NEU! 75

Have you ever been showering late at night with your grandmother and accidentally slipped over causing your face to press snugly against her vulva? This record felt like that wholesome family moment. Like a hugging embrace from an old friend...who's a massive racist.Like using a dildo for the first time, but it's a hand-me-down from your brother. Interesting, but perverse.

Fresh, bold, daring, expansive... and never dull. "Neu! 75" cements Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger as two of the coolest, most forward-thinkers in rock. There are just six tracks here, and each one of them is a fully realised sonic world, offering a unique view of this extraordinary band. It's a cross-roads of different styles at the midpoint of the 1970s, indicating the different routes popular music was about to split off into. We begin with "Isi" and "Seeland", two instrumentals that are calm in tone, with very simple repeated melodic figures on synth, piano and guitar. They're psychedelic leaning, with hints of early 70's space-rock, but nothing ever falls apart or loses control. The air is cool, detached, and utterly captivating: simplicity is key, a firm tonal centre is key, and a steady tempo is key. While these tracks still offer strong melodic hooks, they're perfect exercises in restraint. In fact, vocals don't enter the mix at all until some semi-spoken word declarations in "Leb' Wohl". This piece is so beautiful, so stirring in its two piano chords and the space it affords, that its nine minute length is not an issue. It's meditative and contemplative, and it feels like an early foray into ambient that Brian Eno would later capitalise upon. The second half is driven by more energy, heightened aggression. Klaus Dinger takes the lead. We get the jagged edges of punk (and even post-punk prior to punk) with its bellowed vocals and abrasive instrumentation. Really though, it's just a warm-up to the sublime proto-industrial "E-Musik", with its liberal use of flange and its propulsive, motorik beat so relentless it feels like it could be a drum machine, and finally the blistering hard-rock of "After Eight". By the time this closer hits (by Neu's standards, out-and-out anthemic punk) it feels like a full-blown catharsis. It's the moment everything comes together. There are so many highlights across the record, but my favourites per side are "Leb' Wohl" and "After Eight" (honorable mentions to "Isi" and "E. Musik") This album is just missing out on 5* owing to "Hero" and "Seeland" not being quite up to the same standards as the other tracks, but it's a 9/10 for sure. Very grateful to have been introduced to this album and it's absolutely one I'll be spending a lot of time with.

It feels like the building blocks for something, but not super exciting on its own.

This, boys and girls, is why it's important to listen to an album all the way through before rating it. I was pleasantly surprised by the first three tracks of this six-track album. They're chill but interesting melodic soundscapes and they made a nice backdrop to my morning. Unfortunately, those first three tracks are followed by 20+ minutes of incoherent screaming and mind-numbingly repetitive drums that utterly tanked the album for me.

Another sort of "whatever" album. It's decent electronic rock to have on in the background, but it's entirely forgettable.

My husband described it as golfing music. I hate golfing. Still oddly pleasant to listen to this, though.

An interesting album, divided in two halves between a solid atmospheric electronica style and an electronic rock style. Both are really good halves, and are worth listening to even if you're not particularly into either genre.

I guess it was cutting edge in 1975.

This album is something! Given it was released in 1975, it is basically (correct me if I'm wrong) post-punk that was recorded before punk. Legit stuff that reminded me of some later records I sincerely love. Highlights: Hero and After Eight.

What an influence for all of my influencers. This was great

A good listen on the whole. Unfamiliar with Neu but enjoyed the techno/ambient flavour of this album, especially the hypnotic Seeland. Some elements of proto-punk here too - Hero has a feel of the Stranglers to it

The first theee songs sound like they could be the background to a guided meditation. Nothing special, but pleasant listening. The next three songs erase any good will and totally shift gears. More electronic, more upbeat, more lyrics (barely). Two halves, neither of which did anything amazing for me.

