Reviews (page 3 of 9)
Haven't really listened to krautrock before, and this reminds me of proto-shoegaze with its atmospheric sound and consistent rhythms. Side B tracks like "Hero", "E-Musik", and "After Eight" sound like formative punk songs. This album is best listened to with headphones on, fully paying attention to it (3.5).
Decent krautrock album, but I did not enjoy it as much as Kraftwerk’s stuff. It has some cool ideas and a few stretches where it really locks in, but overall it did not stick with me the same way. Good for what it is, just not something I got that excited about. Ironically, right after I finished it, I found out the group had two former Kraftwerk members in it.
Krautrock genius. It ranges from lovely mellow grooves to Eno-esque ambient experiments using field noises like wind,water, birdsong and clocks to add to the atmosphere. The famous motorik beat is still evident but we have vocals making an appearance as well, just adding a different flavour to the whole album. Best Tracks: Isi; Seeland; E-Musik
Ik zeg vaak dat ik zweven-in-de-ruimte albums wel lekker vind, maar regelmatig krijg ik toch een zweefalbum wat ik dan niet heel hoog geef omdat ik het dan weer als te karig ervaar of iets dergelijks. De eerste helft van dit album bevalt wel goed. Het is rustig, niet té leeg, een beetje hypnotiserend, een lekkere productie. En dan vind ik het tof. Dat er op Wikipedia als genre 'kosmische musik' bij staat vind ik mooier dan zou moeten, omdat er dus blijkbaar genoeg reden is om onderscheid te maken tussen zweefmuziek uit Duitsland en zweefmuziek uit de rest de wereld. In de tweede helft krijgen gaan we verrassend genoeg (als de Wikipedia of deze review je niet gespoiled heeft) meer richting (een soort) punk. En dat is eigenlijk ook wel lekker. Er is weinig wat kant 1 met kant 2 verbindt (al gaan we bij het einde van track 5 toch nog even lekker uitwaaien), maar toch past het wel. Is het een iconisch album? Nee. Vind ik het een tof album? Zeker. Had ik dit album ooit gehoord als het niet in deze lijst stond? 0 kans. Dat alles bij elkaar maakt dat ik 5 sterren wil geven, al is een 4 eigenlijk meer op z'n plaats. Ik kijk morgen wel even of ik cadeautjes wil uitdelen.
There’s maybe three songs on here the rest is ambient noise.
First song was contemplative, second (maybe 2nd and 3rd, it ran on for a while) was dull. There may well be beauty, and skill in each, but that's typically not I look for in music. Then a punk vocal song came up, sorta. Punk voice at least. Sid V-like. I'm not likely to look for this band again.
This was a neu one to me! super solid, full of great melodies.
fine
What
Neu! is a very unique sounding group, and this album shows that off well. The almost-soothing A-side gives way to a much more intense B-side, which helps keep the album fresh all the way through. Favorite track(s): "Seeland"
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ska erkänna att jag inte var super pep när jag såg att detta var dagens album. Krautrock är nytt för mig och visste inte vad jag skulle förvänta mig och hade inte höga förväntningar men det visar sig att jag gillar det. Det tre första spåren är det är monotont och rytmiskt med inslag av ljud från regn och vågor. Jag tycker det är meditativt. På de tre följande spåren går energin upp och där läggs mer rockelement till och sång som för tankarna till punk men fortfarande monotont och rytmiskt. Svårt att plocka ut enskilda spår eftersom de känns som de hänge ihop men avslutar starkt med punkiga After Eight. Positiv överaskning som jag kommer komma tillbaka till, blir en 4a.
Esenciales. Krautrock del mejor, Motorik (Apache Beat), ambien, post-rock, minimalismo... lo que quieras. Isi ya te deja en tu sitio. Seeland sigue esa estela y la abre áun más. Leb´ wohl nos encanta a todos a los que nos encantan Spacemen 3... Halogallo es imprescindible. Hero pisa el acelerador con brío, que siguen E-Musik y el cierre desmadrado con After eight. ¿Joy Division? ¿Punk? ¿Bowie? Neu! levantan las cejas y miran a todos desde bien arriba. ¿Radiohead? Sin comentarios. La duda es si Neu! o Neu!2 o este Neu!75 es mejor. Por si acaso, 5/5.
huh. it's kraftwerk, but with hope for the future. and leaving the house now and then. i dig it. "leb'wohl" is a banger.
I really liked the instrumentals of this album, but as soon as the singing hit it was fucking awful. Wanted to give it a 4 but the brief moment where singing was present does not deserve it.
The first half of this album is calm/peaceful - it could be backing for a meditation session or something. "Leb' wohl" even has wave sounds and a metronome/clock style ticking sound throughout. I found this half of the album honestly quite dull, and the random moaning-style-vocals over the top of the wave sounds ruined any form of calm/relaxing vibe for me anyway. The second half is more punk-like, though it still has ambient moments. The vocals are honestly just quite shit, it's like listening to a drunk guy yelling through a wall. The "rock" itself is pretty stale, it's a boring drum beat with droney guitars playing about 2 notes throughout. The drums also have a muffled/dampened tone to them. It's honestly like all of the microphones were on the other side of a wall to the band. I guess that's a deliberate style choice but I think it sounds pants. Not a fan, don't rate it at all. Guess there's just some element I don't understand. The fact that there's a bunch of piano in the first half just about saves it from a 1.
This album started of disappointingly flat but during and after Leb' whol it got the texture and layering I'd expect from an experimental psych rock album. Enjoyable and short, probably ground breaking at the time but doesn't hold up to a modern standard. 3
Very ambient, indie sounding for the 70's
Day804 - i learned to like kraftwerk but i don’t think i could listen to two german techno bands
7/10 Ningún apuro tienen los Neu. Canción rescatable: Hero
That´s a pretty nice experimental album, loved the vibes and all, truly an amazing experience. I bet I will be hearing more of them. Today´s bird: European Bee-eater
Airy, fun, odd, made me smile. What more do you want?
makes me feel nostalgic in a way I can’t quite describe.
NEIN!
