Release : La Duesseldorf - Viva (1978)
Artist : La Duesseldorf
Album : Viva (1978)
Genre : Progressive Rock
Source : CDDA
Label : Warner Bros
URL :
Date : 00-00-2005
Encoder : LAME 3.97 / -V2 --vbr-new
Quality : 186kbps 44100 kHz Joint Stereo
Tracks : 6
Time : 40:15 min
Size : 54.71 MB
1 Viva 2:36
2 White Overalls 2:07
3 Rheinita 7:41
4 V÷gel 1:27
5 Geld 6:23
6 Cha Cha 2000 20:01
The band La Dⁿsseldorf (from, as you might have guessed, the city of Dⁿsseldorf)
stands in relation to its parent group NEU! like a sleek, newer model of a
vintage roadster, fresh off the assembly lines in 1976. This was the sophomore
effort for Klaus Dinger and company, not as strong as their self-titled debut
but still another minor gem from the less traveled corners of late æ70s
Krautrock Fans of NEU! will immediately recognize the automotive 4/4 beat, the
ringing guitars and gentle washes of keyboard, and of course the home-made
cut-and-past cover art, a Dinger specialty years before it became a New Wave
clichΘ. But itÆs a more haphazard collection of songs this time around, sounding
in places not unlike outtakes from the earlier album, patched quickly together
but presented with confidence and more than a little post-punk gusto.
The title track opens the album with a fuzzed-out, foot-stomping anthem,
followed immediately by the equally energetic thrash of "White Overalls", a
tribute to the bandÆs stylish new uniforms. Or would it be crass to read a
deeper Teutonic subtext into the title, translating "overalls" as "ⁿber alles"?
A few shorter numbers lead to the albumÆs obvious highlight: the epic 20+ minute
"Cha Cha 2000", on the original vinyl filling all of Side Two. In true Krautrock
fashion itÆs a schizophrenic beast: one half quintessential motorik adrenalin
rush, the other half a dreamlike lullaby played on a solo piano. ôThe future is
callingö, chants Dinger throughout, and here it is: a celebration of soon-to-be
modern times in pre-unification Germany, made from equal parts sleek, shiny
chrome and infectious optimism.
Sample lyric: ôWe need better leaders, who love us and donÆt cheat usö. Not
exactly poetry, but refreshing stuff from a musician who in the past wore a punk
rock sneer every bit as Vicious as SidÆs. And believe it or not the words even
rhyme (sort of).
The year 2000 may already be a distant memory, but the song (and the sentiment)
is still ahead of its time. As was the band itself: one of the more
forward-thinking outfits from an always innovative musical culture.