Customer Reviews

2 X 4

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well, two Seinsucht's for the price of one - that alone should justify the purchase of the premiere Live industrial album.

Like many, I had purchased this on tape, and like many I wore that tape out letting it cycle thru over and over again. It's only eight songs, short of fifty minutes - skimpy for a cd.

But the songs capture the feel of live performance. I saw them in Myrtle Edwards Park (with the Burlington Northern freight trains roaring past) in Seattle's epic free concert, and nothing was really canned.

While not entirely impromptu, it was certainly immediate. 2x4 is the best intro to Neubauten, and ROIR was right to simply reproduce the original cassette.

Probably the best early live recordings (80-83) from the only band that matters. This disc captures the true essence of E.N. Remastered and available for the first time on CD.

This live album is what "industrial" music is really all about. E.N. are the true pioneers of industrial music before it's mergence with techno. Not for the musically squeemish. I find this album still thoroughly enjoyable, even 10 years later. If you enjoy REAL industrial music, buy this album.

YOU PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW IF THIS KIND OF THING IS FOR YOU OR NOT. FOR THE UNINITIATED, EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN IS , AT LEAST ON THE SURFACE, WHAT WE USED TO CALL "INDUSTRIAL", BEFORE THE TERM WAS CO-OPTED AND CORRUPTED BY THE LIKES OF MINISTRY AND NINE INCH NAILS. LABELS ASIDE, EN THEMSELVES HAVE GONE FROM MAKING VERY PRIMITIVE, ABRASIVE, SOMETIMES DOWN-RIGHT DISTURBING "SONGS" ( I HASTEN TO USE THAT TERM, THESE RECORDINGS DO NOT FOLLOW THE BASIC "VERSE - CHORUS -VERSE -CHORUS - BRIDGE- CHORUS- FADE" STRUCTURE OF FAMILILAR ROCK N ROLL )ON THEIR EARLIER RECORDINGS HEARD HERE, AND HAVE EVOLVED INTO SOMETHING QUITE UNIQUE; A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS WHO TAKE FOUND SOUNDS AND INCORPORATE THEM INTO MUSICAL PIECES THAT RANGE FROM SEMI- CLASSICAL, AMBIENT, SOMETIMES DANCE-ISH ( BUT CERTAINLY NOT WHAT I'D CALL DANCE MUSIC - IT IS SIMPLY OFTEN VERY RHYTHMIC ) AND SOMETIMES APPROACH WHAT I WOULD CALL TRADITIONALLY ARRANGED "ROCK" MUSIC. I PERSONALLY PREFER THE EARLIER, MORE FREE FORM RECORDINGS. THEY ARE FOR THE MOST PART HEAVILY PERCUSSIVE, USING HAMMERS, PIECES OF METAL, HUBCAPS, ETC TO FORM THE BASIS OF THE RHYTHMS OF THE PIECES. THEY ALSO FEATURE VOCALS THAT ARE ENTIRELY GERMAN, SOME SPOKEN, SOME WHISPERED, SOME CHANTED, AND SOME SCREAMED. I CAN ONLY SAY THAT FOR ME, "2 X 4" INFORMS SO MANY EMOTIONS - IT IS QUITE A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE, DESPITE ( OR MAYBE BECAUSE OF ) ITS SHORT LENGTH. I HAVE PLAYED THIS FOR MANY OF MY FRIENDS WHOM I CONSIDERED TO BE OPEN-MINDED ENOUGH TO ENJOY THIS. THE REACTIONS RUN FROM "THAT IS AMAZING, WHO IS THAT?" TO " MY GOD, WHAT A DREADFUL RACKET, WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THAT OFF?" AT ONE HALOWEEN PARTY I HOSTED SEVERAL YEARS AGO I PROGRAMMED A FEW EN SELECTIONS INTO THE BACKGROUND LISTENING , AND ACTUALLY HAD A FEW GUESTS TELL ME "THAT SCARES THE HELL OUT OF ME." BLIXA AND CO WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD. IN PARTING I CAN TELL YOU ONLY ONE THING, IF YOU LIKE EN AND DON'T HAVE "2X4" I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

I'm a fan of the later E.N. records so this one was way too "industrial" for me. Lot's of gutteral screaming and also just poorly recorded. It seems those who like the early stuff often don't care for the later works but I'm just the opposite. I think these guys grew into something special but to me this stuff is just nothing but noise.

I always thought the notion of a 'live' industrial album was a bit of a con. The fact is, most audiences at a true industrial show won't make the anywhere NEAR the kind of noise the act will (unless you're a NIN stalwart) during the course of the show.

But here, in one of the earliest Neubauten efforts, most of the tunes work in so far as they represent where the band was at that point in time. "Strategies Against Architecture II" is infinitely better, but decidedly NOT for the timid. It's got it's boring moments as well, which is why I haven't given it one of those absurdly reverential 5-star ratings.

Industrial music is not meant to sooth, and this album is no exception. But complete your collection with sharper Neubauten releases, and pick up this one after you're sure you can handle it.