Lucky Thirteen
Strange to say, this retrospective of '80s recordings from Neil Young's lamentable stretch with Geffen Records is a must-own for true fans of the man. Though it's riddled with failed experiments in everything from proto-techno to rockabilly to blues-rock (thanks to a few tracks from Young's return-to-Reprise effort,This Note's for You), and offers up the most diluted rock of Young's remarkable career,Lucky 13is fascinating on its own skewed terms--if for no other reason than it provides a perspective on a brilliant artist struggling to find his footing on alien terrain. The opener sets the scene: Young andCrazy Horsemake likeKraftwerkas Young's drastically processed voice robotically intones, "I need a unit to sample and hold." One can imagine the response it and other techno-popTrans(as in "transgression"?) tracks had on the "Heart of Gold" crowd. From there, Young and various groups ping-pong hither and yon, coming up with mostly head-scratchers in the process. Just look atLucky 13as a shortcut through a bad patch for Young, and be prepared for some hairpin curves along the route.--Steven Stolder