Customer Reviews

Re-ac-tor

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

There is a certain segment of Neil Young's fan base that is in it primarily for the decibels. They want to hear "Hey Hey My My", not "My My Hey Hey". They want Crazy Horse, and it better not be `Greendale'. While I share their passion, I do have a corresponding affinity for much of Young's kinder and gentler fare, such as `Comes a Time'. There does come a time, however, when the mood strikes for something striking, and nothing can strike that chord like Neil's `re.ac.tor'. In that sense, this may well be Neil's most underrated effort. Indeed, it is not difficult to find people who would place this disc in an inferno, creating a disc.oh! in.fer.no!

`re.ac.tor' is an explosive chain reaction (since there is no song called `re.ac.tor' on the disc, one must speculate on the significance of the title, including it's syllabled graphic style, and absence of capital letters, which may symbolize being broken down to essential elements; the song titles receive the same curious treatment). The cover is odd and striking, a bold red sideways pyramid flanked top and bottom by black panels. I suppose it conveys contained, yet invasive heat, another good analogy for the aural content within. The 1981 release of `re.ac.tor' followed the 1980 release of Young's `Hawks and Doves' almost one year to the day, another album with a similarly simple yet symbolic cover, a large white star surrounded by blue background.

While `Hawks and Doves' embraced a patriotic theme, `re.ac.tor' embraces everything hedonistic. Drugs and rock open things up in `op.er.a star'; "women", "booze" and "a pleasure cruise" are the tangible elements in `surf.er joe and moe the sleaze'; `t-bone' is a rambunctious 9 minute raging blues on having what you need, but not all you want (for some odd reason Neil decided to print all 6 verses from `t-bone' in the liner notes, all consisting of "Got mashed potatoes. Ain't got no T-bone"); `south.ern pac.i.fic', `mo.tor city', `rap.id tran.sit' and `shots' are angry rants on aging, Japanese imports (Neil really has a thing for cars, especially old ones, eh?), New Wave rock, and war, respectively. Even though I'm from the `mo.tor city', my favorite in the bunch is the wildly entertaining `rap.id tran.sit'. Funny how a `60's rocker put together the best New Wave song the New Wave ever spawned.

You don't have to be a hedonist (in most respects) to enjoy this album. You do have to be motivated to indulge in loud, bare bones rock and roll, however. In the middle of the set Young offers `get back on it', a fast paced two minute ditty that serves as a bit of a respite from the aural assault blasting out on either side of it. Yet it still captures other elements of the disc... it's rather irrelevant lyrics pass the time as Young just has fun with the music. He sings, "I might be late comin' though. I got some things I gotta do". We know, Neil. Nice to hear you getting it out of your system. Now get back on it!

This one never really got the respect it deserved, but in 1981, it was all about the synth (which makes a couple of appearances here, mostly as atmospheric filler amongst the familiar chaos of guitars, drums and bass).

It's a big, sludgy mess, of course, which is why it's so delicious. "Opera Star" is hysterically funny, because it's just so damn STOOPID. "Surfer Joe and Moe the Sleaze" carries a serious wallop, a killer riff, and not much more. "T-bone" gets even more granular: one huge riff pounded into oblivion for nine-plus minutes, while Neil laments the fact that he's "got mashed potatoes, ain't got no T-bone" over and over and over.

"Get Back On It" isn't gonna make things any harder for you: over one of the most basic of 'oldies rock' structures, Neil and Horse muse on the virtues and pitfalls of getting back on the road. Do they miss some of the simplest chord changes in rock history, more than once? Do they sound like a bunch of drunks trying to remember a Little Richard song on barely-adequate equipment? Oh yes they do, and it's a joy. NOBODY makes looseness sound quite this... uh... loose. It just goes from there. Neil sounds like he's having a total blast on this one.

Is it essential Neil Young? Probably not. Neil has written some tremendously insightful, thoughtful songs. He's written some fierce, timeless rock anthems. He's experimented with electronics and bluegrass and old-school country. Don't look for anything like that here.

This is the Neil Young you know from side two of RUST NEVER SLEEPS. This is the Neil Young of SLEEPS WITH ANGELS' 'Trans Am'. This is the 'whoo' thrown off before the solo in 'Cinnamon Girl'. It's just good ol' fashioned blast-in-the-car riffage. Take as needed.

