We all have that one album we can’t help but run into the ground. Music fans can be creatures of habit. Even musicians have works they continually return to. For Tom Petty, there was one, controversial album from a folk singer that he admitted he played “every day.”
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“You never, ever listen to your fan base,” Young once said. And he’s lived pretty true to that statement. Young’s catalog is as diverse as it is robust. One of his most “left-field” albums was a synth-tinged record called Trans.
Deep in the ’80s electronic craze, Young decided to swap his folk sensibilities for something more current. It wasn’t well received at the time. Fans who had come to know and love Young for one thing were confused when it took a sharp turn to something else. However, one fan who was on board was Petty.
“I thought it was fabulous,” Petty once said. “I think it’s one of the best records he’s ever done. I really enjoy hearing people so pissed off. I thought it was wonderful. You’ve really touched a nerve there because I play that album every day. I think it’s great for someone to be around for so long and keep you thinking.”
Like Petty, we have to give Young props for taking a risk. It would be easy for him to rest on his laurels. What makes him the legendary artist he is, however, is his bravery to think outside the box.
Young’s Attempt to Bond With His Son
While Trans was evidence of Young’s creative freedom, it wasn’t different for the sake of being different. Young was inspired by the language therapy he was implementing for his son Ben, who suffered from cerebral palsy.
“At that time, he was simply trying to find a way to talk, to communicate with other people,” Young once said. “That’s what Trans is all about. And that’s why, on that record, you know I’m saying something, but you can’t understand what it is. Well, that’s exactly the same feeling I was getting from my son.”
Like the therapy, Trans has a lot of repetitive lyrics and sounds. This album didn’t just help Young launch a new stage of his career; it helped him communicate with his son. That fact gives this album a different lens, and is possibly what gave Petty his sense of appreciation for it.
(Photo by J. Shearer/WireImage)
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