Neu! '75 – Neu!

Neu! 75 is the third studio album by the krautrock band Neu!. It was recorded and mixed at Conny Plank's studio between December 1974 and January 1975. It was released in 1975 by Brain Records.

This album saw Neu! regroup after a few years' break, during which time Michael Rother had worked together with Cluster in the krautrock supergroup Harmonia.

By this time, Rother and bandmate Klaus Dinger had somewhat diverged in their musical intentions for the band, Dinger preferring a more aggressive, rock-influenced style than Rother's ambient predilections. As a result, they agreed to a compromise: Side 1 of the record was recorded in the old Neu! style, as a duo, with Dinger playing drums. For the pieces on side 2, Dinger switched to guitar and lead vocals, recruiting his brother Thomas and Hans Lampe to play drums (simultaneously).

The result is essentially a split record, subtly melodic in the first half and boldly unconventional in the second. On both sides, the use of keyboards and phasing is increased compared to earlier records. Dinger's rock song "Hero" was an inspiration for many musicians of the time, including John Lydon of the Sex Pistols, and is since considered an example of proto-punk. David Bowie alluded to the album on his "Heroes" album. The band Negativland (named after a song on their first album) named their record label Seeland after the song on '75. Fact described the album's sound "spartan psych-rock set to power driven drum tracks." while Thomas Jerome Seabrook labeled it a kosmische musik album.

- Wikipedia