it sounds nice but its a lot of nothing. i think you might have to be in a certain mode in order to fully appreciate this and i am too happy rn. the vocals in Leb' wohl are scary thou fav song: Hero
I thought it would be some German metal, turns out it is way ahead of its time electronic experimental rock with some krautrock
Pretty sick. I really liked that the first half was all instrumental. I honestly thought the whole album was gonna be like the song with lyrics, i think it's "hero"? honestly I think I liked that one the least. The low voice thing at the end of E-Musik was kinda uncomfortable. I really liked the rain and the ocean sounds though. Super yum. I was playing stardew valley while listening to it and honestly it fit right in. there were a couple moments where i was like "wait, this is the album right...?" and it was. pretty sick
No idea about Neu! I’d never heard of them and was quite frightened they would be electronic music. In a way, they were. Neu! is a German band with two main members and they are classified as Krautrock. Krautrock is an experimental kind of rock music that came out of Germany in the late 60s and early 70s. It was rock and roll, mixed with avant-garde and psychedelic music. The bands also used a lot of synthesizers and electronic music makers, which were pretty ahead of their time. It inspired many punk, new wave, ambient music, and more of those weird and/or fringe kinds of rock bands. Neu! 75, yes, came out in 1975, and it was the band’s third studio album. The band mainly consisted of Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger. By this time, each had their own idea of what they wanted the new album to sound like, so in the end, Rother wrote the songs for side one of the album and Dinger wrote the songs for side two of the album. Rother’s side one was recorded by just him and Dinger as a duo, while Dinger's side was him and two other dudes. Both sides used keyboards and weird electronic effects. Side one, Rother’s side, begins with ISI, and it’s what you might expect for Krautrock, as it’s all keyboards with Dinger on the drums. I don’t mind this song at all. It reminds me of some of the instrumental, keyboard-loaded songs that came out in the 80s, like the theme from Miami Vice and Axel F. It’s also got a bit of Chariots of Fire to it. Most of the songs on side one sound as though they could be the theme songs for a drama on network TV in the 80s. This could have been St. Elsewhere’s theme. Track 2 is Seeland, and it’s a bit more subdued. In fact, it’s barely got a pulse as it moves forward. Again, the song is all keyboards and Dinger on the drums. It’s not a bad song, it’s just not that exciting. Actually, the more I listen, there might be bass and guitar in this, but it could all be synths. It’s a song to relax to, but not my favorite on the album. It ends with the sound of rain. This was like ASMR before there was ASMR. Track 3 is Leb’ Wohl, and it opens with waves crashing on the beach. One thing about Neu!, they can really set a scene in your mind’s eye. Though again, this is a very subdued song. I can imagine this being used to put people to sleep. Oh, we have our first vocals of the album, though I wouldn’t call this singing so much as speaking. It was said that Rother was leaning more into ambient music, which is basically music that sets a mood and stays in it forever. He accomplished what he wanted if that was the case. Rother’s side wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really give me a lot to love either. Now, side 2 is Dinger’s side, and it starts out with a song called Hero which is a rocker. Johnny Rotten and David Bowie both said they were influenced by this song. Especially Bowie, who had his own song about Heroes. Dinger is playing guitars and singing on his side with two drummers backing him up. But there are keyboards throughout his side as well. Hero, track 4, could have easily been a new wave or post-punk song in the 80s. This was ahead of its time. Dinger isn’t a great singer, but you can see how punk bands could have been inspired by his vocal style. The guitar is just banging out one note essentially. I think I’ve heard this song before, but I’m not sure. I do, however, love it. It’s just seven minutes of fast rock and yelling. It definitely gets your blood pumping. Track 5 is E-Musik, which also sounds like the harbinger of new wave to come. While the song is more of a straight-ahead rock song, it has a bit of ambience to it as Dinger and the boys just pound out the same beat over and over. Dinger does a pretty good job of noodling over the top of the rhythm on guitar. It’s not a bad song, but I like a little more variety or some surprises in my songs, especially if they are 10 minutes long. Though around the seven-minute mark, there's a one-minute break of just wind blowing. Like rattle your windows wind. Then the music comes back in, but it’s slower with some weird growling effects. The song ends with backward music playing, I think it's the main riff of the song. That one was weird. The last track is called After Eight and is a punk rock/new wave song. The guitar pounds out a Ramones-like riff with Dinger yelling the lyrics, before singing the chorus, at least what I think is the chorus, in a low register voice. It reminds me of a New York Dolls song, actually. I actually really like this, though I’m not sure if it’s because I really like it or because it’s one of the two really rocking songs on this album. No matter, it’s great. At the end of it all, I’m not sure if I would consider this a must-listen. As somewhat of an amateur music historian, I’m glad I heard it. I can see how this particular album inspired bands to do their own thing and make music they wanted to hear. But, as an album to sit around and listen to? Maybe if I were taking a nap, side one would be great for that. I wonder if other Neu! albums will be on the list? I’m kind of interested to see how this album measures up to the rest of their catalog. If you like weird, or ambient music, or new wave and punk, you might want to check this out. Otherwise, you can skip it. But check out the song Hero and After Eight. For me, those were the best songs on the album.
Sad Muzak for how I feel reading the news in March 2026 and the idea that the sea and shore are musical. Not much else.
zapravo mnogo bolji album nego što sam očekivala! prva pesma je malo spora, imaš utisak kao da će sve pesme biti instrumentali, i dok to jeste slučaj za mnoge, i fokus jeste na instrumentima, ima sporadično ubačenih nonsensical (ili ih ja barem ne razumem) vokala koji dodaju taj neki ekstra spajs celoj atmosferi albuma koja je veoma pažljivo izgrađena. kao veseliji B-side dejvid bouijevog albuma low. mislim da su ovi nemci? možda i nisu, izguglaću. after eight je stand out pesma ja bih rekla. I e-musik je zanimljiva definitivno.
Boring!
Rating: 6/10
Enjoyed this.
A lovely new discovery for me - particularly enjoyed Leb Wohl- reminded me a bit of Cheree by Suicide. Groundbreaking for 1975. Will definitely listen again. Its probably a 4 but will round upto 5 as its nice to be surprised by a new discovery.
Neu! 75 I absolutely love the first side of this, where Klaus Dinger’s more ambient focus predominates, particularly on the superb Seeland and Leb Wohl. Isi is also excellent though, a fantastic combination of their characteristic motorik drumming with that dreamy ambience, harking back to Hallogallo and Fuer Immer, I think. It’s taken me a while to appreciate the second side, having always preferred the mood of the first side, but over time I’ve come around to it. Hero is clearly hugely influential, you can hear the early forming of punk in its sneering vocals and abrasive noise. After Eight similarly combines their galloping motorik rhythms with a harsher guitar sound than they previously used. E-Music sits in the middle, somewhere between the proto-punk sound, the experimental noise of their previous 2 albums and some of the ambient of side 1. Put both sides together and it's an excellent album, influencing both ambient and punk, as well as Bowie, an easy 5. 🆕🆕🆕🆕🆕 Playlist submission: Seeland
'Isi' provides that classic Neu! shimmer against the motorik beat, it really is a lovely sound. What I particularly like with this album is that, although the synth obviously plays a big part, the piano remains involved - at the beginning of the track it sounds like Satie, a nice delicate tinkling, surfacing throughout. It feels like it has more of an affinity to the natural environment versus the mechanical one of Kraftwerk (although that side is nicely explored in 'E-Musik') - that delicate piano reappearing in 'Leb Wohl', which is rather magical (like a slow blooming flower of melody, set against sounds of the sea). 'Seeland' is a clear precedent to Low, and although Low is unrivalled for the vintage menace it evokes, there is an irridescent clarity to Neu! that's just as affecting. No track feels too long. 'After Eight' is possibly the only one I'd remove to make this faultless, but that's is tampering around the edge as to what is simply a majestic collection of songs.
= the Beatles
NEU! 75 is basically two different albums. There are the first three songs which sounds like lush instrumentals which seem to want to lull the listener more than challenge them with any sort of abrasive proto-punk. Then there are the second three songs which sound at times like The Rolling Stones, other times like a German version of the Clash. This is a different version of Krautrock that isn't reflected by the bleeps and bloops that punctuate other songs from Germany. The album was a compromise between two different types of sounds the band wanted to play but never sounds entirely like the band was compromising their sound. Enjoyed this one even if I am not sure I would listen to it again. My favorite tracks: Isi Seeland Hero
no clue what the hell is going on, but i'm having fun? 3.5
Really the only other Kraut rock record I've heard is Faust IV, which I really wasn't a fan of. This one, however, I found much more interesting and enjoyable. I thought this had much more interesting soundscapes on it and a really cool atmosphere. 4/5.
