246 Neil Young - Harvest

Graham Nash -- of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young -- has a story about his friend, Neil Young, that has been almost too perfect to believe for nearly three decades. As the myth goes, Nash was at Young's ranch just south of San Francisco when Young asked him if he wanted to hear something. (That something would become Young's now famous 1972 "Harvest" album, which features the track "Heart of Gold.") Nash, of course, said yes and suggested going into Young's studio. That wasn't Young's plan. "He said, 'Get into the rowboat,'" Nash explained on NPR's Fresh Air in 2013. "I said, 'Get into the rowboat?' He said, 'Yeah, we’re going to go out into the middle of the lake.'" The two row out on the lake, with Nash assuming Young brought a cassette player and headphones with him. "Oh, no," said Nash on NPR. "He has his entire house as the left speaker and his entire barn as the right speaker. And I heard 'Harvest' coming out of these two incredibly large loud speakers louder than hell. It was unbelievable. Elliot Mazer, who produced 'Harvest,' came down to the shore of the lake and he shouted out to Neil, 'How was that, Neil?'" As Nash explained, "I swear to God, Neil Young shouted back, 'More barn!'"