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, West Germany, and released in 1973 by Brain Records. It was reissued by Astralwerks in the US and by Grönland in the UK and Europe on 29 May 2001.
| NEU! 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1973 | |||
| Recorded | January 1973 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:14 | |||
| Label | Brain, United Artists | |||
| Producer | Conny Plank, Neu! | |||
| Neu! chronology | ||||
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| Klaus Dinger chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Neu! 2 | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| The Austin Chronicle | [4] |
| Pitchfork | 7.5/10[5] |
| PopMatters | positive[6] |
| Q | [7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
| Martin C. Strong | (8/10)[9] |
Critic Paul Morley included it in his list of the "5 x 100 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2003.[citation needed]
Overview
editThis album further focused the classic Neu! krautrock sound,[3] with the 11-minute "Für Immer" in particular being the archetypal example of their style -- a forward-driving vamping, propelled by Klaus Dinger's drumming and Michael Rother's layered guitar with its fluid lines and droning harmonic structure. Pitchfork described the album as featuring a proto-punk sound,[2] while Fact labeled it "spartan psych-rock set to power-driven drum tracks."[10]
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.
Legacy
editBen Sisario of The New York Times described the album along with the band's other early albums as "landmarks of German experimental rock," also referred to by journalists as krautrock.[1]
"Super 16" appears in the films Master of the Flying Guillotine and Kill Bill.
Track listing
editAll 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
edit- Neu!
- 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
edit- ^ a b c Sisario, Ben (4 April 2008). "Klaus Dinger, Drummer of Influential German Beat, Dies at 61". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ a b Sirota, Brent S. (5 June 2001). "Neu! '75 review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
...the radical proto-punk of their second album...
- ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Neu! 2". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ Chamy, Michael (13 July 2001). "Neu!, Neu! 2, and Neu! 75 (Astralwerks)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ Sirota, Brent S. (5 June 2001). "Neu! 2 review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ Taylor, Nicholas (28 May 2001). "Neu!: Neu! 2". PopMatters. 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). "Neu! - Neu! / Neu! 75 - Astralwerks (2001)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography. New York: Canongate. p. 1072. OL 18807297M.
- ^ "Krautrock figurehead Klaus Dinger's final album to get posthumous release". Fact. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2016.