I'm starting to realize that the bar for getting on this list is very very low. This was another boring album that I will forget as soon as I stop typing this.
That was.. interesting. Tbh I don't really understand.
Krautrock is krazy, but nice background music
i want my Krautrock to be in german.
The exclamation mark doesn't lie. Super fun groove makes me feel like I'm touring through the European capitals.
I dug this one! Not amazing but I would put this on again any time. Pleasantly surprised.
I think this just wasn’t my thing and I happened to listened to it on a bad day.
Ok so I had my preconceived notions about krautrock which didn’t have me looking forward to this album, but the opening track really grabs me. It has a sound and melody that I would today call indie rock. Very driving and energetic and catchy. The album continues in cool instrumental rock sometimes tending in more ambient directions. Kinda like the snow goose by camel but rockier. A good entry.
would have liked it better as an instrumental record. 2.75
Fairly new to Krautrock. This a really good.
Way too minimalist to hold any entertainment value. Extremely repetitive, in both melodies and lyrics(though there were hardly any), the instruments alone were not enough to interest the listener.
Yeah nah
This was kind of all over the place. Not a fan.
What a weird little album! Half of it is background music the other half was really quite good! _Isi_ was slightly more energetic lift music. _Seeland_ sounded like the soundtrack in the future of _Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure_ ... and then comes _Leb Wohl_ which was brilliant, it really grabbed me as I was writing off the album... it reminded me of some of **Soulsavers** more sombre moments. Then we have two very good proto-post-punk songs in _Hero_ and _After Eight_, sandwiching more energetic muzak in _E-Musik. I'm really not sure what this album is or what it's trying to be and I can't make my mind up on it.
A band making music in 1975.
An album of two halves, both ok
Geilo
Instrumental krautrock from the mid-70s - it's spacey, even a but proto-punkish here and there. Great listen, but perhaps not as good as Kraftwerk.
Krautrock’s Krazy Krings
I don’t care what you think, I liked it.
Juuuussstt pretty boring. Reading up on them I can kind of see the influence it had on other musicians at the time, but not like a groundbreaking influence. Also learning that the band was constantly at odds and that essentially led to this yin yang a-side B-Side, with both really boring me in different ways. Sorry krautrock enthusiasts
0/6 bekannt 4/10 Beste Songs: leb wohl, Hero, isi
Kraft Elevator Music, but not bad.
One of the great things about this 1001 exercise has been discovering that I love Krautrock! Never heard this band before now and already I love it and also realized that a lot of bands I love clearly love this shit, too. Like those "post rock" bands from Chicago, like Tortoise and Sea And Cake. The first song has a melodic riff that someone else borrowed and I can't quite put my finger on it and it's driving me crazy. Mekons' Ghost of American Astronauts has a similar melody. I wonder if that's it? I have a feeling I am thinking of something else or maybe Neu and possibly Mekons are tapping into our collective unconscious with music that was genetically encoded into our lizard brains before we had language. I dunno but I love it. All of it!
I'm often impressed by how modern-sounding some of the 70s albums in this collection sound, and this is definitely one of them, even if the lack of (intelligible) vocals on the first half kind of skews it towards earlier art-music more than it would have otherwise. I also liked learning that Neu was composed of former Kraftwerk members, and even if Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger struggled to match their styles--so much so that the first side is Rother's, the second Dinger's--they kept it together enough to produce a fun and interesting album, and even combine their talents on "Isi" and "E. Musik". I think I prefer Rother's ambience-style to Dinger's more rhythm-oriented semi-punk-style, but either way many of the tracks don't sound at all like what I think of as mid-70s music ("Hero" less so in this regard than the others).
Neu! to me, and I liked it. Kind of like a less serious more pop-sounding Kraftwerk.
Like this a lot more than expected. Thought it would be more industrial, but its (for the most part) melodic and trance-y. Will listen again.
Had no idea what to expect, but pleasantly surprised - was actually a relaxing listen. Expected a boring repetitive heavy metal sound and/or shouty vocals - but was mellow and melodic
Interesting. Not something I would listen to often though.
The songs on this album were all very spacey and repetitive, and yet, I found this album so fascinating. It's hard to describe exactly what makes this so great, but krautrock is definitely a genre that interests me a great deal. The continuous marching snare drum with the psychedelic guitar just hit the spot for me. This is great background music but also something to listen really closely to.
Isi - 4 Seeland - 3 Leb' wohl - 3 Hero - 3 E-musik - 4 After eight - 3
I really liked this. I wish the entire album stuck with the instrumentals. Song was is great
This speaks to me. The first half has that IDM feel and the second half a punk rock electronic sound. Amazing. I cannot wait to explore and experience the rest of NEU!
Fine.
Surprisingly didn’t hate it?
-a fun work album! -some of the beats are carseatheadrest-esque -I feel like there is lots of variety while keeping a uniqueness to it -I would listen again
Neat album for its time but one of those ones that has really lost its individuality over the years. Highlights: "Isi", "Leb' wohl"
it was fine! I liked some of the sounds, the first song made me feel like I was in a cheesy movie while I was walking to class. my fav was Leb' Wohl
I liked it, nice ambient-like rock sounds. I also like that the artist uses the same cover (with little variation) for all their albums.
I did not finish this
i was sort of excited for this because of the minimalistic album art and a band name i was totally unfamiliar with, and it ended up being kiiiiinda cool by virtue of being really different from what we've had recently, but it's a real shame that this is so damn boring.
I was not a fan of this album. Maybe my brain isn't wrinkly enough for it or something, but I got fairly bored listening to it. It wasn't offensively bad, but I was looking forward to getting through it so I could listen to something else lol
nightmare nightmare nightmare
I was down with the first track but the vocal stuff on Leb threw me off. It picked back up though
This came up and I was fully prepared to just copy/paste my Faust review where I mention Neu! by name as a thing that I like the idea of liking, but then it turns out actually I thought this was super great. I even did that thing where I accidentally had it on shuffle (see also, my Pentangle review) and then I wasn't even upset that I had to start ever. Shit bangs.
The charm of the first track Isi kicked off an evening dog walk as the sun peeked through and the temp finally reached the 60s. I thought this might be a 5 if it kept that energy up, but as it got more experimental it lost steam. Lots of cool sounds here though, especially for 1975.
Really original — so much that I'm not sure it would fit in my playlist — but a nice experience, especially while reading. One track was literally 10 minutes long, which was a bit annoying to be honest.
ambient music will always have a place in my heart
Meh.
Sounds like the soundtrack to an 80s movie about temptation and regret.
So cool. Probably the best of the original Neu! albums. So much creativity bubbling from this. The atmospheric albums definitely slow things down too much but it comes back with an exciting second half. Too bad these two didn't get along better because there could have been many more great albums to come from them.
Achei normal, neutro. Não me prendeu esse álbum.
