Trans is a vastly under-appreciated LP, scorned by the majority of Neil Young's "old hippy" fans at the time of its 1982 release. Young had obviously been listening a lot to DEVO, Kraftwerk, and other electronic acts -- and he got what they were doing. More than any other artist from the '60s, Neil understood how to apply electronic textures and rhythms to his music.
The often-criticized use of a Sennheiser Vocoder on six of the LP's tracks stemmed from Young's desire to find ways to communicate with his son, Ben, who was born with cerebral palsy. Viewed in that light, the experimental, "computer-oriented," songs on this record -- like the repetitive yet highly melodic "Sample and Hold" -- suddenly become some of Young's most deeply personal and human. Young also recasts his Buffalo Springfield-era classic, "Mr Soul," as a synthesizer based track, with his altered voice hanging mournfully over the music at a distance, like a requiem for humanity's ability to connect with each other.
The remaining three songs on the LP were originally meant for a completely different project, Island In The Sun, which was meant to be "a tropical thing," according to Young. The song obviously meant to be that project's centerpiece, "Like An Inca," is the closer to Trans. Its Santana-inspired, hypnotic guitar riff repeats for nearly 10 minutes, while Young sings lyrics that depict the end of civilization, and desires to return to a simpler era where he could be "like an Inca, or a runner in Peru." It harks back to earlier Young guitar epics like Zuma's "Cortez The Killer," and is an absolute stunner.
Trans is an unjustly maligned record which deserves a critical reappraisal. As far as I'm concerned, it's one of Neil Young's finest LPs.
3/21/2013
Totally agree with this. Young's most unappreciated album.
ReplyDelete