Neu! 2
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Austin Chronicle | [2] |
| Pitchfork | 7.5/10[3] |
| PopMatters | positive[4] |
| Q | [5] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
| Martin C. Strong | (8/10)[7] |
Neu! 2 is the second studio album by the krautrock band Neu!. It was recorded in January 1973 and mixed in February 1973, both at Windrose-Dumont-Time Studios in Hamburg, Germany, and released in 1973 by Brain Records. It was officially reissued by Astralwerks on 29 May 2001. Illegal bootleg CDs (with the audio taken from vinyl) from the Germanofon label were widely available in the late 1990s.
Paul Morley included it in his list of the 5 x 100 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003.[7]
Overview
This album further focused the classic Neu! krautrock sound,[1] with the 11-minute "Für immer" in particular being the archetypal example of their style—a seemingly endless forward-driving vamping, propelled by Klaus Dinger's drumming and Michael Rother's layered guitar with its fluid lines and droning harmonic structure. It also features elements of ambient music and proto-punk,[8] as well as psychedelic rock.[9]
Side 2 of the record caused consternation at the time. Neu! had quite simply run out of money to finish recording the album, so the second side consists entirely of their previously released single "Neuschnee/Super", manipulated at various playback speeds on a record player, or mangled in a cassette recorder. Critics at the time dismissed this as a cheap gimmick and a rip-off. While it was indeed an experiment born of desperation and necessity, it was entirely in keeping with Neu's pop art aesthetics, taking a "ready-made" sound object and re-presenting it with a series of stylized manipulations, and also quite in keeping with the way Neu's music deconstructed and pared down the form of rock music. Dinger subsequently pointed to side 2 as being a prototype of the now ubiquitous multiple remixes which typically accompany any pop single release.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Für Immer" ("Forever") | 11:17 |
| 2. | "Spitzenqualität" ("Top Quality") | 3:35 |
| 3. | "Gedenkminute (für A + K)" ("Minute's Silence (For A + K)") | 2:06 |
| 4. | "Lila Engel" ("Lilac Angel") | 4:37 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Neuschnee 78" ("Fresh Snow 78") | 2:32 |
| 6. | "Super 16" | 3:39 |
| 7. | "Neuschnee" ("Fresh Snow") | 4:07 |
| 8. | "Cassetto" ("Cassette") | 1:48 |
| 9. | "Super 78" | 1:36 |
| 10. | "Hallo Excentrico!" ("Hello Excentrico!") | 3:44 |
| 11. | "Super" | 3:11 |
Personnel
- Band members
- Michael Rother – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, zither, percussion, electronics, cassette recorder
- Klaus Dinger – koto ("Japanese banjo"), 11-string guitar, drums, percussion, Farfisa electronic piano, vocals, electronics, record player
- Additional personnel
- Konrad "Conny" Plank – producer, engineer
- Hans Lampe – engineer
References
- ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "AllMusic review". Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ Chamy, Michael (13 July 2001). "review". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ Sirota, Brent S. (5 June 2001). "Neu! 2 review". Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ Taylor, Nicholas (28 May 2001). "PopMatters review". Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ "Neu! 2 review". Q. July 2001. p. 136.
In addition to inventing the motorik beat... Neu! also invented the remix album.... these are completed tracks combined with a strategic hand on the turntable...
- ^ Blashill, Pat (5 July 2001). "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Neu! 2". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ Sirota, Brent S. (5 June 2001). "Neu! '75 review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
...the radical proto-punk of their second album...
- ^ "Krautrock figurehead Klaus Dinger's final album to get posthumous release". Fact. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2016.