VIVA

It wasn't easy getting back into the groove at work after the Christmas holidays, and add on top of that that we've been taking a beating from Winter with the buses cancelled two of the five days and even closing the schools one day which hasn't happened in 40 years. My soundtrack for last week was the joyous and uplifting "Viva" from LA DUSSELDORF which certainly helped my mood. Klaus Dinger along with his brother Thomas and Hans Lampe all played on NEU !'s final studio album and so yes there is that NEU ! flavour to be found here and on the debut. I should also mention that Lampe did play with A.R. & MACHINES on percussion.

It's interesting that everywhere I look where albums are rated, the debut and "Viva" are always close in those ratings except on this site for some reason where the debut is rated much higher. I'm not sure why as I also feel both are "must haves" and similar in style and quality. This is all about the motorik beat, synths and vocals. This has been a pleasure.

"Viva" opens with a sample then the vocals and music kick in quickly. This is a short 2 1/2 minute track where the band just seems to be having too much fun. Sounds like clapping and i'm sure a lot of dancing in the studio on this one. "White Overalls" is another short one and from the pictures of the guys i've seen, white overalls were part of their "look". This one is more uptempo than the title track and it's hard not to be moving some part of my body during this joyous song. "Rheinita" opens with electronics and almost opera-like vocals that end with them echoing. The beat with synths takes over before a minute. Man this sounds so good. Relaxed but upbeat if that makes any sense. Piano to the fore after 3 minutes as it settless then it all kicks back into that fuller sound. Just a killer instrumental clocking in at over 7 1/2 minutes. The beat stops late as atmosphere ends it.

"Vogel" is less than 1 1/2 minutes of birds singing. Yes it's very calming. "Geld" is more powerful once it kicks into gear with vocals. Catchy stuff. "Cha Cha 2000" is the side long closer at almost 20 minutes and it's live. I understand they would play this live in concerts and it would go on for much longer than the 20 minute version we have here. This is a vocal track and it's the highlight of this recording in my opinion. Yes this is such a joy to listen to and even the crowd seems to be having too much fun.

The music of LA DUSSELDORF is a must for NEU ! fans or anyone into that motorik beat. A solid 4 stars.