Viva [Import]

La Düsseldorf | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 18, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Universal Import
• ASIN: B000025V2V
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,863 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #98 in Music > Imports > Dance & Electronic

Editorial Reviews

Viva is the second release from Klaus Dinger's post-Neu! Krautrock group. Originally released in 1978, Viva is a stunning combination of washed out synthesizers, swirling guitar work and Dinger's trademark motorik rhythms. Featuring the classic Cha, Cha 2000, Viva is another fine effort from one of Krautrock's legends and stands as a testament of just how gloriously ahead of their time the German progressive rock scene of the 70s could be. 180 gram vinyl reissue. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The epitome of Klaus Dinger!, July 27, 2010

By 

J. Fleischhauer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Viva (Audio CD)

Viva is the second studio album from Klaus Dinger's La Dusseldorf. Klaus was the second half of the motorik based German band Neu! and this album is similar to the album Neu! 75. With Viva, some of the songs still are driven by the trademark motorik beat of Dinger, such as Rheinita and Geld. It seems that the subject of this album is Dinger himself. We get to learn about his fashion sense in White Overalls, his disdain for money in Geld, and his hopes for the future with Cha Cha 2000. Even the title of the instrumental track Rheinita is a reference to Dinger and a girl (Anita) being separated when he was younger. So what's the music like? Driven by the drums and layered with somtimes multiple guitars and synths, the music has a full somtimes majestic sound. White Overalls and Geld even have a punk feel to them. Cha Cha 2000 does drag on a bit (the track is 20 minutes), otherwise a very enjoyable album if you are into Krautrock.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars review, January 17, 2010

By 

Scott Blackerby (Reston, Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Viva (Vinyl)

Credit (or blame) former Kraftwerk and NEU! multi-instrumentalist Klaus Dinger for La Dusseldorf. On the heels of Neu!'s breakup, Dinger formed La Dusseldorf in 1975. The trio included Dinger's brother Thomas on vocals and percussion and drummer Hans Lampe - both who had worked with NEU!.

Self-produced, 1978's "Viva" wasn't a major departure for the trio. With Klaus Dinger again responsible for all of the material, the six songs found the trio trying to navigate their way between NEU!'-styled experimental and minimalist edges and a host of more popular genres including new wave ('White Overalls'), AOR ('Geld'), and even adult contemporary lite jazz ('Rheinita'). That made for an album that's always been sort of a mystery to my ears. Taken individually none of the six tracks were liable to change your life, but played back-to-back the set was quite enjoyable. A perfect example of the sum being more than the totality of the parts ...

- Starting off with the combination of a martial beat and French lyrics initially made 'Viva' a little disconcerting, but once the tune started trucking along with buzz saw guitars it turned into something quite enjoyable. rating: **** stars
- 'White Overalls' made it clear Dinger and company had been listening to English new wave ...Kicked along by a jittery guitar and keyboard base, the song basically featured two minutes of the title sung over and over, but certainly managed to capture new wave angst ... rating: ** stars
- Opening with a mixture of radio static and what sounded like a church choir, 'Rheinita' quickly morphed into a pretty synthesizer-propelled instrumental that wouldn't have sounded out of place on a Vangelis release. That wasn't meant as a slam either. Kicked along by Lampe's steady drums, this one was surprisingly commercial; largely explaining why German label Strand tapped it as a single. rating: *** stars
- 'Vogel' (translated as 'birds') was nothing more than 90 seconds of chirping birds, though I don't have a clue as to whether they were real birds, or synthesizer chirps (I'd guess the latter). rating: * star
- The only track sung entirely in German, 'Geld' (translated as 'money'), found the trio taking a stab at AOR guitar rock. I always smile at the 'make love not war ... the Beatles lied' segment. rating: ** stars
- Side two featured the twenty minute epic 'Cha Cha 2000'. This one's always puzzled me. Fans loft it to the pinnacle of Krautrock, but to my ears the first section sounded like a bunch of slightly buzzed, middle aged, middle class guys trying to sing schlager. Ignore the German and English lyrics since they didn't make a great deal of sense and the printed lyrics featured a font style that was difficult to read. Luckily the track started to pick up considerable steam about three minutes in. It then morphed into a quiet, keyboard dominated segment. Pretty, but kind of disappointing after the previous section. rating: **** stars

The album was also tapped for a German single:

- 1978's 'Rheinita' b/w 'Viva (Strand catalog number 6.12454)

"Viva" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Viva (Klaus Dinger) - 2:33
2.) White Overalls (Klaus Dinger) - 2:07
3.) Rheinita (instrumental) (Klaus Dinger) - 7:40
4.) Vogel (instrumental) (Klaus Dinger) - 1:30
5.) Geld (Klaus Dinger) - 6:23

(side 2)
1.) Cha Cha 2000 (Klaus Dinger) - 20:01

YouTube has a television clip of the band clearly lip synching their way through 'Rheinita' (well since it's an instrumental, I guess they weren't technically lip synching). Be forewarned that the sound and picture quality are horrible.

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Sadly, Thomas Dinger died in April 2002. Klaus Dinger died of heart failure in March, 2008.

For anyone interested, you can find a nice Dinger website at:

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