NEU! 75

Never heard of this ever. Love the opening track. Now I’m on track three. I love this album. It’s has some definite 70s cheese to it, but man I like it. This is really good. Lots of twists and turns. First couple track had me expecting a lot of piano. I was surprised by the vocals on these tracks. Really fun album. Sometimes this feels like a piano album. Sometimes it feels like a punk album. This is great.

Fantastic record. These guys and Kraftwerk are the best German bands to ever walk out of that country.

Experimental, both for 1975 and for today. Pleasant to listen to.

That's a pretty cool album I like how it kind of ranges from ambient to metal and protopunk I'll be keeping that one around and checking out their other stuff

First Listen; 4; Plodding, expansive mood in the first few tracks, almost ambient, with a more exotic feel and stranger sounding instrument effects. Transitions to more rocking in the second half. Not a complete expert on this, but this feels like much more of a precursor to modern indie and alternative rock than other music of the time period. Has repetitive rhythms and throbbing, driving guitar. The long tracks really let you get lost in the feeling of it all. Favorite Track: E-Musik

Groupe inconnu. Chouette, une première face instrumentale ! Avec des morceaux cool et d’autres plus rythmés, agréable à écouter. L’entrée du chant dans ‘Hero’ est plutôt une mauvaise surprise (façon de chanter assez désagréable). Pareil pour le dernier morceau. Heureusement ‘E-musik’ relève le niveau. Le découverte est assez intéressante, mais mon avis reste mitigé, en particulier à cause du chant. Je l’écouterais probablement de nouveau, mais sans plus. =>3/5

Reminded me both of video game background music, which is great to focus or work to, and also soundscape music to fall asleep to. Not really my thing but I enjoyed it

The reason Bowie went to Berlin. Phased, flanged guitars drone above mechanical, driving rhythms. The first half is Eno ambient. The second half is more rhythmic and propulsive. Both are Germanic goodness. You don't come here for the tunes. What tunes there are are simple scraps that just repeat without developing. But come for the textures, the drums, the eerie drones, the synths and it's unlike anything else Completely wonderful.

At first I wondered why we were listening to this and not the original Neu! album, but by track 2 it grew on me. Krautrock meets ambient meets The Stooges?

This is really electric. As in... this is the music that plays while you are on hold while calling the electric company. 1 star.

This was a fun listen. Not sure if I’ll go back to it, but I’m not opposed to the idea.

Well that was nice …. Lovely slice of coconut . This has the makings of a new friend. A shame to have to give only 3 … but it needs to earn more

Niet memorabel

Oh great, more background noise. 2*

Where has this album been all my life. What an absolute banger. T to B. This blew my mind.

Nothing bad. Felt very Kraftwork-esque but it was fine. 3 out of 5.

I liked the ambience half of this more than the Krautrock half, but even then not by much. Rather bizarre album that shocked me with how much I liked it. Favorite Songs: Leb' wohl, Seeland

Вау

Not very GEUD!

Background electro rock.

Yeah

las de ambient..muy chulas me gustan las otras dos pf, el beat y tal chulo, lo que no me gusta son sus voces gritonas

I hate my job in general, but this album for some reason REALLY made me hate my job

Side one of "Neu! '75" takes an ambient approach - it is melodious, charming, deliberate and thoughtful, although by the time of 'Leb' Wohl' it meanders towards dullness. Side two opens in a livelier style with the up-tempo, garage rock-infused 'Hero', and concludes in much the same vein with 'After Eight'. The middle track on side two, 'E-Musik', attempts to merge the ambient textures of side one with these garage-rock sounds, but it runs overly long and again verges on dullness. "Neu! '75" is an OK album, but it's not an album I will be returning to. Side one 1 "Isi" (4/5) 2 "Seeland" (3/5) 3 "Leb' Wohl" (3/5) Side two 4 "Hero" (3/5) 5 "E. Musik" (2/5) 6 "After Eight" (3/5) Total - 18 Average - 3.0 440/1001 233/440 albums reviewed were new to me.