HeavyHeavyHeavyHeavyHeavy.
Yikes. This is Neil's heaviest record ever, and that says a bit, considering Rust Never Sleeps, and Live Rust, Ragged Glory, and Weld, and a *lot* of other stuff. Critics hated it, my Omnibus Complete Guide says it's Young "with his emotional shutters locked tight." Even Neil himself says he wasn't paying attention and he ain't sure how good it is. But they're all wrong; this is the indispensable spuzz.
"Shots," "T-Bone" and "Opera Star" would be classics in a better universe, but every song is great; every song except "Get Back On It" features buzzsaw, slicing, dicing guitars.
And like the music, the lyrics are seriously under-rated. If you're considering that emotional shutters statement, check out the lyrics to "Shots." And if you think that the lyrics to "surfer joe" or "t-bone" or "opera star" are bad, consider AC/DC, heavy metal masters of the ironic look at their own silliness. I mean, this isn't gonna save the world, folks, and you might as well admit it. "t-bone" is hilarious, and so are the lines
"You were born to rock/You'll never be an opera star"
And is it just me, or did Neil make up the word "garfong?"
This is Neil in his idiot savant mode, firmly in the tradition initiated by AC/DC's "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution." Anything this funny can't be bad.
Anyway, you need to tread carefully with Young's '80's output; I wouldn't say it was overall as bad as some might say, but you do need to leave your preconceptions at the door AND forgive a clunker here and there. No such caveats need apply to this, the second album Young released in the 1980's. You like rock and roll, you like heavy guitar, no questions asked, buy it.

[...] This is just more of the entirely unfounded pretense with which so many close-minded fans fuel misinformed criticism. Take these lines from Dylan's song, "Wiggle Wiggle", the opening track from his 1991 album, "Under The Red Sky".

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like satin and silk,
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a pail of milk,
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, rattle and shake,
Wiggle like a big fat snake.

Now, call me crazy, but I'm fairly certain that this fails to meet the aforementioned reviewer's standards for "songwriting". That is exactly the point: Neil Young's "Reactor" is much-maligned for applying an aesthetic fraught with ruthless feedback and distortion to a weak selection of songs, but to object to Reactor on those grounds completely misses the point.

If this album's flaws are more of the same-old Neil Young "flakiness", it is the same "flakiness" that characterizes rock 'n roll's legacy--a legacy Neil Young defines as accurately on Reactor as on any other record. Reactor's snotty abandon and feedback-laden indifference constitute the kind of temperament that great rock 'n roll thrives on, and if it fails to conjure greatness on Reactor, then it is, at worst, a powerful tribute to the soul of rock music.

A boundless ambition pervades Reactor that is at once charming and confounding: the frenzied wail and shriek of "Shots", the thumping, deceptively political railroad anthem, "Southern Pacific", which made for a killer acoustic tune at some of Neil Young's live solo shows back in 2000, the 10 or 11 minutes of Neil Young shouting "ain't got no t-bone!" amid Crazy Horse's famous thrash-and-grind sound. These performances exemplify what is great about rock 'n roll far more powerfully than any of those contrived classic rock anthems you crank up on the radio at work every day.

Take a chance on Reactor. Listen to something different, something that refuses to make friends, something too sincere to earn air time on any of America's thousand crummy classic rock stations. Few experiences are more gratifying than getting weird looks from other drivers when you crank up this album on your car stereo at a red light with the windows down. It proves you're listening to something that's true. Reactor is the real thing: are you?

[...]

This one never really got the respect it deserved, but in 1981, it was all about the synth (which makes a couple of appearances here, mostly as atmospheric filler amongst the familiar chaos of guitars, drums and bass).

It's a big, sludgy mess, of course, which is why it's so delicious. "Opera Star" is hysterically funny, because it's just so damn STOOPID. "Surfer Joe and Moe the Sleaze" carries a serious wallop, a killer riff, and not much more. "T-bone" gets even more granular: one huge riff pounded into oblivion for nine-plus minutes, while Neil laments the fact that he's "got mashed potatoes, ain't got no T-bone" over and over and over.

