NEU! 75 by NEU (1975, Brain)

Up there
with Velvet Underground as probably the most influential band to have sold
practically no records. Neu! were German duo Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother.
Both were momentarily part of an early incarnation of Kraftwerk but left it to
join forces in 1971 under their 'new' name.




Neu! released
three albums over four years, and then another 20 years later in 1986. Though
they had minimal success at the time they had a lasting over generations of
musicians: Bowie, Brian Eno, Joy Division, PiL in the ‘70s through to like
likes of Radiohead, Primal Scream, Sonic Youth, Spiritualized, Death In Vegas,
Kasabian and most recently The Horrors. In addition they can be seen as the
forbearers for ambient and much of the current electronic scene owes them a
debt.




NEU! 75 is
their third album and contains six tracks. Unlike the first album, Dinger and
Rother had been working on the music independently before recording it and
resultantly the album has two distinct sides. Rother’s productions are more are
more ambient and similar to the first Neu! album. The opening track ‘Isi’ is
atmospheric and melodic. Led by a keyboard and early synths it is a moderate
paced electronic number set to Neu!’s distinctive ‘motorik’ beats. ‘Seeland’
and ‘Leb’ Wohl’ are dreamy ambient numbers.




Dinger’s
tracks on side two are heavier, rockier and feature his sneering and
unintelligible vocals. In particular the track ‘Hero’ is proto-punk with
grinding guitars set to a repetitive beat for seven minutes. It’s this side of
the album in particular that you can see has left the stronger impression on
music that followed, particularly with post-Punk bands like Joy Division and
PiL. 




‘ISI’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiMQ5r5y78g




‘SEELAND’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awNiwKoyoR8&feature=fvwrel




‘HERO’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYeVvp8sdmg