Oh boy, 2 German albums in 2 days. Guten Morgen! Ich möchte ein Mokka. Wo ist mein Auto? Little taken aback by this; it’s super easy to trace this to other albums I adore: obviously David Bowie’s “Heroes”, but also the gentle minimalism of Architecture & Morality & Music for Airports. At the same time, it’s got a swagger level somewhere between the Rolling Stones & the Clash. These things should cancel each other out, but they don’t. Hypnotic, addictive listen April 30, 2024

Fantastic album! Great music to just sit back and reflect. Any album that features waves crashing can do this for you. The order of tracks was very well done as they flow into each other pretty seamlessly and build to a climactic ending. For example, first couple track have no lyrics. Then the middle tracks featured just small little pieces of vocals here and there. And then the back half showcase the vocals pretty heavily. I also really dig how the opener sounded like something you’d hear on Rainbow Road in Mario Kart. This is definitely one I’ll be running back in the future

Kolejna niemiecka pozycja w tym tygodniu, ale nie jest to jedyna rzecz laczaca ten album z kraftwerkiem, oba zespoly nagrywaly z legendarnym w tamtych czasach Connym Plankiem, ktory byl chocby jedna z osob stojacych za sukcesem autobahna, tym razem trafilo na hardy kraut, wiec blizej mainstreamowym gatunkom muzycznym eksperymentalnie progresywnemu rokowaniu, ale jednak jest w tym cos o wiele bardziej czarujacego i tajemnicznego, bo jednak jest to muzyka z starego kontynentu, ktora jednak byla influencyjna na tak mainstreamowych tworcow tego okresu jak chocby pan Bowie i jego trylogia berlinska, gleboko czerpiaca z dorobku takich zespolow jak neu, nawet tytul srodkowego albumiku trylogii berlinskiej nawiazuje do openingowego traka b sajda dzisiejszej plyty, wiec neu!'75 jak sam tytul wskazuje wydanego w 75, 42 minuty, 6 trakow i idealna rownowana pomiedzy strona a i b, prawdziwy muzyczny jin i jang, pierwsza strona spokojna, niekiedy nawet melancholijna przez te deszczowe brzmienia oraz motyw przewodni calego nagrania, wiec rozlaki, bo otwierajacy isi, to zdrobnienie od izabeli, kolejny na plejliscie utwor seeland, wiec calkiem samotlumaczacy, jako kraina do ktorej iza pojechala, a zamykajacy pierwsza czesc leb' wohl na polski oznacza zegnanko, druga czesc rowniez zawiera slady tego motywu juz w samym hero, ktory jest najbardziej lirycznym trakiem calej plyty jest wspomniany wyjazd do norwegii jakiegos skarbeczka, ale to jak obie strony sie roznia jest czyms pieknym, hero nie ma w sobie nic z ambientowego grania do ktorych przez pierwsze dwadziescia minut czlowiek sie przyzwyczail, a atakuje ostrymi gitarami dzwiekami, ktore sa w pewnym sensie petane przez lagodne synthy, dodatkowo drumsy, ktore graja pierwszo planowa role na drugiej stronie, dodatkowo wokale ktore rowniez biora z zaskoczenia, a przypominaja jak cos co mozna bylo uslyszec pozniej u sex pistolsow czy stogesow, wiec proto punk kipi z drugiej strony tego materialu, oczywiscie liryka po anglinsku jak przystalo na jakosciowego krauta, ktory sluchany byl globalnie, a nie tylko lokalnie, na plejke wrzuce openingowe utwory obu stron zeby podkreslic dualizm tej plyty nawet na plejce, jesli mialyby grac po sobie oba traki, ale cala plyta leci na poleczke spotifajowa, bo album nagrany z zamyslem zeby przesluchac od poczatku do konca zeby poczuc roznice jak roznorakie oblicza moze posiadac jeden material, a nadal trzymac sie jednego konceptu

I listened to this one with Julianne and it was incredibly soothing for the a side and a lot more engine like and moving on the b side. I loved the imagery that this was able to keep consistently in my head with its ambient passages and incredibly clever use of different tones

