Re-ac-tor is Neil Young's second effort of the '80s back with Crazy Horse, and while the emphasis is on guitar as is the hallmark of all their recordings together, he also incorporates synths and new wave elements for the first time which would come to full fruition on the polarizing Trans the following year. Cut from Original Analog Master Tapes by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering.

• All Analog Mastering
• Cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering

Almost a year after the release of Hawks & Doves, in late October 1981, Neil Young got back together with his old sparring partners Crazy Horse for his first real album of the decade, Re-ac-tor, an LP that straddles the line between the past and the future — and, more significantly, his past and future as an artist and performer.

In a way, Re-ac-tor was a reaction to Hawks & Doves, a guitar-fronted assault on the folk and country niceties of the earlier record. It was also Young's first tentative step into a new era, specifically the New Wave one he'd explore more enthusiastically on his next album, 1982's Trans.

As it stands, Re-ac-tor falls somewhere between those two records, lacking the comforting familiarity of Hawks & Doves but nowhere near as polarizing as the electronics-enhanced Trans. In other words, Young made better albums in the '80s (not many, though) and he certainly made worse.

Track Listing:

Side A
1. Op.er.a Star
2. Surf.er Joe And Moe The Sleaze
3. T-Bone
4. Get Back On It

Side B
1. South.ern Pac.i.fic
2. Mo.tor Cit.y
3. Rap.id Tran.sit
4. Shots

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