Earlier this year, NYC rock & soul band Melt shared a video performance of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon”, live from Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, NC. This week the cover finds its way onto streaming services.
“Harvest Moon” seems to be a common cover choice among artists (with Daddy’s Beemer releasing one last year, & many more offering their interpretations), so perhaps it’s what you’d call a “musician’s song”. Meaning that many musicians enjoy it, and something about it compels them to cover it. Melt’s take on the song offers a unique angle, adding a harder rock element to the main guitar riff that gives it some punch.
Then, of course, Veronica Stewart-Frommer’s wide-ranging, powerful vocals further separate Melt’s version of the song from the herd. She and the band wring out the intensity in the final chorus, with guitars, horns, bass, drums and vocals all peaking into a jam that unwinds to the end.
Melt offer a compelling take on an old favorite, managing to make fresh a song that some people are probably sick of hearing artists cover at this point.