This one is completely new to me, both the album and the band. What a gorgeous song the opener Isi is. Reminded me of a band I saw a few times in college called Perpetual Groove - it’s cool to hear sounds from a band I’ve never heard of from an album from the 70’s sound so familiar. I loved the album front to back, at times it’s not exactly cohesive but the variety in sound and style doesn’t hurt the album too much. My only real exposure to “krautrock” before this was Kraftwerk, who is tremendous, but this is different and a step closer to prog I think. It also reminds me of moments you hear in some of King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard’s albums - a great compliment from me. Overall a great album that is immediately accessible in the right setting but probably rewards many listens.

The Good: Minimalist album cover! The Bad: Minimalist music… The Ugly: the mislabeling of this album being “Krautrock” which this isn’t at all. Never heard of this group before, and have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Sound-wise, one could argue that they are ahead of their time, like contemporary artists such as Kraftwerk et al Will dish out 3* as I don’t believe this album will become part of frequent listens, however, worth a spin once a year...

J'ai pensé à détacher crisdusseld le temps d'écouter cet album originaire de sa terre natale et puis je me suis souvenu de l'ordure qu'il était.

Comme vous le savez tous, je me suis reveillé ce matin de très mauvaise humeur, la faute au service e-banking de ma banque UBS ayant décidé de ne pas fonctionner au moment exact où j'en ai besoin. Ce n'est certainement pas cette parodie musicale qui aura réussi à rehausser mon humeur, 45mn d'allemand se prennant pour des esthètes musicaux, qui ne proposent pourtant qu'une soupe de sons fort peu ragoutante. J'espère ne jamais vous retrouver dans ce génèrateur

Ótrúleg plata sem hefur haft gríðarleg áhrif á tónlistarheiminn síðan. Pönk, post pönk, Bowie, Sigurrós. Áhrifin eru út um allt. Sjöan var mjög tónlistarlega frjó í Þýskalandi.

Loved it. Decided it was 5star by track 3. This should be much more widely known than it is.

The reason I have started this challenge was to find new music. Well I'm happy I have found Neu! because I was really looking forward to hearing something new.

Never heard of them before.

God I love krautrock

Not as good as the first one but still one of the best krautrock records ever!

Fantastic

Genuinely loved this. Side A and Side B are considerably divergent, but both are delightful to listen to. It's hard to imagine that this was made in 1975. What made executive take such risks producing albums that were so obviously incongruent for their time? I'm glad they did.

I LOVED THIS

Great

loved it

I’m really confusing myself because I highkey really liked this? Except for Leb wohl. Like im just very much enjoying music lately but idk why im rating things so high.

This might be my favorite Neu! album (Neu! 2 is the other potential option). It's pretty consistent with the other work that the band was doing during the first half of the 70s. It's fucking great. Just solid toe-tapping jams propelled forth by the driving drum beat. I think you could easily make a case that other Krautrock bands were better than Neu, but Neu remains a very accessible way to get into the genre and provides a ton of useful context for what other German bands were doing in this period 5/5

Whoa, this is a cool album. Never heard of this band before now but they are going onto my rotation.

Loved it. Something I could listen to as background music or with focused intention. Will definitely be coming back to this one.

As others have noted, the two sides differ quite a bit in general tone. This album, along with other Neu! albums and with other German bands of the period have had a big influence on later bands, particularly in the general post-punk genre and beyond. Neu! 75 is a really absorbing album.

Unironically one of my favourite albums of the tour so far, mostly because I would've never heard of it before. Incredibly ahead of its time, it sounds like it came out in the last decade and not 1975, and despite being progressive rocky it actually manages to accomplish that meditative/instrumental rock style of pink floyd without the pretention

Better than expected

All good things must come to an end. The black backdrop and the scrawled white lettering of Neu's name marked a contrast from the prior two albums and it informed the audience that things were not all that one brained. Which was for the best considering the different styles on display. Melodic, soothing ambiance followed by surging, ferocious rock and roll made for a kind of whiplash only innovative German musicians could conjure up so that plenty of other acolytes can soon mine for their own sonic adventures. From Dusseldorf back to Norway, just another hero riding through the night.

