''Neu! 75'' is the third studio album by German

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...

band

Neu! Neu! (; German for "New!"; styled in block capitals) were a West German krautrock band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother following their departure from Kraftwerk. The group's albums were produced by Conny Plank, w ...

, released in February 1975 on Brain Records. It was recorded and mixed at

Conny Plank Konrad "Conny" Plank (3 May 1940 – 5 December 1987) was a German record producer and musician. He is known for his innovative work as a sound engineer and producer in Germany's krautrock and kosmische music scene in the 1970s. Plank was involv ...

's studio between December 1974 and January 1975. The album was officially reissued on CD on 29 May 2001 by

Astralwerks Astralwerks (or Astralwerks Records) is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music that is now owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in ...

in the US and Grönland in the UK.

Overview

This album saw Neu! regroup after a few years' hiatus, during which time

Michael Rother Michael Rother (; born 2 September 1950) is a German experimental musician, best known for being a founding member of the influential bands Neu! and Harmonia (band), Harmonia, and an early member of the band Kraftwerk. Early life and educat ...

had worked with Cluster as the supergroup

Harmonia In Greek mythology, Harmonia (; /Ancient Greek phonology, harmoˈnia/, "harmony", "agreement") is the goddess of harmony and concord. Her Greek opposite is Eris (mythology), Eris and her Roman mythology, Roman counterpart is Concordia (mythol ...

. By this time, Rother and bandmate

Klaus Dinger Klaus Dinger (24 March 1946 – 21 March 2008) was a German musician and songwriter most famous for his contributions to the seminal krautrock band Neu!. He was also the guitarist and chief songwriter of New wave music, new wave group La Düsse ...

had somewhat diverged in their musical intentions for the band, with Dinger preferring a more aggressive, rock-influenced style than Rother's ambient predilections; the two compromised, and the resulting album showcases both sounds. Side one of the record, which reflects Rother's preferences, was recorded as a duo. On side two, Dinger switched from drums to guitar and lead vocals, with his brother Thomas and Hans Lampe

double drumming Double drumming (sometimes referred to as double drums) is a musical technique, used mostly in rock music, where two drummers each play a drum kit at the same time. One may play the rhythm while the other may play another style, or both may play t ...

. On both sides, the use of keyboards and phasing effects increased compared to the band's earlier records. ''

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'' described the album's sound as "spartan psych-rock set to power driven drum tracks," while Thomas Jerome Seabrook identified it with ''kosmische Musik''. The track "Hero" inspired many musicians of the time, including

John Lydon John Joseph Lydon ( ; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a British-born singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. He was the lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, which was ...

of the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

, and is considered an example of

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock genre and movement. A retrospective label, the musicians involved were generally not originally associated with each other and came from a variet ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

also alluded to the track with his album '' "Heroes"'' and its

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...

. The band

Negativland Negativland is an American experimental music band that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. The core of the band consists of Mark Hosler, David Wills (aka "The Weatherman"), Peter Conheim and Jon Leidecker (aka "Wobbly" ...

(named after a song on Neu!'s first album) named their record label Seeland after the song of the same name on ''Neu! '75''.

Reception

In 1979, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' critic Andy Gill gave ''Neu! '75'' a perfect score. Reflecting that the band "took the repetitive pulse of rock, stretched it out and wove lush, shifting layers of sound over the framework to produce a distinctive, hypnotic music which, whilst undeniably rock, was definitely outside-looking-in," he stated that this style reached its "full fruition" on the "pivotally important" album. He considered side two "damn-near perfect as makes no difference, an achievement which exhausts superlatives," and the first side "less immediate but only slightly less satisfying: evocative, entropic, hot-summer-daze music which balances — and is even more successfully 'ambient' than — side two's sweaty nightclub pulse". Ben Sisario of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described the album and its predecessors as "landmarks of German

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

Track listing

Personnel

;Neu! *

– electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, vocals *

– drums (side 1); electric guitar (side 2), vocals * Thomas Dinger – drums (side 2) * Hans Lampe – drums (side 2) ;Additional personnel * Konrad "Conny" Plank – producer, engineer

References

External links

Discogs
{{Authority control 1975 albums Neu! albums Albums produced by Conny Plank