NEU! '75

Neu! return to the high standards of their debut album with this one, which reflects the growing gulf between Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother's preferred musical direction. Michael Rother takes charge of side 1 and provides material more or less in line with what you'd expect from Neu!, with some additional ambient mellowness drifting in from the Harmonia side-project. Dinger's side, meanwhile, combines Krautrock rhythms and repetitions with aggressive proto- punk thunder, creating an intriguing musical hybrid.

Even though E-Musik drags on somewhat, and Hero and After Eight are basically two very slightly different takes on the same general concept, these compositions both expanded the Krautrock palette and also caught the attention of artists such as David Bowie, whose subsequent Berlin albums would be crucial in making sure a progressive/art rock attitude survived to become part of the post-punk/New Wave movement. I'd say this more than earns its four stars.