Tribute albums devoted to pioneering artists generally take the cover-version route. In a sense, it's a lazy approach. Beyond the symbolism of a stellar roster paying homage, such collections rarely provide compelling evidence of the feted artist's influence. The concept behind this album is admirable since it gathers non-
Neu! tracks by several generations of bands touched by the greatness of the German duo -- the idea being that this material is inspired by
Neu!'s work. Unfortunately, however, most of these bands show scant evidence of substantive engagement with
Neu!'s music: while the album opens (inevitably) with
Ciccone Youth's "Two Cool Rock Chicks Listening to Neu!," what follows suggests the assembled artists have listened to
Neu! only superficially. The tracks mostly overlook the possibilities of
Neu!'s wide-ranging experimental legacy and reduce their sound to a single characteristic, slavishly reproduced: the famous Motorik beat. This particular sound has become a badge of hipster cool, so much so that it's now hackneyed, as the likes of
Fujiya & Miyagi and
Holy Fuck demonstrate. Apart from
Primal Scream's no-less derivative, but more satisfying, "Shoot Speed/Kill Light" and inventive tracks by
School of Seven Bells and
Cornelius, there's little to get excited about -- least of all a turgid, fatuous offering from
Oasis. Former
Neu! members
Michael Rother and the late
Klaus Dinger also make an appearance.
Dinger contributes a dull rock jam, whereas
Rother's hybrid of guitar and electronics underscores his willingness to explore new ground and, in the process, highlights this compilation's central irony: as
Neu!'s name emphasized, their raison d'être was to create a new sound, rejecting rock's clichés; few of these tracks embrace
Neu!'s adventurous spirit and the artists appear content to just recycle and caricature. Overall, this is a squandered opportunity to pay homage to one of the most important experimental bands of the '70s. ~ Wilson Neate