances EXACTLY right for the effect to really work well. I'd imagine most "average" consumers who bought it and popped it into their $200 all-inclusive surround systems thought it sounded like garbage.

dprokopy said:

My only (small) complaint is that the mix REALLY requires that you have your speakers and balances EXACTLY right for the effect to really work well. I'd imagine most "average" consumers who bought it and popped it into their $200 all-inclusive surround systems thought it sounded like garbage.

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This is unfortunately one of the great weakness of this disc. I could play it right on the previous office i had, and it was good, at present where i have just a less-than-200$ DTS set up rolling it sounds really crap. And no way to play it decently on a DTS-equipped car.
The second great weakness is the low output levels of this disc: it has always been a problem in any digital release of this album - and i have Harvest on CD since the first 1983 release - but for me this was really disappointing: the stereo dvd-a layer has a single peak at -9.8 dB, all the rest is way below -10dB. Too low for my tastes, a waste of dynamics.

Very pleaseant plus: the 5.1 version of Words is longer that the usual stereo version and i like a lot the extra bars.

It's kinda suprising: way back in 1973 i used to have DSOTM and Harvest back to back on a C90 cassette tape, and this combo survived for decades... unfortunately both albums, which are two of my most beloved ones, are suffering by less-than-stellar hi-rez release. Hope Sony would not screw a must like Caravanserai!!!

This has been one of my favourites since it came out. It does require fine tuning the rear speakers but I happen to like the effect of Neils voice just hovering in front of your face.

A '6'...this is a fine, fine album, but this mix is just plain weird at times....and also fun...but as I told someone at one point, I thought I should reverse my chair and turn it around and pretend the rear was the front speakers!

This is the one disc that tempts me to fiddle with the speaker placement and see what happens..something is out of balance here, for sure.

What susprised me was that Neil didn't do other period albums in 5.1, including the new GH. That's very disappointing to me, though the rating is no reflection of that.


ED

Duff surround mix. I keep it at 5 simply because the music remains seminal, and the high-res stereo is superb (and that's coming from a person who subscribes to the Wendy Carlos view of 24/192).
Pity. I think he's more concerned with preserving the stereo tracks than thinking about a new multichannel mix.

I really enjoyed this disc. I thought it had a basic sound/mix and felt like I was sitting in the barn as they recorded it. But I am a big Neil Young fan too, so take it with a grain.

kumquad

The surround mix sounds bizarre to me but I love the Hi Rez stereo and the interviews are a nice bonus.

Well, I finally got around to getting this disc, and cannot work out for the life of me why I took so long!
Instant 10/10 - this is superb. The only thing that it could be marked down for is the pointless interviews with Elliot Mazer. But even that is amusing, so no loss. And the one with Neil, well - I for one would love to go mix in that sort of open space. Lovely!
To the music & the 5.1 mix...
I have no problem with the way the vocals are mixed - from memory, this is how the original Quad of LA Woman had Jim Morrison's vocals, and I have used this technique myself on occasion (when it suits the music). Okay, a lot of mixers use the centre channel for dry vocals and place the FX returns in the surrounds, but it simply does not always work out so well like that.
I had forgotten how good this album is.

I also disagree about the post that it is too quietly mixed - if it's too quiet, turn up the amplifier!
Much better like this as opposed to brickwalled as the inter sample transients are too hot - which can make things a tad toppy & harsh. In Absentia does this - crank that album up, and the bass drops away quite a lot. This one shows how good true High Resolution can be - and there are all current 5.1 formats catered for too - again, this is as it should be.
The sound is the main thing, and with 24/192 stereo, 24/96 5.1, DD & DTS 5.1 and even DD stereo, then everyone can enjoy this disc, no matter what hardware you are running.

Way to go.
5 bananas - in surround
:51banana:

I agree that the mix is just plain weird at times, but the sonics are great. I give it a 9 on that alone.

I just ordered this disc and expect to really like it based on the content and Neil's commitment to having his music presented the way he wants it to sound. I can see that it is not universally appreciated this time by the members here but I will be really surprised if I find myself in the vocal minority here that dislike it. I have his recent greatest hits stereo compilation on 96/24 LPCM and think it is wonderful.

Chris

I gave it a 6 only because most of the surround mix is so poorly done (discussed ad nauseum) that it takes away from pulling the DVD-A out of the rack. The 2 channel mix is great, though, and is a benchmark.

I think it's great. Adventurous mix. I can see why people wouldn't like it if their rear speakers are not very good, putting Neil's voice in the back was a gamble. But it works for me. 10.

Adventurous or just plain odd, it's a pity HARVEST was all we got in 5.1 for vintage NY. For all the talk, I'd assumed we'd be getting more. Bummer...

ED