A tale of two halves. The first half of this sounds impressive given that it's 50+ years old. Second half gets ruined a bit by the vocals, although it wasn't the worst voice I've heard on this list. Overall, I wish the whole thing was just instrumentals. 2.5/5.
Really keeps you guessing! I liked the first two tracks as kind of background music electronica but the 8 min Leb Wohl was a bit of a slog and I was getting disinterested and trending toward a 2, but then the album took a power pop/punk turn in the second half that I thought was really well done and totally unexpected. “E-Musik” has a bit of a proto-LCD sound system which was cool. Interesting listen overall.
3.8 Dont have much to write about besides its kind of a mix of stuff that Ive been listening to lately, post punk ,ambient, krautrock, house. Im sure its pretty influential to some artists.
Psychedelic and a very atmospheric listen. Loved the dynamic in songs with some being slow, sentimental and imaginative, and others being more fast paced but still having a lot of color. Favorite Song: E-Musik, 8/10
Ok.
Really nice and chill, yet still memorable and
Brilliant album ruined by track 4. Very hard to get instrumental tracks this long to be good and interesting but tracks 1 and 2 were pretty amazing. Really enjoyed the feel of the album, but tracks 4 was a departure from that and really tarnished it for me.
Interesting but long with little variation.
1: Leb’ wohl 2: E-musik 3: ISI
I don't know if people realize how important these kind of albums is. I don't know if this has been influenced by Brian Eno, or if it influenced Brian Eno, or if it's just a circle of life of constant inspiration.
First half: whale music Second half: teenager whale music
Overall: 8/10 I found this strangely uplifting. There's something about this album that makes me feel optimistic about the future. I don't know if that was the intention but that's what I got out of it. Good stuff! Fav Song: Hero
This album was pretty neat. I loved the ocean sounds on one tune and then the sound of the wind eases you out of the next track. Really cool and unique listening experience.
Lyricless without interest.
okay inatrumental vibes were getting
Neu! is an album of half punk rock, half ambient instrumentals. The punk rock side features warbled vocals, in contrast to the silent and reflective former half. Clearly an experimental and, somewhat confused, album.
Garage rock kraftwerk!
There something there that is both interesting and boring at the same time. As a piece of electronic exploration, it ticks all the right boxes. But as this is now 50+ years old, times have moved on and its a strange and obscure novelty that holds no place in my life
I don’t think I’ve dished out many stars to German artists thus far but this was certainly an uptick in fortunes, a real pleasant surprise, so much so that I listened to it twice. The opening half of the album is calm and melodic, offering patient soundscapes and reward the engaged listener, though they can also perfectly soundtrack your day whilst you focus on something else. The second half of the album picks up the energy, and whilst the first half was enjoyable, it might have worn thin. The energy is welcome and the vibes are well up my street - there’s almost a post-punk feel to the last few tracks, even though this is 1975. This is the kind of album that makes this challenge worthwhile.
Every track sounds like an introduction track. Like... they're the foundation for a climax that never happens. I wish this album could have actually been, well, developed. Favorite Track: "Seeland".
This was a really nice listen. Cool instrumental tunes with the right mix between being chill and energetic. Just the right by amount of weirdness for me as well.
5/10
I am very happy that I got to listen to this album tonight. It sent me down the rabbit hole of "Krautrock", which was the redefining of German culture in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In post-war Germany, many young Germans were struggling with their identities and with generational trauma of their parents relationships with nazism. Music and popular culture was conservative, with cheesy hits and US/Britain music ruling charts. This gave Krautrock artists something to define themselves against, with NEU! being one of the most influential, alongside bands like Faust or CAN. This album is not one I would ordinarily listen to all the way through, but I did tonight while researching it's history. The sound is very repetitive through most of the songs, but the song Hero caught me off guard, and it almost reminded me of the Rolling Stones. While looking into this album, I learned that Bowie took inspiration from this band, and I can really hear it while listening to the album.
May need to listen again.
Krautrock, experimental rock, psychedelic rock, proto-punk. Worth a revisit.
I really loved about two-thirds of the album, it was excellent, and the remaining third was still solidly good. That said, 'Hero' and 'After Eight' felt a bit out of place among the rest of the tracks.
3.09? How does this rate so high? A lot of crackheads here. Must bring that score down.
Very neu feeling loved the album and how it flows.
the first half was really boring ambient soundscapes, and the latter half was really boring electronic rock soundscapes.
It chuggs along but it also floats along. It's really great.
I’m listening to this and I’m thinking it’s not bad. The rain and crashing waves over Leb’ Wohl was okay. Just kind of an interesting album. I can imagine this being mind-blowing in 1975. I do hear the bands they influenced especially J Spaceman and Spiritualized so I guess it’s not as bad as I thought. The first thing I thought of when I heard Hero David Bowie so maybe I do like this more than I realized.
Pretty good!
Second half was much better than the first. “Hero” rules.
Ratings: 5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background Pleasant listen and I can hear the influence on what came after. I don't see myself enjoying this on a level much higher than background music though.
So far I’m hearing songs best suited for the intermission at the Olympics and when you are on hold while on the phone. Does anyone like that? No. Much like I question with this album. What’s special about it? 4 songs deep….nothing 5 songs deep and we finally have words…I think. This could be like that Italian guy from the 70’s who made up gibberish to sound English and sang it over a catchy beat. Or like Sigur Ros. But this isn’t anything close to Sigur Ros. Hero sounds like the Stones over a Stone Roses beat. The best song yet. I don’t understand why they wasted their time on a mostly instrumental album. When they sing, it raises their bar. This album would be decent if that was the case. I’m torn. Is it a 4? Unbelievable it almost is for me. A huge turnaround but it still has those boring instrumental songs. I’m giving it a 3 but I really mean 3.5. Sorry Choice cut: Hero
to psychedelic
Really liked some of the relaxing tracks, seems like an interesting experimental album, would probably listen to a track or two again some time.
was really promising at first, i really liked the flowy nature of the first three instrumental tracks and then it just went fully off rails imo
not my vibe
Isi and the next 2 songs were pleasant upbeat repetitive rhythms, followed by the latter half of the album which was just..noise. Tracks to Track: Isi
The longest short album ever made.
Great bit of proto-industrial ambient with a side of krautrock. Been listening to it all weekend. On Friday I thought it was good. By Sunday I thought I was seeing God. 9/10 for the quasi-religious experience.
Opens with two lovely instrumental pieces which reminds me of Kraftwerk, Public Service Broadcasting, Air, Brian Eno etc. They are atmospheric, peaceful, and simple in the right way. The third song, Leb Wohl, builds on these after a transition of rain dripping to oceans crashing, and grows a beautiful 9 minute track which you could meditate to. Then - the sound completely switches, with more upbeat guitars and PIL era Jonny Rotten style vocals... two years before Never Mind the Bollocks? It's cool, and I think listening to this in 1975 would have been very cool. A fun listen I never would have come across if not for the project. 7/10
2.5
I do like the vibes of this album. The waves crashing and white noise. It’s all so calming, especially the first three tracks
The songs go nowhere and are a bit bland and boring. 2.5/5
Don’t care as much for the vocal songs, instrumentals were great tho!
Superbe 1ere moitié d’album (pièces d’ambiance). 3,5/5
Boring
Love this. So glad to have learned about it, and to find out that I apparently like Krautrock.
