Trans [Import]

Neil Young | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 19, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Polydor UK
• ASIN: B000024R1I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,287 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Unavailable on CD in the U.S.! Originally released in 1982, Trans was a bold and bewildering move into the 'modern age' for the veteran singer/songwriter. While it's been called his 'Electronic' album, Trans doesn't transport Neil into Depeche Mode territory. Instead, Trans finds Neil experimenting with an array of computers, keyboards and vocoders along with his standard guitar/bass/drums backbone. Nine tracks, including 'Little Thing Called Love', 'Computer Age', 'Transformer Man' and a drastically different version of his Buffalo Springfield classic 'Mr. Soul'. Universal.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Neil tries on something new-and it works!, March 2, 2002

By 

David J. Gannon (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trans (Audio CD)

One of the things you've got to admire about Neil Young is that the man does not stand still. Basically a metal-rocker at heart, if his concerts are to be relied on--he nevertheless is comfortable working in a wide array of musical genres, as is amply demonstrated by a spin though his retrospective Decade CD.

Trans marks a foray--with a vengeance-- into electronic music. Admittedly, if this is not your sound, this will not be one of your favorite albums. It is, however, one of those experimental efforts that works. It was, at the time of its release, well ahead of the power curve insofar as this genre was concerned. Moreover, it clearly stands as an experiment with a different sound and technology. Not only did Neil write material specifically for this album, but he also took to trying the sound out on some of his old standards. So, not only do we have the commercially successful written pieces, such as Transformer Man and Sample and Hold, but also electronically rendered pieces such as Mr. Soul and Hold on to Your Love.

What has made Young such a viable artist for so long-his awesome talent aside-is his willingness and ability to experiment, to evolve, to grow. Everybody knows some growth spurts can leave one awkward in the short run, but better off in the long run. It is precisely because of efforts such as this that Young remains the vital musical force and influence he is.

So, treat yourself to a bit of musical and personal history and give Trans a spin.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Sample and Hold" fans beware: you'll hate this CD, June 25, 2001

By 

Michael Ropp (Brookings, SD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trans (Audio CD)

This is another album I bought when I was much younger and didn't know anything about Neil Young. Being a part of the Flock of Seagulls, After the Fire, Gary Numan etc. generation, I loved the vocoder-laden "Trans", with its muted synthesizers and hyper-distorted guitar riffs, and I now recognize it as a very entertaining experimentation by Neil Young, a lighthearted flight of fancy into a quasi-techno vein. However, I want to warn those of you who, like me, remember "Sample and Hold" and would consider buying this CD to get hold of that tune. Do not do it. The version included on this disk is some sort of watered-down Muzak version. The drums are practically inaudible, replaced by an obviously synthetic "swish" snare drum and a completely straight four-beat with synthetic hand claps. I think this remix was a very poor attempt to appeal to the European techno-pop crowd (Chemical Bros, etc.--note that this disk is an import, from Sweden), but they ruined the song in the process. "Computer Age", "We R In Control", and "Computer Cowboy" have survived intact, and because I really enjoy those tunes I give the disk three stars in spite of the fact that the producers ruined the best song on it.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Neil embraces technology, December 11, 1999

By 

R. Moser "rockbob" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trans (Audio CD)

It was so unexpected of Neil to turn out an album like this, and it was even more surprising that it was so entertaining, wedged as it was between his rockabilly album Everybody's Rockin' and his defiantly country album Old Ways. The updated, vocoder-laden version of Mr. Soul wasn't so great, but many of the other songs score bulls-eyes using this vocal device, most notably, Transformer Man, Sample and Hold, and Computer Age. Not all of the songs are Kraftwerk-influenced, either; the opening track, Little Thing Called Love, is a very upbeat and effective track with good "regular Neil" vocals and an excellent guitar line, too. My favorite song is the epic album-closer, Like an Inca, with the memorable line "Who put the bomb on the sacred altar?" Seeing as how this is still just available on import, the album still doesn't get heard by an American audience in the way it should. Too bad. It was a signpost album of the 80's for me.