Neil Young Reactor CD

First time on CD, digitally remastered reissue of 1981 album, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. This hard rocker initially peaked at #27. Reprise. 2003.

Personnel: Neil Young (vocals, guitar).
Crazy Horse: Frank Sampedro, Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina.
Producers: Neil Young, David Briggs, Tim Mulligan, Jerry Napier.
Recorded at Modern Recorders, Redwood City, California.
All tracks have been digitally remastered using HDCD technology.
Neil Young employs Crazy Horse to help him bash out a guitar-drenched hard rock set made up of thrown-together material. The group plays fiercely, as usual, but the lyrics are sketchy, seemingly improvised (the nadir is the nine-minute "T-Bone," which consists of the lines "Got mashed potato/Ain't got no t-bone" repeated over and over), and frequently cranky, as in "Motor City," which finds Young criticizing Japanese cars, and "Rapid Transit," which takes a belated swipe at new wave music while sounding like second-rate Talking Heads. For the second album in a row, Young seems to be just fulfilling his one-album-a-year record contract. The exception is the album-closing "Shots" (written by 1978), a more substantive and threatening song given a riveting performance. Later, it would be revealed that Young was finding time for his music while giving most of his attention to caring for his disabled son. Still, he might have been better advised to have suspended record-making for a few years instead of turning out half-baked efforts like this one. ~ William Ruhlmann
The news that Neil Young is recording with Crazy Horse usually means that fans are in for a superior, rocking effort. Not this time. Young could have written the songs in an afternoon (one consists of the repeated lines, "Got mashed potato / Ain't got no t-bone") and recorded them that night. Raggedness is what one looks for in a Neil Young/Crazy Horse release, but not toss-offs. This is mere product. ~ William Ruhlmann
Released in 1981, REACTOR was a transitional album for Neil Young, most notably in that it marked a break in his longstanding relationship with Reprise Records. But before Young left for the supposedly greener fields of Geffen, he unleashed this amped-up outing with Crazy Horse in tow. "Opera Star," with its refrain of "ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho" and unusual synthesizer backing, sets a quirky tone that's furthered by "T-Bone," a nine-minute guitar workout with lyrics comprised only of the lines "Got mashed potatoes/Ain't got no T-bone." On other tracks, however, the iconic rocker leaves blatant eccentricities behind; "Southern Pacific" rolls along vintage Young rails, while the fierce "Shots," with its distorted, industrial sounds, closes the album on its most energetic and glorious moment.
Released in 1981, REACTOR was a transitional album for Neil Young, most notably in that it marked a break in his longstanding relationship with Reprise Records. But before Young left for the supposedly greener fields of Geffen, he unleashed this amped-up, punk-inspired (though not punk-styled) outing with Crazy Horse in tow. "Opera Star," with its refrain of "ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho" and unusual synthesizer backing, sets a quirky tone that's furthered by "T-Bone," a nine-minute guitar workout with lyrics comprised only of the lines "Got mashed potatoes/Ain't got no T-bone." On other tracks, however, the iconic rocker leaves blatant eccentricities behind; "Southern Pacific" rolls along vintage Young rails, while the fierce "Shots," with its distorted, industrial sounds, closes the album on its most energetic and glorious moment.

Rolling Stone (07/24/03, p.92) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A high-energy, punk influenced offering from Young and his band Crazy Horse that threatens to go right off its head at any moment."
The Wire (p.47) - "RE-AC-TOR ushered in the 80s with one of Young's periodical revivals of Crazy Horse, channelling the group's raw electricity into claustrophobic compositions which shared an upright rigidity with New Wave units such as The Cars and Devo."