Wow, this was an awesome album mostly instrumental with some unintelligible vocals reminded me a lot of duster. I really liked the grooves and instrumentation minimalistic, but never gets tired of an idea. Simple when it needs to be some cool processing as well. Plus there’s a cool thematic thread throughout the album this sort of ticking like a clock, but with different sounds as well as this wind or wave sound that brings the album together into one cohesive soundscape for a dream
Pretty cool to fall asleep to and I mean that in a good way. Could be listed on the Calm app. And then it’s kinda punk which was also nice.
Really good stuff between Kraftwerk and Punk with powerful drum grooves that sometimes remind me of Can. Never heard this before, but I will definitely return to it!
Reminds me a bit of Mum at times and almost pushed it to a 4. Some very good, calm atmospheric stuff that I needed last week. In general, kinda surprised this is so old!
I didn't enjoy it, but it wasn't as bad as to deserve a 2
Wasn’t sure what to expect but this was alright
Loved it!
Never heard of Neu! Like their sound
boring, repetitive, not for me. 1st track starts out great and then downhill
First listen to a wonderful album, thank you.
What a pleasant surprise! I absolutely LOVED this!! Didn't want it to end. Ahead of it's time, I kinda think maybe. 5
Enjoyable album and will put NEU! on my list to listen more often.
Really enjoyed this, some great beats, track 3 felt a bit like early Sigur Ros
non ho trovato un grande valore in questo album: è corto, ha poche canzoni, ma sono lunghissime. con le prime tre viene l'abbiocco, poi arriva Hero e ci si sveglia un po' e il ritmo rimane più sostenuto fino alla fine, ma comunque non so. non mi ha lasciato niente, mi dispiace ma non posso neanche dare il tre politico perchè purtroppo mi sono annoiata
Mostly instrumental, or quiet enough vocals that it seemed that way. Nice calm background
Zielloze kutmuziek. Het klinkt goed, het is niet slecht gedaan. Filmisch ofzo, maar ook zielloos. Waarschijnlijk wel de eerste die zoiets deden, maar het is saaaaaaaiiiiiii. Heb het niet af kunnen luisteren. 2 sterren omdat het in z’n tijd iets origineels deed.
A tale of two halves, NEU! 75 had a clear vision that I think they executed on very well. The first 3 tracks are ambient, pulling you along gently like waves on a lake. Once you hit the halfway mark however, the band hits you with "hero", and the atmosphere changes entirely. Whilst this shift in style (and the ones that follow after) might be too much for some, I very much appreciated it!
heerlijke duitse protopunk
I guess someone had to make the background music for “how it’s made”.
Far less annoying / grating than I expected a krautrock album to be. This was downright pleasant for much of its runtime. If any of these tracks came on on a playlist I don't think I'd be all that upset. A big surprise for me!
These guys aren’t my fav. Not really my type of music.
The type of music I listen to during ketamine, I like it
Neu! is a band led by two experimental musicians who managed to produce several influential records despite them having very different beliefs about life and music. In this context, it seems fitting that 75 is really two very different records. The first side consists of dreamy and atmospheric music led by Rother and the second side consists of guitar-forward proto-punk sounds led by Dinger. It is easy to see why Neu! was on this list. The experimental compositions ultimately deemed kraut rock would ultimately give birth to genres like electronica and trance and influence numerous post-punk and post-rock bands. Neu was integral part of the kraut rock movement, but why did the authors select the schizophrenic 75 for this list? Perhaps it is because each side of the record captures the elements (cosmic electronic and rock without the blues roots) that made the genre unique? Whatever the rationale for selecting this record, when Neu’s debut was arguably more influential and an overall better record, I did enjoy this listen, the second side more than the first. Although, if I’m honest with myself, much of this enjoyment came from thinking about its importance in the development of so much of the music that followed. How much should that distinction influence my overall rating of the album? After all, this was one of the main reasons I was drawn to this project to begin with.
Actually loved this. Vibey
81/100. Very good krautrock/ambient hybrid. It’s wild how modern this sounds. The contrast between the chilled out, hypnotic first half and the more aggressive, proto-punk energy of the second half makes it exciting.
Not bad, not familiar with much krautrock. The sort of album you probably have to be in the mood for.
Boring
Where did David Bowie and Brian Eno get the idea fot atmospheric ambiance on the 'Low' and 'Heroes' records? It was likely from Neu!, and this album in particular. 'Neu! '75' is a dense, moody and rougher take on the experimental krautrock genre that eminated from West Germany in the early 1970s. Chief bandmembers Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother were previously members of Kraftwerk prior to forming Neu!, and it shows in this record's mastery of hypnotic minimalism. However, where the sound of Kraftwerk is brighter and more playful, Neu! is a lot more subdued and meditative. With rolling waves helping punctuate tracks like 'Seeland' and 'Leb' wohl', along with gently distorted guitars, contemplative piano/keys and the vocals serving as more of an atmosphere-builder than a meaning-adder, 'Neu! '75' is a unique exercise in sound production that is solely concerned with pushing the possibilities of music forward. Perhaps the most important songs on this record are 'Hero' and 'After Eight', which you could argue set the blueprint for the entire punk genre. With soaring guitars and a defiant chant pointing choice derisions towards the program, press and company, they had the Sex Pistols sound going before anyone knew who the Sex Pistols were. Also, that name 'Hero', did Bowie borrow that for 'Heroes'? 'Neu! '75' proves Neu! were every bit as important as Kraftwerk in pre-empting the future of popular music, and the countless acts this record no doubt inspired (Bowie, Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division/New Order, The Cure) should mount enough a case that Düsseldorf was as impactful a city on popular music as Liverpool, London, Manchester, New York, Los Angeles or Seattle. Best songs: Isi, Seeland, Hero, After Eight
NEU thanks
Day 147 Interesting enough but not one I’d return to. 5/10 Highlight Seeland
First part was a little cool, being primarily instrumental... And I don't remember much of the rest of it, to be completely honest
First 3 tracks: slow, comfortable, peaceful Hero: generic u2 sounding music with jaggers rotting corpse as the vocalist. Awful. E-musik: long psychedelic rock intro that has so much promise and build in tempo. And fails to deliver anything. If it had anything of interest this album would score higher. After eight: more like hero. Gross. Highway tune beat with what can best be described as moaning. No real progression. I listened to the whole thing, which should give this an extra half point versus some of this dreck.
Gloriously restrained.* *Depending how you're feeling, on another day this could come across as a bit boring. But not today.
The epitome of Krautrock: German psychedelic/ambient rock
2/5
I don't think I knew what krautrock was other than it being associated with Kraftwerk. This was an interesting listen. Definitely some tracks on here I really enjoyed.
I liked the instrumental songs.
(88/100)
This is my ‘krautrock’ debut and I have to say it was mostly enjoyable. The instrumentals are engaging and atmospheric, shifting from upbeat to mellow tones throughout the album, almost giving off a feeling of calm that I didn't expect. The moments of wailing & shouting from the lead singer weren’t doing it for me though when he did pop up. Other than that though I will definitely be trying some more of Neu! in the future.