I put this on when I had to take my son to soccer. The kids were unimpressed. It just makes me think of that Portlandia sketch where a couple is at their kid's preschool complaining about the music selection and the conversation reaches a fever-pitch when the teacher confesses she doesn't know about NEU! or krautrock and all of the parents get "stressed out". So they know NEU!. But should they? I'm on the fence. I've always really liked Hero. It's definitely an album to hear at least once.

The first track is a beautiful evolving piece with fresh synths. Love the drums enter in the meditative second track. A track that feels like a big empty landscape. Getting into track 3 is actually magical. Like sailing in a calm but wintery sea, near the shore. What a start to side two with Hero! The sound and energy are very different but the vibe is a natural extention to the thing. I adore the double drumming. Track 5, the longest here, feels like the most dated one because of the extensive use of eq changes. But the energy is good and you do get into a meditative vibe. The spacy end sounds like ambiant video game music from the 2000's, which is quit remarkable. The last track After Eight brings back the punkiness of Hero. With the shouts and double drumming. With an edition of great keyboards and guitars. I loved this one. A great jurney from Finnish to end. Some unnecessary games on track 5, but nothing that really destroys the flow of the album. A 4.5, 4.6.

Very atmospheric with some very heavy tracks

Wednesday, 30 September, 2026 Amazing record! Both sides have bangers. I’d never heard it before. Excited for more.

In the grand scheme of music genres, krautrock is a very much underrated part of it. 4.5 bumped down to 4.

I’m at a 4. I liked this one. I think the atmospheres it creates are larger than they have any right to be, given the simplicity of each soundscape. There’s an intentionality to it that overcomes the lack of stronger progression in each minute to minute part of each track. I don’t want to say they made no effort in keeping things fresh, but they clearly felt confident enough with the base of each track that they just didn’t need to. Generally, I think it works. The progressions are microscopic, but do just enough to perk up the ears, especially during the first half of the album. I think it falls down to a 4 with the back half of the album, as the shift to a more energetic soundscape exposes that microscopic sense of progression. If the first half of this album is a solemn trip to mourn a lover, the back half feels like an anxiety-driven layover. There’s a natural snotty energy in each track that feels like a good precursor to the punkier back half of the 1970s, but they all go just a bit long for what they are. I don’t think any of them are bad, although I had little issues with each of them. “Hero” is cool, and I can understand how David Bowie was inspired by it, but it just lingers a little. Same with “E. Musik”, which could’ve had several parts of it shaved down to move from moment to moment a little sooner. “After Eight” felt a bit weak as a closer, given the production melting any nuanced progression into the wall of sound; I think the back half feels too similar to the first half, and it just didn’t click for me as a result. That said, I admire the swings on both sides of the album, and while it’s hard to call it truly ‘cohesive’, it’s hard not to call it entertaining. I think it’s more than compelling enough to warrant a 4, especially given the serenity in the first half of the album contrasting with the whiny nature of the back half. I think that’s its ceiling, at least for me. I do think it’s worth listening to, and I’d definitely recommend it. I don’t think it’s for everyone, but if you like Kraftwerk & you want a little more bite, this could probably feed the appetite. It’s not up to a 5 for me, just because of that back half feeling too long, but it’s absolutely a 4. I’m glad it’s on the list.

meh 2

An interesting listen, but not something I'd likely go back to. Experimental, not bad. Seems like a soundtrack. 3/5

First three songs very nice and chill, then gets heavier for second half. I like it, there is a lot going on.

3-/5

First half = solid ambient work playlist. Second half = insufferable mouth sounds.

Lite konstig blandning?

Ei kova

Pretty interesting. I enjoyed it.

Meh First half better

Great album. Side 1 ambient, chilled quite relaxing and then side 2, some great droning Kraut Rock.

An interesting album, divided in two halves between a solid atmospheric electronica style and an electronic, post-punk rock style. Maybe it was just the early morning commute listen, but I liked the first half a lot more than the second. So I’ll split the difference at: 2.5⭐️

Good album. Just better ones out there

Instrumentation was a chill electro-rock vibe. Vocals were muted which was kind of nice - I thought the playing was better than the singing anyway. “Hero” was a bit screamy, but again muted, so, bearable.

