The humour is there.
Beketaten | Pangea | 04/02/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Apparently, someone in the small batch of reviews for this special little treasure box of a Teutonic industrial explosions, believed that this was entirely meant to be taken seriously.
These symphonies of cacophanous organized chaos (the best description I can find lies in this paradoxical statement) have been close to my heart ever since I first listened to the samples provided here. As a child I had thought that it would be just dandy if someone had the patience to arrange as many loud, destructive noises as possible into such an impressive song cycle.
Blixa Bargeld possesses the most surprising vocal assortment of almost any male performer I have ever heard....Unbridled precision and ungodly high-pitched caterwauls unfolding like a nightmare that you end up remembering with fondness because it was so enjoyable trippy.
Best of all, none of this comes off as particularly self-conscious or posing. Its waves of bludgeoning interlace like the disarmingly engaging factory/messhall/bulldozer choral riot instead of a forced concept. The rather awkwardly translated lyrics are also particularly accute, laced with the naturally twisted wit missing in so much music lazily piled under the "Gothic/Industrial" section of your local CD store.
In short, this is meant to be a sensory impact to all our reactive impulses; some will dig it, some will not--But they have been bludgeoned all the same!"
Great introduction to Einsturzende Neubauten
AlexBooksAndCDs | 08/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a varied and representative Neubauten album, to me, from what are now the "early years." I was lucky enough to see EN at both the old 9:30 club in DC (1990? 1991?) and with Frontline Assembly and Cabaret Voltaire in New York (summer 1991). It was great but I was disappointed that they didn't drill thru the stage with a jackhammer like they did at the old Limelight (yes?) earlier in the decade.
I just picked up the 1995 Thirsty Ear CD release, and to me it sounds a bit "improved" from my previous version (vinyl). I can't find any info to back this up, though, and I guess the "official" remastered version was released in 2002. Maybe my vinyl (and the tape copy I made) was a little thrashed. As my other reviews (Megadeth "Peace Sells...") show, I am very wary of remasters/remixes.
I understand that this 1995 release is not the version of the album I should buy to give the band some cash; my apologies."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1