Despite it's age this album still sounded remarkable fresh and modern to me. A great combination of Low-fi and Electronic!

The thing I love about this album is the way you can picture the ideal listening locale: a beige 70s lounge with a lava lamp and a record player and a pack of Gauloises. It just moves.

I love an album title that incorporates the year it was made… This album started off very, very strong for me. I loved the opening track Isi. Such a pleasant and lovely song. Seeland was pretty nice as well, and I thoroughly enjoyed floating around in Leb’ Wohl’s ticking-background world. Side 1 had me all in! Side 2 opens with Hero’s rockin’ guitar that totally changed the mood, but I could still feel the sound of side 1 sneaking in and around the edges. It was different but still felt familiar. The drums really carried the day on E-Musik. It sort of put me in a trance. Powerful human drumming really added to this electronic music. Then it ends on such a desolate and cold note… more ticking… kind of wonderful. The closing number, After Eight, seems like it could have been a cacophonous mess, but instead sort of cleared my mind and left me feeling like I was in a gently pleasant place. I think I love this album. Not something for all occasions, but today it really took me away.

I'd heard of this band before, but I'd not listened to any of their albums. Wikipedia gives the genre as "Kosmische Musik", a term used before "KrautRock". As a fan of Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk, I liked this album, although it's closer to the latter than the former. Side 1 is more ambient than side 2 which has more of a rock feel to it and reminded me of Hawkwind.

Listened thru it 5 times too short I LOVE IT

This tickled an itch in my brain in the best way possible. What in the Arcade Fire/Rolling Stones/Joy Division??? It's like a blend of genres that I already like, and the soundscapes were a nice, unexpected touch.

Part ambient, part repetitive, driving rock. Mostly instrumental, brilliant in its simplicity and effectiveness. The 10 minute closing track might be the best part. Doesn't feel old at all.

Loved 🥰 this album

I like it. It wasn’t what I expected. Not sure what I expected. But that wasn’t it. Yeah, I liked it.

Phenomenal Krautrock record. I listened to this driving across the desert and it ruled!

Very nice ambient ! The album is like a journey

After a rough mishap with the recording of neu 2's b side, neu finally apply everything I feel like they worked out on the two records. Psychedelia, proto punk, and even ambient are wonderfully tied together by Dinger's signature drumming. It's pretty amazing how good this turned out.

I like how this album starts out on a very meditative vibe then builds addding minimal vocals until we are full on rocking with some bangers at the end.

Simple as lightning Beats and sounds rain down your ears Engineered nature

Seems to be two bands! First we get three atmosperic songs, hallucinating and minimalLeb Wohl seemed like Einstuerzende Neubauten, with Blixa Bargeld singing. But that was 20 years later! Neu=pioneers! Then suddenly Hero, punkrock with the singer singing like later Johnny Rotten or The Fall's Mark E Smith later did. Or even Pixies singer. One of best albums so far of the 400 of so I listened to already on 1001 list. Gonna listen to more Neu music.

first song done and this is just fantastic

This was a great ride. Played it and played it again and played it again. Loved the driving beat on ISI. Seeland a slow burn, and E-Musik just a blast. Doesn't sound like 70s.

As always such a pleasure to listen to Krautrock heros like NEU! Smooth, soft, and hypnotic each track speaks to a world that was goign to be shiny and new after the horrors of WW2.

Beautiful!

