Re·ac·tor
Re·ac·tor is the eleventh studio album by Canadian / American musician Neil Young, and his fourth with Crazy Horse, released in 1981.
Re·ac·tor | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 2, 1981 | |||
Recorded | October 9, 1980 – July 21, 1981 | |||
Studio | Modern Recorders, Redwood City, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 39:06 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Producer | David Briggs, Tim Mulligan & Neil Young with Jerry Napier | |||
Neil Young chronology | ||||
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Content
Musical style
The album marked Young's first use of the Synclavier, which would be featured heavily on the subsequent albums Trans (1982) and Landing on Water (1986).
The song "Shots" had originally been performed live in 1978 as a ballad.
In 2003, Greg Cot of Chicago Tribune proclaimed that Re·ac·tor "works up a punk-blues racket [...] that sounds as shaggy and disheveled as anything the Replacements recorded".[2] AllMusic opined the album to contain "guitar-drenched hard rock made up of thrown-together material".[1]
Packaging
The album features the Serenity Prayer on its back cover ("'Deus dona mihi serenitatem accipere res quae non possum mutare fortitudinem mutare res quae possum atque sapientiam differentiam cognoscere'" – "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference").
Release
It was unavailable on compact disc until it was released as a HDCD-encoded remastered version on August 19, 2003, as part of the Neil Young Archives Digital Masterpiece Series.
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Pitchfork | (6.8/10)[3] |
The Village Voice | B+[4] |
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic was largely dismissive of Re·ac·tor,[1] awarding the record only two-out-of-five stars,[1] although praised "Shots" as " a more substantive and threatening song given a riveting performance".[1]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Neil Young.
- Side one
- "Opera Star" – 3:31
- "Surfer Joe and Moe the Sleaze" – 4:15
- T-Bone" – 9:10
- "Get Back on It" – 2:14
- Side two
- "Southern Pacific" – 4:07
- "Motor City" – 3:11
- "Rapid Transit" – 4:35
- "Shots" – 7:42
Personnel
- Neil Young – vocals, guitar, Synclavier, piano, handclaps
- Frank Sampedro – guitar, synthesizer, vocals, handclaps
- Billy Talbot – bass, vocals, handclaps
- Ralph Molina – drums, percussion, vocals, handclaps
References
- William Ruhlmann. "Re-ac-tor - Neil Young,Neil Young & Crazy Horse | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
- Kot, Greg (24 August 2003). "`Greendale' a trip through Neil Young's career". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- "Neil Young: On the Beach / American Stars 'n' Bars / Hawks & Doves / Re-ac-tor | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 2003-09-30. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
- Christgau, Robert (March 9, 1982). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 22, 2016.