Neu! – Neu! '75 (1975)

I picked this up from Soho's Reckless Records on a trip to London to meet old friends, last week. Coincidentally I've just started reading David Stubbs history of Krautrock, Future Days.

The whole German experimental scene of the 1970s passed me by, with me not even following up my purchase of Camembert Electrique by buying The Faust Tapes, even though both were Virgin's "an album for the price of a single".

This is an album I've heard many times, so was delighted to find it reasonably priced.

It opens with a joyous instrumental, Isi, with a real continental feel of hope and expectation, followed by Seeland, much more guitar led, sombre and repetitive. But still lovely. The first half (Seite 1) ends with the even more minimal Leb Wohl, a pre-Eno repeating piano theme, with almost whispered vocals gently ebbing away, ending Michael Rother's more ambient vision for Neu!

Klaus Dinger takes over the helm for Seite 2 with the uncompromising rock epic Hero, possibly the band's finest hour (well, six and a quarter minutes) kicking off proceedings with a bang, before the longer more experimental E-Musik, a repeating phrase, gradually speeding up, with some fine guitar noodling underneath before fading to a windswept aural scene to complete ten minutes of loveliness. After that, we need awakening with After Eight, a full on assault on the ears, fine but feels a bit limp after Hero.

But it's truly a great record, which shows that German 1970s experimental music could rock with the best of them while pioneering repetition and ambience which others would later take influence from.

Link to full album

4* - a fantastic album, showcasing German 1970s rock at its best