Techno-ish but not very smooth, like using rock elements instead and some songs are rock or punk-ish. A bit grating.

It’s a strange mix of lower-fi electro and Rolling Stones. I enjoyed the “Leb’ wohl” tune, which fit neither of those descriptions. 2.6/5.0

chill but not too crazy

Massively influential album in spite of - or perhaps because of - its dual nature; contemplative keyboard-based pieces underscored by the familiar motorik beat give way to raucous guitar-based chaos with accompanying unhinged vocals. Love it; more of this sort of thing, please.

I'm into it. I wish it was a little more fast paced though

Downbeat and pensive

Struggle to get through for some reason

...Huh. This is a weird one. 21 minutes of gentle pleasant atmosphere and then it's like they heard Wire's Pink Flag for the first time and decided, "Oh fuck yeah, we're doing THAT from now on actually." Except they pre-date Wire's Pink Flag by nearly 3 years with this. For all I've heard about the startling originality et cetera of Pink Flag in its day you'd think I'd have at least heard of this band and record before? I guess that's why I embarked on this project to start with... I'm certainly glad to have heard them now! Enjoyed both halves quite a bit; will be back to listen again

Åha det er ikke mig. Det skal jeg aldrig høre igen.

*52 1. Halvleg var godt til letbane and chill, men da der kom vokal på blev det lidt noget doo doo.

Generelt ret behagelig opgave og noget jeg nok bedst vil huske som behagelig baggrundsmusik. Jeg kommer til at genbesøge det! Stor 3

This ain't it bro 1.7

Jeg kan godt mærke at jeg er ret alene her, men jeg synes, det er fremragende album. Altså som i mindst 4 stjerner. For det første er det vanvittigt, at det er lavet i 75 - så kan man snakke om at være foran sin tid - det er fanme vildt at lave elektronisk ambient rock OG proto-punk/proto-industrial på det her tidspunkt. Jeg er også helt vild med trommerne - ikke at jeg ved noget som helst om at spille på trommer, men jeg lægger virkelig mærke til dem og synes de giver pladen en hel dimension i sig selv. Jeg elsker, hvordan albummet består af to helt forskellige sider og stilarter, men alligvel formår at forene dem og binde dem sammen ved lade albummet bygge op, stille og roligt, så det nærmest går op i en højere enhed/katarsis, når man rammer 'After Eight'. Den første side er nærmest over i Sigur Ros territorie, hvilket i sig selv er et kæmpe plus, men det bliver ikke mindre imponerende af, at de var små 25 år på forkant. Anden side virker til tider som en krydsning mellem punk og pink floyd, med noter af David Bowie - på den gode måde. Alt i alt lidt af et mesterværk, men selvom jeg sætter stor pris på næsten alle aspekter af albummet, så mangler der måske alligevel et eller andet jeg ikke rigtig kan sætte fingeren på, der får det helt op på de 5 stjerner

Neu thank you.

There were rock licks that were interesting to hear, but, as with the rest of the album, they never expanded beyond a repetition that felt like it went on too long. Not enough musical complexity to show they deserve to be listened to as competent artists.

I just listened to Goldie's Timeless and I didn't really know how to rate that as just a listening exercise. Dancing to? Yeah, maybe. But this is just a great listen, despite the general lack of words, being mostly music with mostly subdued vocals/words, but interesting music that kept my interest throughout. 5 "Much more timeless than Timeless and being over 40 years hence" stars. Leb' Wohl (live fully!) is right. What a sentiment! I'm on board with that...you never know when it's gonna end, right?

I'd enjoy this fine as part of a movie or something. As a standalone album, I need to be harsh.

This was good until the singer started singing. In fact, I think this was really good until exactly half way through, and it was a descending scale of being good the whole time. The best song is the first one and the worst one is the last. Apparently this album is split in two by the visions of the two band members, and you can really tell. The second half was so bad I can’t give this a three. Ugh.

hero rocks

Side 1 very chill. Side 2 more driving, similar to their debut (which belongs on this list).

