…or, “Neil checks out.” Written and recorded shortly after his son Ben was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Neil allegedly zombie-walked through these sessions, preoccupied with a unique and intensive ‘patterning’ program for Ben that required his constant, round the clock attention. Taking this into account, it’s remarkable how compelling Re*ac*tor is despite the eternally micro-managing Neil’s inability to be emotionally or mentally present. This context may also excuse, or even validate, the lyrics on the album, which read like afterthoughts, as well as the playing of the historically ragged Crazy Horse, who perform like metronomic robots. The tempo on low-IQ jammers like the dense “T-Bone” hints at frustration and claustrophobia, while other songs, like the suitably locomotive “Southern Pacific,” the record label brass-baiting “Surfer Joe and Moe The Sleaze,” and the should-have-been-a-masterpiece “Shots” make Re*ac*tor more a missed opportunity than a failure. The rubric on the back cover, rendered in Latin, is nothing so obscure as the Serenity Prayer, popularized by its adoption by Alcoholics Anonymous, but obviously holding a different meaning for the troubled but longanimous Neil. With its stiff tempos and monotonous minimalism, Re*ac*tor is Neil’s Accidental Krautrock album, which alone should entice immediate reevaluation.