Neu - Neu '75

Neu's last album (1975) sounds as if it had been recorded by two different bands. Guitarist Michael Rother dominates the first side with his ambient leanings and the side 2 is a vehicle for drummer Klaus Dinger's punkish sensibilities. On his songs Dinger plays guitars and has his brother Thomas Dinger as well as Hans Lampe taking over drum duties. Neu '75 is also one of their most accessible albums. Gone are the beatless noise excursions of the first album and the variable speed experimentation of their second. The opener "Isi" sounds like a Kraftwerk single except with drums and real piano, but definitely more synth-oriented than earlier Motorik mantras a la "Für Immer", with less of the Velvet Underground influence than before. "Seeland" is an evocative Pink Floyd-ish tune with trademark Rother's milky guitar playing and "Leb Wohl" is almost like a secular version of Popol Vuh tunes with its repetitive tranquil piano chords creating a dreamlike mood for 9 minutes with some odd subdued vocals.

Then the mood changes completely in favor for some raw and gritty proto-punk, as "Hero" kicks in with loud and assertive guitar chords and Dinger's snarling voice. The formula is pretty much repeated in "After Eight". In between these two numbers is "E-Musik" which is the closest to recapture the feel of "Hallogallo" and "Für Immer", but the coda of this includes backwards sounds taken from "Seeland" and "Leb Wohl".

It was obvious, from this listen, that Neu was falling apart and the band didn't function as a real band anymore. Sides one and two indicate a serious compositional schism, as well as personal(ity) differences between Dinger and Rother, who could barely tolerate each other. Somehow they did manage to pull off yet another krautrock classic before dissolving.



"Hero" live clip: