Neil Young‘s sweet, gentle “Harvest Moon” has become an oft-covered classic in recent years. Most covers of “Harvest Moon” treat it pretty reverentially. Given the song’s feel and lyrics, maybe that make sense. New York-based “indie-soul” band Melt are here to change your mind about how a “Harvest Moon” cover should sound.
From the opening notes, it’s clear things are different. There’s an electric guitar riff and pulsating drums completely replacing the original’s gentle acoustic. In a neat twist, the famous harmonics are now played by a horn section. The tempo is noticeably up, the vocals are more soulful, and the whole thing feels like an entirely different song.
This souful, rocked up vibe continues through the first four minutes, but after that Melt start a vamp that turns into a rave-up that feels about as far from the original as you could imagine without turning into, like, metal or something.
It’s a radical take on the song that feels like a complete reinvention. Check it out below.
Well hell yes! It’s like it was meant to be this way!