GREAT SONGS ON FORGETTABLE ALBUMS #1

Welcome to this wonderful, new feature in which we delve into thoroughly unremarkable albums to fish out a redeeming track. These songs are valuable. Surrounded by dross they run the risk of being lost forever - obscured by the desperate filler material they are forced to rub up against. The band in question may not have even realised they created the stand-out track. The song may have snuck out without anyone noticing. Luckily, we the experts at The Great Atomic Power, are here to prevent these lost classics from being overlooked.

Neil Young | Computer Age

From the widely-despised Trans album, on which Neil "went techno". For reasons known only to himself Old Shakey decided that his debut recording for Geffen should sound like Flock of Seagulls by way of Nashville. As far as I can tell Neil made it clear he was "serious" by cutting his hair into a terrifying bowl and donning a regulation new-wave black shirt/white pencil tie combo.

As you would expect the album doesn't stand up too well. That is except for Computer Age, an enjoyably daft, vocoder-driven cyber-song about waiting at the traffic lights. But they're traffic lights in the year 2030! The greatest thing about this song (apart from having one of the greatest middle-eights I've ever heard) is that it really sounds like a booze-addled country-rock musician from the 70s trying desperately to conjure up "the future". In my mind this is no dumber than indie rock musicians of today desperately trying to conjure up the 70s. If you want to know what this song sounds like look at the front cover of the album. It sounds exactly like that.