Four-Track Kings

Neu!, “Wave Mother,” from Neu! 86 (previously unreleased, from the new Neu! box set, Groenland Records, 2010)

Neu!’s two primary members, Klaus Dinger (drums) and Michael Rother (guitar), split from Kraftwerk in 1971 and recorded their first, self-titled LP shortly after; there were two other records, Neu! 2 (1973) and Neu! ‘75 (1975) before these visionary gentlemen moved on to other projects. (More on their story here; Dinger, sadly, died from a heart attack at age 62 in 2008.) Now everything’s being reissued on vinyl, including the previously unfinished Neu! ‘86. Per Rother, on the Neu! website:

Most of all I’m thrilled about the release of the album NEU! ‘86 which Klaus Dinger and I originally recorded in 1985/86, but left unfinished back then and which led to some unfortunate problems between Klaus and myself in the 90s. I now completely reworked the album from original multitrack and master tapes, and unearthed a few yet unknown tracks which are essential for a full understanding of what Klaus and I focussed on for NEU! in the mid 80s. It was my aim to present Klaus Dinger’s musical strengths and visions just as much as my own ideas. The best musical result was to be my only guideline, not the ego. All during the emotional process of reworking our album Klaus was on my mind and I contemplated what he would think about my decisions.