"Get Back On It" isn't gonna make things any harder for you: over one of the most basic of 'oldies rock' structures, Neil and Horse muse on the virtues and pitfalls of getting back on the road. Do they miss some of the simplest chord changes in rock history, more than once? Do they sound like a bunch of drunks trying to remember a Little Richard song on barely-adequate equipment? Oh yes they do, and it's a joy. NOBODY makes looseness sound quite this... uh... loose. It just goes from there. Neil sounds like he's having a total blast on this one.

Is it essential Neil Young? Probably not. Neil has written some tremendously insightful, thoughtful songs. He's written some fierce, timeless rock anthems. He's experimented with electronics and bluegrass and old-school country. Don't look for anything like that here.

This is the Neil Young you know from side two of RUST NEVER SLEEPS. This is the Neil Young of SLEEPS WITH ANGELS' 'Trans Am'. This is the 'whoo' thrown off before the solo in 'Cinnamon Girl'. It's just good ol' fashioned blast-in-the-car riffage. Take as needed.

This is one of Neil's best albums. I prefer the rock side of NY's work, such as Zuma and Ragged Glory. If your like me, and love lengthy guitar solos and distortion than you will really like this cd. Neil was going for repitition on this album and he definately got his message across. All the songs are awesome, but my favorite would have to be T-Bone, which has excellent guitar. Neil shows his rocking side on this album and there are plenty of his unique solos.

This has always been one of my favorate albums by Neil Young. Highly underrated. Neil is back in full force with Crazy Horse after recording Hawks and Doves. Re ac tor rocks from begining to end and never misses a beat. Great to see it released in CD form now.

Neil Young again throws a curve ball by following up his acoustic and country album Hawks & Doves with 1981's thrashing Re.ac.tor. The album, like its predecessor, was universally panned by the critics upon its release. While the album was definitely thrown together as the last album to fulfill his Warner contract, it captures the raw and trashy energy of Crazy Horse. The songs are clearly just thrown together with little or no lyrical cohesion, but the pure energy and power of the band makes up for any lack of creativity. The epitome of this is song "T-Bone" which repeats the same line about mashed potatoes and t-bones over and over for nine plus minutes. But despite the inane lyric, the band's crashing and crunching riffs are mesmerizing. The album's final song "Shots" is another standout with a riveting and threatening vibe. For the most part, Re.ac.tor is a hodge-podge of an album and really only for Neil Young aficionados.

You can count me among the true blue Neil Young fans; I have all his albums & can find something to like in every one, some much more than others. This one, reviled in 1981 and not given much more credit over time, is among my favorites. How this missed becoming known as a proto-grunge classic I'll never know. My best guess is that nobody can make it past "T-Bone", 9 minutes of one riff and two lyrics. Well now that it's on CD you can program that one and maybe "Get Back On It" out, and you're left with one of the best examples of Neil's unchained id. "Shots" is the most frighteningly intense moment in the Crazy Horse canon, guitars and horrified voices screaming through a hail of machine gun fire, and could go toe to toe with Napalm Death in the hair-raising dept. Southern Pacific, one of the few tracks to be revived in concert periodically, takes us on a train ride through the eyes of a forcibly-retired engine worker. "Rapid Transit" offers cryptic, seemingly random phrases sung with a speech impediment - "M-m-m-m-m-m-meltdown / C-c-c-c-c-c-c-containment" - before reaching a rousing chorus; "Hang ten, pipeline, let's go trippin' - every wave is new until it breaks!" Open letter to David Byrne? "Opera Star" and "Surfer Joe & Moe The Sleaze" are musically simple, but the playing could burn barns; more than anything you can sense Neil's excitement at playing loud, simple things that FEEL good. It'd take till 1989's "ElDorado" to approach this level of sturm und drang again. Buy this if you are a fan of louder Neil stuff like Ragged Glory, Rust Never Sleeps and Arc; you may wish to avoid if you are more into his mellow side - this one ain't no Sugar Mountain, more like Paranoid Valley.

Neil's always best with Crazy Horse. This is a classic. Great to hear it again. "Shots" might be the hardest rocking song he's ever made!