Very good album. I like the two sides approach: Side A for the ambient/atmospheric sounds, and Side B for the more rock-oriented (but also highly experimental) music. I personally prefer side B, which I find somewhat more "interesting" (with Side A being more "easy-listening"). In side A, I particularly enjoyed "Seeland". Regarding side B, I enjoyed all three songs, with "Hero" being probably my favourite track. However, the experimentation of "E-Musik" is really worth listening. Finally, "After Eight" is probably a more "conventional" punk-rock song, but still very good. Overall, I think this deserves 4 stars.

Super chill, great background music to work to.

Mellow, a little trance-y; just not that engaging/interesting to me.

This album has grown on me. 4. This is the 100th on this particular project!. I think I have crossed the line on all five projects! I have made over 500 reviews! Guess I’m congratulating myself. 4 Boolean: True

A little too repetitive for my taste. Cut all these songs in half and I'd probably dig it more.

The influence of Neu! 75 extends far past David Bowie in the mainstream. It's actually astounding how many completely different bands got something out of it, really. I can imagine both Sonic Youth and U2 worshipping this album. Constructing a largely instrumental album requires more than creating pretty soundscapes. While Neu! definitely do a great job in that department, they also manage to tell a story. The way this album flows is just magnetic. The bright starting track, ISI, gently fades into the hypnotic, dreamy duo of Seeland and Leb' wohl, before the rest of the album abruptly starts pounding at you with harsh, but nevertheless pleasing proto-punk sounds. It's a combination that doesn't exactly sound coherent, but it eerily mirrors life. Have you ever had a crazy, intense couple of days, took a moment after the dust settled down, and thought to yourself how you got to this point without absolutely falling apart? You even got out without a scratch. Then, after a couple of moments of quiet, it's time to do it all over again and jump head-first into the mess. It's an endless cycle, the contrast between peace and chaos that keeps you alive. This album structure was born out of a compromise between two feuding musicians, but the result feels deliberate and life-affirming. Favourite track: Leb' wohl

Certainly not the worst krautrock I've ever heard

When this is good, it’s really really good. ‘Isi’ and ‘E-Musik’ are gorgeous. But there are just a few really odd decisions that let down the side in the second half. Predominantly in the realm of the vocals. If they’d decided to keep this instrumental or even found a really well suited singer (and possibly lyricist?) for the tracks with vocals, it might’ve been an absolute masterpiece.

Echoes of The Butthole Surfers (screaming and extensive use of digital delay, dynamics), and the male vocalist in the Sugarcubes (inexplicably angry sounding shouted lyrics - eg. motorcrash.) At least I now know those things were potentially homage rather than just odd.

Not really my style, but I didn’t dislike this in any way. I like the sequence of tracks. The lighter, more ambient stuff on the first “side” vs the heavier, almost punk “side” of the record. This is a lost art - records just don’t get sequenced this way anymore. This is an interesting record that belongs on the list of 1001 albums. It really showcases how creative the Krautrock scene was without being overtly shoegazing or irritatingly elctro-synth.

for electronic music, pretty good -especially for 1975. Stands up today. Great background at-work music 979

Not the best neu! But still amazing

this album cover mmmmight ring a bell but i don't think i know this one. it's described as krautrock so i'm interested to hear this because i feel like i enjoy a lot of things *inspired by* krautrock but not necessarily a lot of the genuine article from the jump, this does not sound like i was expecting it to lmao. lot more conventional, tbh. also very modern- you could have told me this was made last year and i'd believe you i was in fact recognizing the album cover! i've heard Seeland, i think it's on.... some playlist i have. and i like it very much Leb' Wohl is very pretty. little surprised the lyrics are in english and honestly i think i'd prefer they weren't. title evidently means 'Farewell'. i took some college german and got pretty far with it but didn't remember that. (i have a lot of affection for german. it's a very regular language. you can learn 90% of the grammar in a basic college sequence. it's also frankly a more beautiful language than anyone gives it credit for) Hero is a jam E-Musik is also a jam and there's some really interesting guitar sound and backmasking at the end here After Eight is *also* a jam. this or E-Musik is probably my favorite track i dunno, it's definitely repetitive, but in a way i like and something about it speaks to me. a bunch of music i like sounds similar to this. i don't know that i would think to go back and listen to it again but i enjoyed it. kind of curious about their other work. evidently at least one of these guys was involved with Kraftwerk, who i wasn't particularly into as a kid but i'd like to see if i still feel the same way now. torn between a 3 and a 4 here. i'm going to allow myself a little contrarianism and slant 4 because i have a feeling this one has a low rating

