I like a lot of Neil Young, and I always wondered about this album. I'd read about it but never heard it. But the internet is letting me listen to it now.

1. Little thing Called Love - very pop-ish and nice. not what i expected to hear on this album.

2. Computer Age - the backing music is not unusual, but he uses some vocal effects. a little interesting; makes it sound a little disco-y.

3. We R In Control - this is more like what I expected... robot vocals. It sounds a bit cliched now. I should be reading along with the lyrics.

4 Transformer Man - more vocoder effects. but very sweet sounding.

5 Computer Cowboy - backing music sounds like typical young, but with vocoder vocals. it could get a bit tiresome. the effect is a little cold.

6. Hold On To Your Love - an ordinary, not great, song. a little dull.

...

7 Sample And Hold - I like this one, robot vocals and all. I think it gets the tone right. It sounds like it could have been produced today (well, almost)

8. Mr Soul - thumping, a little hokey. but I like the guitar part.

9. Line An Inca - Kind of a typical young song. Maybe a little more swing than usual. I like it.

Overall not as different as I had expected. I don't know what all the fuss was about. Certainly better than some of his albums.

*Like An Inca...

I have always loved this album. Have not been able to find it digital for any reasonable price. I have the LP.

Sample and Hold is one of my favorite all-time Neil tracks.

Oh sweet, I've been looking to get my hands on this LP for a while now.

*saves this thread, will come back later*

Yup. Trans has long been one of my guilty pleasures.

How do you deal with a Neil Young album that refuses to behave like a Neil Young album?

OK he lost me with this. MANY MANY Neil Young projects are unlike anything he's done. He followed Harvest with Tonight's the Night (don't quote me that these were exactly successive), and I would argue that each successive effort is a departure from the previous one.

Plus, he got into this vocoder stuff because he has a very disabled son, and was playing with this as a way to help his son communicate. This was not clear at the time, and possibly it's revisionist history on Young's part but I also do not see why he would have cause to lie about it.

danf, stick with it. He's speaking rhetorically.

Prompted by this post, I am now listening to Talk Talk's "Spirit of Eden."

OK, I think I have Metal Machine Music stashed away somewhere. I'm warning you, I will get it out. Don't make me do it. Don't make me do it!