As this was early 70s, then they were definitely influential. And it’s like a 2 for 1 deal. Enjoyed the 1st side, pre- mindfulness, meditation tapes, soundscape. Great in the background kind of stuff. Then what would have been side 2 was a complete switch up, Hero coming on all post punk, while we were still in the age of proto punk. It’s accessible, it’s inventive, thought this was going to be a 2 but hell 4 Stars
What a complete airball. This album isn’t going anywhere, isn’t doing anything at all for me and therefore isn’t pleasant to listen to at all. It just keeps going in a samey tempo for about 45 minutes without anything special going on. 1/5
Not at all what I expected. Most was okay, couple of tracks were meh.
Album #1,000 Some probably innovative sounds for the time mixed in with a couple of German punk rock songs. Nothing special nowadays.
it was good, instrumental but slow
Not my type, not saying it isn’t good tho!
Best Song: Isi Might be biased because j listened to this on a very nice drive, but I really enjoyed it. Rating as a 4/5 in context
Best: Isi I went into this thinking it was fully instrumental and I would not enjoy it but this album surprised me. I didn’t even skip any tracks which is honestly impressive because I struggle to listen to songs that are 8+ minutes long, mostly because I find it’s the same thing on loop and it gets dull. I loved the dreaminess of the first half with the calm and monotonous guitar, overall I found the album quite minimalistic with soft vocals, which works so well in the context of the album.
great until the last song what da hel
Not what I expected. Like a krautrock space adventure. Sprawling but not overstretched; almost all of the songs are on the long side, but they keep it moving. No slogging or loss of momentum (The almost 10-minute “E-Musik” is a good example). Prog you can dance to, who’d have thought.
Mostly or all instrumental, nice bg music would listen again
so so so so so good
absolutely fantastic, made me think of Ethel Cain so much, especially Leb’ wohl
Don’t like straight instrumentals
I had more enjoyment reading some of the other reviews than listening to this
It’s okay for what it is
This was alright I typically love a mainly instrumental album with an ambient vibe but this felt kinda claustrophobic to me.
This starts off really brilliantly - the first three tracks are super delicate and ambient, and hit you right in the emotion zone. After that, it gets a little more generic and less considered for me. It becomes a bit punk-adjacent but without the fun factor. Still, I enjoyed it, and the first couple of tracks will live long in the memory.
Esse disco é a máxima representação do que é o Krautrock. Sons que não estruturam uma melodia, que não obedecem o formato tradicional de canção. Músicas minimalistas que se repetem em loop dando uma sensação relaxante e contemplativa sem muita profundidade, uma abordagem sem muita elaboração e de forma direta.
Certainly intrigued by the reviews, and especially around the two halves of the album… Feels pretty non-descriptive and lacking as I get into the first track. And continued throughout the next tracks. Really quite boring, non-descriptive and unskilled. Yeh, this is crap. And now onto side b. Certainly a change and brings the tempo right up. Like a completely different band. Much prefer this half so far. What is this album?! And what am I missing that everyone else is connecting to?! Again, feel it’s a bit pointless and feel lost in trying to connect or make sense of it as E-musik plays out. I’m all far experimentation and difference but there is just nothing to grab onto here, now skill to simply be impressed by. Maybe Krautrock just isn’t my thing 🤷🏻♂️
i really like the ambient side of this its giving sigur ros. nice
Musically does me no harm. But the vocals are not my favour.
Unexpectedly enjoyable and somehow appropriately wintery.
I went into this expecting something else. The artwork, the font, the very clear '70s rock vibe was screaming out to me, and I wasn't expecting it to be any better mixed with krautrock. This ends up being possibly the foundation for the prog-rock bands I'm into. I can hear that early influence, and it's an easy album to imagine in a more modern setting. The mixing on this bad boy. Goddamn. Also, we're heading into this primarily instrumental project, halfway through you get these random vocals. What a fun little mind-fuck. It's an entire trip, meant to be heard beginning to end, presenting some real key modern-rock features. Happy I heard this. Would be so much fun to spin occasionally. 4/5
Never heard of this before. It was pretty cool, I'll come back to it i think.
Kept waiting for it to get interesting but it never did. Not good not bad. Not anything at all.
This is #day496 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… how about some moody krautrock tonight? You bet. Listening to Neu! ’75, it's fun to trace the influence this band would go on to have: post-punk, post-rock, psychedelic and experimental rock/electronics, and plenty of other things in between. I think I even heard some Coil along the way. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day497.
I liked the first two songs as I liked the instrumental music as it was calm and relaxing. It actually made me sad when the vocals were added to "Leb' wohl" as they took me out of the song. I enjoyed the sound of the surf as part of the music. "Hero" was definitely more upbeat and again I thought the vocals were the worst part of the music.
One of those albums that shouldn't be on the list, you can die without listening to it.
Not bad
Solid, when not singing. Can't get into the songs with vocals.
I want to like krautrock but I think ot might be a struggle
The first half was some nice chill electronic rock that I really enjoyed, until they took a hard turn into some heavier punk sounds that just didn't work well at all with their style
3.2 2x
Neu! 75 marks a departure from the previous 74 releases in this series. Eschewing the collection of recent pop hits for metronomik instrumentals. Now That’s What I Call Music!
Well, I gave Kraftwerk one star for Trans Europe Express and a couple of them have come back with another band name and another stinker. Side One is "ambient music," i.e. the background "you don't need to pay attention to this, just keep on doing whatever you're doing" slop that Spotify is making billions from disaffected people who don't have the attention span to engage with anything for longer than five seconds. Full credit to these guys, they were fifty years ahead of their time. Side Two is better, but nothing to write home about. E-Music is seven minutes of pointless chugging riffing followed by three minutes of what sounds like howling wind with occasional stabs of other stuff. It is a contender for "least favorite song I've heard so far in this exercise," next to Genesis's "The Battle of Epping Forest." What saves it from a basement review are "Hero" and "After Eight," proto-punk songs that are not amazing, but at least are trying to engage, and you can see the roots of some future great music in here.
The vocal parts got too weird for me, but I enjoyed other parts. I'd listen to other stuff by them
Awful. This is what I was worried the Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark would be. Just instrumental, with some weird sounds, and like 10 min songs that all just sound like background music
An album that suited the busy day I was having.
A relaxing listen. Definitely helped me focus on a Monday morning/drown out the office chatter.
Sehr gut
Mostly instrumental ersatz rock music performed by electronic artists. Not horrible but wouldn't listen again.
Another krautrock album for me, this might possibly be my last one. But I have really enjoyed krautrock probably because lots of my favourite musicians have borrowed from bands like Neu!. It's kinda like proto-Post-punk in a way. All of the songs on the album have a great vibe/mood to it On "ISI" it sounds really blissful and I feel complete tranquillity with myself and others. "Seeland" brings on a similar feeling like the previous track does except it's just a less spacey. Nice moody atmosphere on "Leb'woah," that is definitely enhanced by the thunderstorm effects. The vocals on "Hero" sounds quite vicious, reminds a bit of the vocals on album The Fat of the Land by Keith Flint. It's quite punk sounding. "E-Musik" doesn't have too much to go off of but what stands out to ME, is that it has a really good drum beat accompanied by this spacey sound. And finally "After Eight" continues the punk-like sound, which I believe was better done than on "Hero." All of the songs on the album have such a great vibe/mood to it. I really enjoyed the album. Highlight Song/s: ISI and Leb'woh
Instrumenals kunnen leeuk zijn maar dit is lift muziek
Boring and annoying
I really liked this album a lot! I had never heard of the band and I don't really know what to call this genre, but it was a great jam while baking on a cold Wednesday afternoon
what a delicate and surprising krautrock
This album was just a set of chill background songs, nothing too exciting, but definitely not bad. I would say that the album wasn't something that I would listen to on a daily, or possibly even annual basis, but it is nice just having it in the background, and it would definitely be even better in the background of a movie.