This is among my favorite albums of all time. Whenever I return to these timeless musical landscapes, I want to stay in them forever. I also love their story. The main two members, Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother, were so very different from each other, nearly polar opposites. Dinger, an intense, manic, extrovert type, and Rother a more reflective, gentle soul. They didn't even particularly get along well, but I think their willingness to respect each others talents, and commit to finding a middle ground, despite their differences, is sort of remarkable in the egocentric world of music. I'd venture to guess their producer Conny Plank had a huge role in being a buffer between them, harnessing that tension, and finding the common ground that he could weave into a more cohesive whole. Together they developed a relatively simple, but unique formula, which centered around Dinger's propulsive motorik beat, like some kind of nuclear fission engine, and Rother's elegant and versatile guitar musings. Each song is a journey, ever moving forward. And like all the best Krautrock, you can hear them searching for their own sound as they go. I like all of their albums, but this one is by far their most refined. Solid from top to bottom, bearing songs that reflect each of their personalities and inclinations. The duality that they embody here is what I am so drawn to. It's as if they are able to capture two perspectives simultaneously like some kind of impossible MC Escher drawing going off into infinity. Dinger throwing his hat in the proto-punk ring is the cherry on top.

This was a really welcome surprise. I didn't know what to expect, but being someone who likes early electronic music especially Kraftwerk and Jean Michel Jarre, I loved this. Will definitely listen again, and will search out other music from them.

Leb’ Wohl is a bit too long and I don’t like the vocals. That’s about all I have against the album, it’s very good.

I completely understand that this album was not met with popular success based on the brief band bio on Spotify. That said, holy shit. This is an amazing album which I've listened to 3 times in the past two days. To say I'm impressed is an understatement. Everything about this sound is incredible. Atmospheric, electronic, cryptic, drum heavy, guitar driving. Absolutely loved it. I found that first track to be loaded with compassion and enthusiasm.

Is this really 'Krautrock'? Not sure this is romper stomper music it's more like Stereolab and Brian Eno discovered their long lost father. Regardless of whatever it's been labeled, it's really nice. Theres's some variety there with some hard stuff thrown in closer to the end, but the droning ambience of Neu! is really enjoyable. Evidently, both Dinger and Rother were early members of Kraftwerk which I never thought I'd appreciate, however the fondness I've got for NEU! 75 has inspired me to give them another listen.

Recently got way into krautrock and liked Can a lot, especially Future Days. Also some of Cluster's stuff. This is right in line! I'm excited to check it out completely... First two tracks I'm already sold, Seeland especially is just a vibe. Especially the end with the rain... this is so good! Also, end of Hero with the airplane. Love the inclusion of field recordings. Especially for 1975, this was so influential! I was digging the spacey music and then Hero kicks in and wakes you up! I didn’t really appreciate that song before, but in context it’s pretty cool. Just based on its influence, recording quality, and my personal preference, this is an easy 4. Maybe even a 4.5, but I need to make sure that's not just recency bias kicking in, since I've been getting into this music much more lately.

This might have been a 4 start record if I was already familiar with it. How have I never heard this? 5 stars to 1001albumsgenerator for telling me about it.

amazing album

Still fresh after almost 50 years. Neu! is a building block for so many of my favorite bands; I feel like if anything, their influence on psych/experimental music has only gotten stronger. Really have no complaints. This thing is phenomenal and covers so much ground.

Beautiful album. Leb’wohi was a little too atmospheric to the point of being dull, but everything else was excellent. Some tracks were punk, some were Kraftwerk jr in the best way possible, some were just pretty. Might not make the regular rotation but anyone with an appreciation of music can get something out of this

Five stars cause I fkn love saying KRAUTROK also the second half of this is much better than the first

One of the most beautiful albums I have listened to yet. This definitely gives a sense of tranquility while also being experimental. Highly recommended!

Absolutely glorious. Why do I leave these albums unlistened to after discovering and loving one record by a band? I guess there's lots of examples where that would be a let down, but not here. The debut is fabulous of course and so is this. That beat in E-musik is just perfect. Drilled into my psyche. The ambient stuff is gorgeous. What's great about sticking a Krautrock album on is Spotify generally throws up a great load of stuff afterwards, there's so much wonderful stuff in the genre to discover, in many directions (obvs krautrock is a reductive term). Reminded me to go back to Harmonium, another project Rother was involved with, Deluxe is a cracker.

