Halber Mensch

Halber Mensch (or ½ Mensch; English: Half Man) is the third studio album by German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten. It was released on 2 September 1985, through record label Some Bizzare Records.

Background

Halber Mensch shows group shows a wider artistic range for the group, incorporating elements of electronic dance music in "Yü-Gung (Fütter mein Ego)" and performing the title track (nearly) a cappella. The group also expands their dynamic range: Blixa Bargeld's voice in "Seele Brennt" suddenly switches from a barely audible whisper to a high-pitched scream, while quiet bass guitar overtones float over relatively restrained percussion in "Letztes Biest (am Himmel)".

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Einstürzende Neubauten, except as noted.

Side A
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Halber Mensch" ("Half Man")	Blixa Bargeld	Alexander Hacke, Bargeld, F.M. Einheit, Mark Chung, N.U. Unruh, Nikkolai Weidemann	4:13
2.	"Yü-Gung (Fütter Mein Ego)" ("Yü-Gung (Feed My Ego)")			7:14
3.	"Trinklied" ("Drinking Song")			1:15
4.	"Z.N.S." ("C.N.S.")			5:40

Side B
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Seele Brennt" ("Soul Is Burning")	4:05
2.	"Sehnsucht (Zitternd)" ("Desire (Trembling)")	2:55
3.	"Der Tod Ist Ein Dandy" ("Death Is a Dandy")	6:41
4.	"Letztes Biest (Am Himmel)" ("Last Beast (In the Sky)")	3:28

CD bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
9.	"Sand" (Lee Hazlewood cover)	Lee Hazlewood	3:30
10.	"Yü-Gung (Adrian Sherwood Remix)" (remix by Adrian Sherwood)		7:28
11.	"Das Schaben" ("The Rasping")		9:22

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Piero Scaruffi	6/10^[2]

Trouser Press described Halber Mensch as "[Einstürzende Neubauten's] strongest record" and "truly remarkable".^[3] AllMusic called it "an excellent feat of industrial music".^[1]

Re-issue

In 2003, after a continuous conflict with Some Bizarre Records,^{[citation needed]} the band released a remastered reissue of this album with another version of the cover.

Personnel

Einstürzende Neubauten

Blixa Bargeld – production
Mark Chung – production
Alexander Hacke – production
N.U. Unruh – production
F.M. Einheit – production

Additional personnel

Ma Gita – vocals
Monika – vocals
Sabrine – vocals
Verena – vocals

Technical

Gareth Jones – production, recording and mixing on all tracks except "Seele Brent"
Nainz Watts – engineering
Thomas Stern – engineering
Michael Zimmerling – recording and mixing on "Seele Brent"
Tim Young – mastering
Animal House – sleeve design
Vincent Huang – sleeve photography

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 Bush, John. "Halber Mensch – Einstürzende Neubauten : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
↑ Scaruffi, Piero. "The History of Rock Music. Einsturzende Neubauten: Biography, Discography, Reviews, Links". scaruffi.com. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
↑ Sheridan, David; Fasolino, Greg; Robbins, Ira. "trouserpress.com :: Einstürzende Neubauten". trouserpress.com. Retrieved 2 March 2013.

External links

Halber Mensch at Discogs (list of releases)

v t e Einstürzende Neubauten

Blixa Bargeld Alexander Hacke N.U. Unruh Jochen Arbeit Rudolf Moser Ash Wednesday Boris Wilsdorf

Former members	F.M. Einheit Mark Chung Roland Wolf Beate Bartel Gudrun Gut

Major Albums	Stahlmusik Kollaps Zeichnungen des Patienten O. T. Halber Mensch Fünf auf der nach oben offenen Richterskala Haus der Lüge Tabula Rasa Ende Neu Silence Is Sexy Perpetuum Mobile Alles wieder offen

EPs	Interim Malediction Footnotes Total Eclipse of the Sun

Live Albums	1981/1982 Livematerial 2X4 09-15-2000, Brussels Gemini

Musterhaus series	Anarchitektur Unglaublicher Laerm Solo Bassfeder Redux Orchestra versus Einstürzende Neubauten Kassetten Klaviermusik Stimmen Reste Weingeister

Strategies Against Architecture series	Strategies Against Architecture '80–'83 Strategies Against Architecture II Strategies Against Architecture III Strategies Against Architecture IV

Neubauten.org Supporters Project	Supporter Album No. 1 Airplane Miniatures Grundstück Alles was irgendwie nützt Jewels

Collections	Stahldubversions Tri-Set Ende Neu Remixes The NNNAAAMMM Remixes By Darkus Kalte Sterne -early recordings-

Soundtracks & Plays	Die Hamletmaschine Faustmusik Berlin Babylon

Related articles	Einstürzende Neubauten logo Die Haut Halber Mensch (film)

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.