Neu!: Neu! '75 [GROENLAND RECORDS]

Why you'll love it

Recorded at Conny Plank's studio over the winter of 1974 to 1975, it splits the duo's two instincts down the middle. "Hero" inspired John Lydon and plenty more, and the album is a krautrock landmark.

About the album

Neu! had been on a break, and the two men in it had been heading in rather different directions. Michael Rother had spent the time in Harmonia with Cluster, chasing soft, ambient textures, while Klaus Dinger wanted something louder and rockier. When they got back together at Conny Plank's studio from December 1974, they solved it the civilized way: one side each, more or less.

Side one is the duo, Rother on guitar, bass, keyboards and voice with Dinger on drums, floating through "Isi," "Seeland" and "Leb' Wohl" on waves of keyboards and phasing. On side two Dinger switches to guitar and lead vocals, and his brother Thomas Dinger and Hans Lampe both play drums, three men who would soon form La Düsseldorf. "Hero" is the one people talk about, a snarling seven minutes that sounds like punk arriving early, with "E-Musik" and "After Eight" keeping up the motorik drive.

David Bowie nodded to "Hero" with his album Heroes, and Negativland named their label after "Seeland." NME's Andy Gill called side two damn-near perfect in 1979. Side one is for Sunday mornings and side two for Monday's commute, and it does both jobs without complaint.

Also at Kops: more Neu! on vinyl · browse Electronic

Tracklist

Listen

On Grönland (cat# LPGRONIII), a reissue of the 1975 album.