Side 1: The best thing I can say about this is that I can imagine Bowie nodding to it while making notes for the Berlin trilogy. Side 2: What I said for Side 1, but without the side-eye. Hero is pretty great and the whole side sounds like they're having some fun.

It's okay. Not offensive. Honestly really boring but I suppose it was more interesting in 1975?

Huh? Dull and inoffensive, not krautlich at all

I could have sworn the first album was here too but it seems not. Totally should be. Duos like Neu's Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger quite like a split album just before they split don't they? See also Spacemen 3 and Outkast. There must be others. This is probably the best of them. Not fully split cos they do play on each other's stuff here. To get the contrast between Rother and Dinger this clip of them performing Hero is required viewing. Dinger upfront and escaped from the drumkit chewing his cheek off like a proto-punker and Rother the hippy hiding at the back, looking a little bemused. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4toGr7aXeVA&list=RD4toGr7aXeVA&start_radio=1 Kings of the motorik beat but also way more than that. Too many of the 90s onwards motorik devotees get the simplicity and stasis but lose Dinger's and his Side 2 proteges' forward momentum and just contained energy. Leb' Wohl on Side 1 is my favourite barely there song of all time probably.

instrumental de los que no me gustan

It starts with a few serene piano notes. What follows afterwards is a revelation. The drums and bass and trembling guitars enter and an entire world, living and breathing, lush in sound, makes itself known to the listener, regardless of how strong their imagination is. When I was learning about Krautrock, Neu! was often on any of the best-of lists. Most of the bands were wild and weird and fun, but Neu! stood out as something truly different and timeless. The story goes that Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger were reaching a breaking point. Rother was more interested in ambient soundscapes and minimalism and Dinger more in aggressive, bombastic rock music. So, as a parting end to each other's diverging musical approaches, Dinger drummed on side one to Rother's chill, mysterious compositions (with Rother on keyboards/guitar/bass), and then called his brother and a friend to double-drum (!) on side two and play guitar and scream to showcase his busy, noisy compositions, with Rother only present on lead guitar for "Hero". In fact, this lineup led by Dinger would become La Düsseldorf the same year, so these 3 songs could almost be considered their first EP of sorts. It's a shame that it came to this, as both had found such wonderful balance in this album. Dinger's drumming is remarkably precise, and his song "Hero" influenced punk and alternative music for decades to come, but Rother's brilliance on his melodic keyboard and guitar heavy compositions is more than meets the eye at first. Very tight, elaborate songs. Conny Plank did an astonishing job with the mixing getting it all to shine. Truly beautiful, evocative music that never loses interest. On my end, I prefer Rother's compositions more (especially "Seeland"), but I can't imagine this album without the explosive Dinger songs. As others have pointed out, good headphones are needed to listen to the subtle mids and dynamics in the tracks. These little details add so much to the sound, and slowly build up in beauty and power, like a slow burn of sorts. It's a testament to how amazing, timeless music doesn't come from one place or one idea, but rather the freeing combination of many influences and expressions that you return to listen after listen. Rother and Dinger created something truly amazing and profound here. I'm still trying to make sense of it after all these years, and every time I come back to this album, it's like visiting an old friend. And, like the parting notes of "Leb' wohl", meaning "farewell" in German, you can feel the sadness of leaving that friend once more every time the album ends. I only noticed now than an inverted guitar line of "Seeland" plays at the end of "E-Musik", halfway through the Dinger side. It's almost as if they were thanking each other for everything and the beautiful collaboration they had, albeit brief. A perfect album in every way. Leb' Wohl to Dinger, who passed away in 2008, and zum Wohl to Rother as he continues to perform to this day.