Instrumentals highly impactful to music
Weird shift from A-side to B-side, but I thought this was pretty enjoyable overall.
goated
Freaky psicadelico
I liked elements of it. Will explore Neu in a “greatest hits” way.
There is something to be said for beautifully arranged music and i really am enjoying this. Album builds up nicely and the first vocal track kicks it off nicely with Hero. The next three songs are all excellent. I really like this album. It was well structured and the music was great. Someone said the signing was noisy, but I felt like it accompanied the music perfectly. Might find out a bit more about them 4 stars
I've seen this album cover before. It creates a pretty strong impression - I'm always one for a little confidence in my album covers. I'm certain that I've never listened to a Neu song before, though if I'm not mistaken these guys belong to the krautrock genre. Guess I've nothing more to do than give this one a listen. Hey, this is pretty cool. Very easy to listen to with quite an interesting sound. I'm pretty sure Radiohead have aped a krautrock influence at some point in their discography, though outside of that this is my first-ever krautrock album. I've always had the impression that krautrock was lo-fi and garage rock-y, which is why I've never thought of touching this genre with a ten-foot pole. Now that I've been forcefully subjected to this music, I kind of regret not looking into it sooner. Psychedelia and ambient music are such a great pairing, and this album does a very good job of combining the two into it's own thing. Admittedly, as I have said many times before, I find it exceptionally difficult to get into ambient music and the second half of this album kind of goes out to lunch, so my opinion on this isn't as strong as it could be. Still, I want to give this album another go somewhere down the line, so I may bump it to a 4 in the future. "Isi" is a solid opener. Big fan of the polished, sleek sound. Those rippling psychedelic sounds are pretty great, and I'm a big fan of the "bum bum bum" bit during the section where it appears (I'm always hopeless at describing electronic music). "Seeland" has a cool, trance-like feel to it. Those warm guitars are very soothing, and the rain ambience near the end of the track is a great addition. "Hero" has some pretty great guitar hooks, though I must admit that the vocals don't do it for me. Book time. Didn't succeed in the beginning, though Neu are a band with a continuing influence over music. Features the first-ever remixed song (that can't be true, can it?). This album released when Neu achieved global popularity, with this being regarded as their best album. Yeah, this seems like a solid pick. I cosign this inclusion.
the more electronic the more I dig my heels in and refuse to like it
this inspired wii music
Very 2D feeling… but in a way I liked? Except when it got loud at the end tha made me crawl back into my shelllll
On their third album Neu! once again dishes out their idiosyncratic brand of minimalistic rock (which in turn was an inspiration for certain strains of British post-punk) but the end product itself is a little primitive compared to the things that it influenced. Side one is mostly soft and gentle songs that are heavy on atmosphere but are somewhat repetitive. By contrast, side two consists of drum-intensive rock songs with rough, (proto-)punky singing and simple chord progressions somewhat reminiscent of The Stooges. The relentless *motorik* beat of these tracks does gets a little tiring due to the extended length of these numbers, all of which could have benefitted from some editing - "Hero" takes 5 1/2 minutes to get to the bridge! All in all, this album is important for its historical value and influence but its shortcomings often diminish its actual entertainment value.
Leb' wohl is sublime. Isi, also. Eclectic collection
Never knowingly listened to this band before. I thought they would be along the lines of Kraftwerk but the first half is really ambient akin to Air or Spiritualized 25 years later, then it just goes all punk out of nowhere on 'Hero' with Johnny Rotten style vocals, before Johnny Rotten was a thing. Really interesting album and whilst there isn't much what you would call great songs individually, it has an excellent sound to it and is really interesting. Liked it!
★★½
This is amazing and I totally underestimated it. I heard the first track which honestly sounded like the soundtrack to a Wii game and thought this was gonna be one of those "hearing it because it was important, not because it held up" krautrock albums, I didn't expect an entire fucking proto-punk album to come after. What the fuck? This is so good. This is better than 99% of actual early punk. What the fuck?
*1975. Krautrock. *Dusseldorf band formed by members of Kraftwerk after they broke up. *Mostly instrumental, including some that sound like nostalgic Christmas type music and others that are more like electronic-ish like you would expect from Kraftwerk. *Some sounds like the clash. *There’s an 8 minute song that’s mostly rain sounds with some light vocals… *Not sure what to make of this album, but I didn’t hate all of it? RATING - 6/10
Most of this was fine, nice but a little boring. However, Hero was awesome. It was basically a dance punk song, but released in 1975? Awesome. The yelling + electronic sounds reminds me a little of Idles. This had great energy to it
I don't know you guys....I love to dance
Neu to me!
Good for a post thanksgiving food coma
Meditative
Loved this, weird as it was!
I liked this as an atmospheric album, it can definitely hit on its day. I especially liked some parts of Seeland
A couple good songs but most of it sounds incomplete
Kick ass. I was listening to this last week. I would be shocked if this style of music isn't in my top 5 on Wrapped this year. NEU! is on top of their game with this album. Cosmiche musick is where it's at!
Have never heard of this band before but man, this music just, like, spoke to my soul? It sounds so goofy, so absurd, so hacky, but listening to it was just what I needed? It almost made me cry! This vibey, atmospheric, almost ambient soundscapes, just long enough to get lost in. Soothing. Reminded me of Sigur Ros, a band I finally listened to because of this project and whom I similarly loved.
I didn’t not like it, just nothing to write home about/indifferent; vibey instrumentals in the first part or so that sound like my alarm clock, and then it gets rockier/louder/faster in the latter part
This is probably the pinnacle of Krautrock for me. This has been an absolute favourite of mine since I bought it many years ago from MVC (which dates how many years ago). It successfully walks the line between being experimental, influential and listenable. It manages to have driving rock and ambient sounds sit next to each other without being incongruent. And it does get better with every listen.
Hypnotic at times, urgent and propulsive at others. Loved that it blended that krautrick motorik beat with some of the more punk/post-punk elements at times. I can hear LCD Soundsystem through it all. I’m sure this must have put people off at the time as boring but this would have been so far ahead of some of its peers when looking in retrospect. Definitely one I’ll be revisiting.
