Lost and Found: Neil Young

Today's Lost and Found is a two-for-one, mainly because I couldn't decide which Neil Young album I wanted to talk about. Only Neil Young could have such an effect on me. So with out further ado I give you Time Fades Away and Trans.

Neil Young Time Fades Away
So what do you do if you've just released the critically acclaimed best selling album of 1972? Well, if you're Neil Young you launch a nation wide tour during which you play nothing off that album, opting instead for completely new material. Then you release a live album from that tour, completely baffling both fans and critics. Of course, that's only part of the story.

After Harvest was released in 1972, Young suddenly found himself with more fame and fortune than he knew what to do with. Most people would probably relish such success, but Young merely seemed to shy away from it. Then on November 18, 1972, Danny Whitten, guitarist for the band Crazy Horse, died of an apparent Heroin overdose, not long after having been fired during the preparations of what would become the Time Fades Away tour.

The first album in what is known as the Ditch Trilogy, Time Fades Away finds an artist who's not only trying to make sense of his new found celebrity status, but is also coming to terms with the death of a close friend. Young was apparently drunk for most of the tour, much to the frustration of his fellow band mates. As is the general theme of the Lost and Found segment of this blog, the album, which features guest appearances from both David Crosby and Graham Nash, was a total flop. As far as anyone can tell, that was OK with Young, who seemed to be looking for a fast exit from the spotlight. Unfortunately, the travesty does not end there. Possibly due to the use of poor techniques and unreliable equipment during the mastering process Time Fades Away has never been released on CD. Apparently there's a good chance it never will be, since there's almost no way of ever recovering the original master recordings, which were already quite muddy to begin with. This is quite unfortunate since the record contains the only recorded versions of some of Young's more intimate songs including, "Yonder Stands the Sinner," "Love in Mind," "Don't Be Denied," and "Journey Through the Past." As of now the only way to Hear Time Fades Away is to get your hands on a the vinyl, which is certainly hard to find.


Neil Young Trans
Often considered by critics to be one of Young's worst albums, Trans is not the misstep it's cracked up to be. Released in December of 1982, Trans was the first of five albums Young released on Geffen records, none of which were successful for either Young or Geffen. Actually, in 1984, Geffen sued Young for failing to release a commercially accessible album as per his contract. Regardless of Young's intentions behind the five Geffen albums, there certainly seems to be little to link them, except that they're all generally uncharacteristic albums for Young.

Trans is certainly no exception. Running his vocals through a Vocoder and opting to replace his defining guitar sound for synthesizers and a drum machine, Young was clearly stepping out of his comfort zone, but it actually pays off more than you'd think. The opening track, "Little Thing Called Love," as the only straight forward rocker on the album (and the only track to not feature synthesizers or the Vocoder) is actually one of the lesser tracks on the album. Aside from a completely digital reworking of Young's "Mr. Soul" (originally a hit for Buffalo Springfield), songs like "Computer Age," "Sample and Hold," and "Transformer Man" are all very stronge efforts, and sound absolutely nothing like anything Young has done before or since. If anything, these songs have more in common with Kraftwerk and Joy Division than anything else. "Transformer Man," incidentally, has had a life of its own as it is the only track to have survived Trans. The song made an appearance during Young's MTV Unplugged appearance and has also been covered by Sonic Youth.

The Truth is that Trans was such a drastic change from the rest of Young's repertoire that when it was first released no one knew what to make of it. In retrospect it feels more like an artist taking chances and testing his limits in uncharted territories. The results are somewhat varied, but overall successful, and Trans definitely deserves a second chance to redeem its place in rock history.

Don't Kid Yourself or Five Ways to Know You Don't Get Rock n' Roll

Do you ever wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night afraid you don't understand Lou Reed? Do you sometimes get the shakes because you can't tell a Lennon song from a McCartney song? Do you like REO Speedwagon? If you said yes to the last two questions (it's actually OK if you don't get Metal Machine Music) then there's a good chance you don't understand Rock n' Roll. To know for sure, here are five things that will tell you for sure if you are meant to feast on lamb in Valhalla or gorge yourself on the buffet at Shoney's.

1) You Actually Think "the Beatles or the Stones" Is a Legitimate Question

A lot of people think that your answer to this question defines what kind of person you are. This, of course, is absolutely ludicrous. As much as people like to pretend these two bands have a lot in common the fact is they actually have very little. The real thing the bands have in common is that they were both more or less responsible for the so called "British Invasion." Regardless of your answer to this question you are really only revealing that you understand very little about either band. Having said all that, there is a right answer to this question. Your ability to answer it correctly proves nothing. It will merely determine whether or not you and I will ever be able to carry on a stimulating conversation together.

2) When You Sing Along With "Don't Stop Believin'" You Aren't Being Ironic

Listen, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but if you actually like Journey, you probably shouldn't go out in public. While I'm pretty much over the strange phenomena of the "Don't Stop Believin'" bar sing-a-long, if you weren't kidding when you belted out the line "hold on to the feeling" it's time to stop drinking, permanently. Also, you should know your friends have been laughing at you behind your back. This is why everyone suddenly goes quiet whenever you enter a room. Yeah, you're that guy. No one really likes you, just like no one really believed Steve Perry was a legitimate front man.

3) You Don't Like Led Zeppelin's Third Album

This only applies to you if you like Led Zeppelin. It's actually Ok if you don't like Led Zeppelin. Understanding Rock n' Roll is not actually determined by whether or not you think John Bonham is a god. However, if you think "Stairway to Heaven" is the greatest song since "Freebird," but think "Since I've Been Loving You" is boring then you not only don't get Rock n' Roll, but you also don't get Led Zeppelin. There's also a good chance you don't get Lynyrd Skynyrd, especially if you hate Neil Young because of the song "Southern Man." For further information on this last part see the Drive-by Truckers album Southern Rock Opera.

4) You Can't Stand Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Lou Reed Because of Their Voices

Seriously if you actually think that Rock n' Roll is about vocal prowess it's no wonder you like Journey.

5) Iggy Pop

If you need more of an explanation than this or the accompanying picture there is simply no hope for you, sorry.

So there you have a simple way to quickly determine if you truly get Rock n' Roll. There are many other ways to tell, but these are five definitive questions to ask yourself the next time you can't decide between Styx or Fugazi at the record store.