Mind blowing the progress

I really liked this. It was fun and fresh sounding. I can see why this album inspired a lot of other artists.

F**king love NEU!

Это лучший в их дискографии альбом. Если дебют построен на импровизации, и он довольно-таки непонятный в некоторых местах, второй кажется каким-то недоделанным, очень сырым, то третий... Очень свежо данная музыка слушается для середины 70-х, просто на одном дыхании. Тут нету песен лучше или хуже, круче или слабее, тут надо слушать всё! Один из лучших альбом в краут роке, и я его всем рекомендую.

Another great album. I had never heard of Neu! The Wikipedia helps explain the bi-polar quality of this album. The two sides are very different, but I like both a lot. I may actually enjoy side one more, but that's from a perspective that's almost 50 years after the album was released. Given when it came out, side two is the more amazing side. It's punk rock a couple of years before punk rock! (For anyone that listened to this on Spotify, track down the last track, "After Eight". It's good.)

Brilliant

I love it. I'm not really familiar with any NEU! material that came later, but this seems like a perfect ending to their original trilogy of albums with the A side expanding on what was and the B side showcasing what could/might be. The proto-punk of "Hero" seems jarring at first but it's anchored in its depths by a groove that feels quite at place with all that came before. The whole album still gets better every time for me. There are a couple of brief vocals I find myself at odds with on the A-side, otherwise, this is nearly a perfect album for me.

para mimir

It's very lush. It's very cool.

Tal vez si se le preguntara a Neu! por sus influencias, las negarían todas. Pero se puede trazar un camino, tan ligero como el aire, que -como dice chusen- arranca desde el impresionismo francés, pasa por The Velvet Underground y los atraviesa a ellos. Lo fundamental de esta música es, precisamente, su delgadez, su fisonomía maleable; como si no proviniera de ningún tiempo y no habitara en ningún espacio. La Historia, en el disco, parece pasar por el costado. Los sonidos aparecen, desaparecen y vuelven a aparecer, con una cadencia blanquecina, y su estatuto es el de la fugacidad. Así, parece que esta música solo existe para ella, a pesar de que tanto detrás como delante tiene un sendero, al cual ella cierra los ojos.

Giorgio Moroder meets Mike Oldfield.

A band I'd never really heard before, but I absolutely loved it.

Delightful! We love underground basement vibes

Great instrumental.

10/10 I listened to there first three albums and loved their third (this one) the most but all were a 10/10 super fun electronic/psych-roch

Radiohead vibes before Radiohead existed.

Super

Har bara lyssnat på NEU! lite sporadiskt tidigare, men denna platta är ju alldeles fantastisk.

Notes - Krautrock legends Neu’s 3rd album - Split in half because the 2 members of the band wanted different things out of their sound - First half is more melodic and ambient, second half is more rock - Driving bass and drums with repetitive guitar/synth parts - Love the use of rain and wind sounds across the album - I like that its in 2 distinct moods - But there are enough common elements that it still sounds cohesive - Really good “getting shit done” music Fav - hero - Love the vocals on here, kinda sounds like the guy from the Jesus lizard Least fav - After eight - Sounds like hero but less good 5/5

Loved this. I don't usually go for Krautrock, but this is great. Could listen to it all day - brilliant as ambient music.

Listens: 2 Enjoyed: yeah Very relaxing - can't fault it at all tbh. First track feels like a The Sims loading screen so I'm fully here for that

PREFS: TOUT MOINS PREF: RIEN

Fajne

Really enjoyed this - especially Isi, E-Musik and After Eight. Lovely to have on in the background too - a bit like Autobahn.

Great stuff, prog rock at its best.

Geil.

Lekker album om naar te luisteren, was erg verrassend….

Super cool

Oh god I'm becoming a krautrock fan