Millegipärast mõjus see album mulle väga hästi. Progerocki laadne ambient muusika, mille nautimiseks ma ei pea sõnadest aru saama. Krautrock on minu jaoks täiesti uus žanr ka. 1975. a kohta on see plaat tõesti vägev ja järgmine hinnang ei pruugi olla objektiivne. 3.5/5

This was okay I think! I somewhat like this kind of sound and don't necessarily mind the repetitiveness of it. Whenever they try and do vocals however I do not really enjoy it. Surely some kind of instrument could have done the job better? This can get a 3, I bet at the time this kind of sound was pretty progressive as well, but I haven't weighed this in other reviews previously either though. I don't think this sounds particularly outdated for a 1975 record. Germanophile me

Nah bro this ain't it 1.7

Not what I was expecting tbh. Thought it would be more rock than piano ballads 3 ⭐️

“NEU!” is also what I say when someone asks if I like this album

Absolute delight. 4/5

Two very different sides. Overall okay.

Short and sweet. I liked the ambient side. I was also comfortable with the driving drumming. It didn’t wow me, but it was quite palatable. It’s Good, 7/10.

Great start, crap end

There are moments in this record that feel so post-punk that it’s hard to reconcile that this record came out before punk had exploded even globally. It can’t be post punk if it came first, right? Maybe kraut rock and punk rock came from similar strands of glam rock. Maybe post-punk is actually a progression of kraut rock? A lot of reviews talk about this album going off the rails at the halfway point and I didn’t really catch that. If anything, it took that one extra step towards punk rock and got more interesting in the second half. I think my real score for this is somewhere around 3.5 stars, but I'm going to round up because I listened through a few times and it started playing after another album last night and I still wasn't mad about listening to it again.

Not very cohesive, but very interesting. Some good moments, but as a whole, I think its lacking.

Hero I think was my favorite track, but the album really blended together in a blur so it was kinda hard to really think about a certain track being different from the rest but overall a good and chill sort of album

When this album kicked off I wasn't impressed. Maybe it's dressed up elevator music, I thought? But now I'm on my third listen and show no signs of stopping. Could this be the soundtrack for working from home? There is enough dynamic interest here so that your brain doesn't turn off but it's also more than just "not boring".

Idk it was kinda unremarkable. Sometimes I wonder if stuff just gets thrown in here bc in reality there’s really only 100 albums you need to hear before you die?

Enjoyment: 4/10 Replayability: 4/10 Cohesion: 4/10 Flow/Pacing: 3/10 Artistic Merit: 3/10 Weighted Average: 3.75/10 Review: This album starts off strongly as decent background music, but Hero disrupted that flow. Also, what achievement did this background music accomplish? Was this the cutting edge back in 1975? To me, this is entirely forgettable. Liked Song(s): ISI, Seeland Disliked Song(s): Hero Recommend? No Heard Before? No

Pretty good album, "After Eight" is my favorite here.

It has been a while since I have listened to Neu!, and I can't lie I shut them out simply because I wasn't big into their Krautrock style of music. At least I thought I wasn't into it until I heard their 3rd studio album, Neu! '75, and was transfixed on just how much they had morphed their sound and created a stunning and quite calming Ambient/Electronic album. Never did I ever think Neu! would make anything close to Electronic music despite me knowing they are German and all in the same scene as Kraftwerk and other heavily influential acts looking for new ways to reach out and try new things. There is still some of their signature Rock sound here with the last 3 tracks, but it doesn't feel as strange or unorthodox as some of their previous work. It is almost split down the middle, which is an interesting way to present a project, but I can also very easily relate it to how Bowie made both Low and "Heroes" in nearly the same formats. Neu! '75 was quite a surprise and something I am super glad I was recommended because I would not have given this gem a proper listen otherwise.

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.