Isi
Chill vibes. Proto lo-fi
A bit samey and boring - 2 ⭐
I’ve never heard of Neu before, but so far, I’ve really enjoyed the German bands that I’ve gotten to review on this list (still waiting on that final Kraftwerk album though). I studied German for three years in high school and two years in college, but other than Kraftwerk, I’d never heard of any of these German bands before, and that’s a damn shame. I have no idea what to expect from Neu, but I’m excited to fire this album up. Neu! 75 was absolutely outstanding, and I loved every minute of it. Each side of the album had its own distinct feeling, but the album as a whole still felt really cohesive, because everything was rooted in Neu’s experimental sounds and epic song structures. As soon as I heard those opening notes of “Isi,” I had a really strong feeling that I was going to really love this album, and I was so happy that each song on this album had such lush melodies and wonderful rhythms. Neu! 75 sounded like a wonderful mix of Kraftwerk, Can, and Suicide, and even though the influences were easy to pick out, Neu never sounded like a carbon copy of any of their influences. I’ve already listened to this album three or four times, and I will be buying a physical copy of it as well. Some notes on the individual tracks: I loved “Isi” right off the bag. The melodies were beautiful, and in an instrumental sense, I had zero clue how Neu was doing what they were doing. My ears hung on to every note, unsure of what to expect next. The drumming was really excellent as well, and I loved how tight the rhythms were. “Seeland” was amazing too. I loved how the sound changed and developed over the course of those wonderful seven minutes. The clacking percussion was awesome, and it I liked the beautiful tones with a deeper register. The guitar was great, and I loved the rain sounds at the end. I really loved how the rain sounds at the end of “Seeland” segued into the ocean sounds on “Leb’ Wohl.” The gentle piano and percussion were really great. I loved the rocking sound of “Hero.” The guitar playing and drumming were excellent, and every second of this seven-minute song was really fun. “E-Musik” was fantastic, and for a song that was almost ten minutes long, it was really interesting, and I was completely enraptured by it. The guitar effects were excellent, and the drumming was awesome again too. The rhythms were excellent too, and added the perfect touch to the overall sound. I loved how the guitar effects faded in and out, allowing the melodies to come in constant waves. I love how each song on this album has its own unique outro. “After Eight” was excellent as well. The drumming on this album was perfect from start to finish. The second side of this album was a really cool protopunk journey. Neu really knows how to lean into the things that make their sound unique. Neu! 75 was an excellent discovery that completely took me by surprise. This album was full of wonderful melodies, outstanding drumming, and great guitar effects. I’d listen to this album again in heartbeat.
Weird but not too bad.
fine i guess
Innovative for it's time. A bit repetitions sounding.
Definitely an album of two halves - one ambient, one a bit punkier - but luckily I liked them both.
Decent instrumental album. Chill and enjoyable
3.5 gets better as the album goes on.
Nice album
A mullet album- business on the front, party on the back. Decent and interesting dichotomy displayed here. I caught a groove on “E. - Musik” and saved it for a good road trip stretch. (I can be a sucker for a 9 min jam if done correctly)
Two vastly different albums in one. No doubt a direct sign of how these two dudes couldn’t get along. From chill electronica on side A to a more in-your-face post punk electronic style on side B. And yet the album still has a well-balanced arc to it. It’s no wonder this one is cited as influential to others like Bowie, Sonic Youth and Thom Yorke.
Ha, I definitely checked about halfway through to make sure the album didn’t end and change to something else. This was def unique, honestly I didn’t mind it. Not a ton to it, so have to cap the rating
Not really sure what to make of this. Felt like a lot of not very good…to get to a little bit of good. If ya dig what I’m sayin’. 2.25
Pretty interesting. Like listening to two albums in one. Was expecting more of a straightforward electronic album but it had more to offer. 2.75/5
A plesant collection of ambiance music. Nice background for driving or working.
A strange album that seemed to change its mind at times on exactly what it was. I didn’t dislike it but nothing grabbed me enough to give it a higher score.
Many mimicked the sound but never caught the strain of romanticism at Neu’s core. Contemporary Bowie comes close in ambience - something in the concrete, perhaps.
Both sides of this are great, if quite different, each anticipating key aspects of the Bowie Berlin era (although this comment overlooks how good the album is on its own without any context). "Isi" may be the most beautiful implementation of "motorik"; "Hero" the earliest post-punk (pre-punk) banger. Ausgezeichnet!
Wow! Brilliant. Beautiful. Understated genius.
Pretty solid ‘dance/electronic’ album , first track was my favourite and it sort’ve lulled through the rest. Be curious to check out more of the artist though.
I don't absolutely hate it but I don't really find it that interesting and it feels a tad bit long-winded and not that interesting to listen to.
Better than coldplay
This really reminds of a visual like the ocean in space. Something really floaty/transcending about this album. It's psychedelic, it's cosmic, its beautiful, it's got big grooves. I've definitely been missing out on this one for a long time I only knew this band for "Hallogallo" which is a jam but this really steps it up a notch.
Hard to pin down. Part ambient Kraftwerk-esque stuff, part post-punk. One thing that's not hard to pin down is that Neu! rocks. Favorite track: Isi
Great album. Kind of hard to believe it’s from 1975. Sounds thoroughly modern to me. Every track is good. It’s mostly instrumental, but has great grooves and ambient textures. This definitely was inspirational to everything from 80’s New Wave, 90’s alternative, pop-punk, 2000’s alt rock - The Smiths, Radiohead, David Bowie…the list goes on. Definitely will check out the other albums from NEU.
Not bad
not necessarily super my thing, but I also understand why it's popular. and hey, I do like some CAN music, so who am I to judge?
Kraut Rock has been a bit a discovery for me - this is a nice album but nothing like Can. I do like how it starts more electronic/ ambient like and then becomes rockier with some punky touches. I like the sound but it doesn't really move me. Could have been a 4 on a good day.
I quite liked it and how the album phased from a calm oceanic mood to a harder sound
I was expecting to hate this. Instead, I barely noticed it, except as groovy background noise.
Bored my non-existent tits off
Interesting, I can see the influence on the 80s era sound.
Nice
Will need another listen, some great soundscapes but not normally my thing
Wow - didn't know what to expect, didn't have high hopes, but that was great! Will check out their other work!
I liked this. I like instrumental music.
Love both sides
never heard this before, rather liked it.
Can meets Kraftwerk. This sounds like a lot of bands that I like would have liked as well. I like. I like a lot.
Isi 3.4 Seeland 3.2 Leb Wohl (Farewell) 2.8 Hero 3 E. Musik 3 After Eight 2.8 Score: 3.033333333
This album feels a bit diffracted-- it is a heterogenous mix of soft and hard songs. You can tell the difference between a Rother track and a Dinger track. The opening track of the first side, "Isi", is distinctly Rother, a lush bon-voyage into the land of kosmiche Musik. The opening track of the second side, "Hero", is distinctly Dinger, a proto-punk spitting anthem that pulses along into the night. It's a pretty even split along the two sides of the album. In my opinion, Dinger's side, with more energy, may have been better first. I especially think that "Leb' wohl" which closes the first side is much better as a closer for the whole album. I'm reminded of Bowie's formula in Low, where the more straightforward pop or energetic tracks are first, and the more avant-garde tracks are second, and I think that formula could've worked well here. Overall, I would argue that the album just doesn't flow optimally, or doesn't feel as cohesive. However the tracks on their own as masterful and definitive works in German rock (is "krautrock" offensive? I've never been sure, and don't like to say it). Tight, pulsating drums mixed with soaring and sprawling guitars and keyboards, often with incomprehensible lyrics that growl and spit. The influence of this album is obvious, from Bowie to Eno to Iggy Pop to punk and post-punk to electronica. It's essential listening.