Kraftwerk "Tour de France Soundtracks" (2003)

Tour de France Soundtracks

release date: Aug. 4, 2003

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,46]

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider

label: EMI - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 2. "Tour de France Étape 1" - 3. "Tour de France Étape 2" - 7. "Aéro Dynamik" - 9. "Elektro Kardiogramm" - 12. "Tour de France" (4 / 5) (officiel video)

11th and final studio album by Kraftwerk released a full twelve years after The Mix (1991) - and seventeen [!] years after Electric Cafe (1986), which stands as their most recent album with completely new material. This final outing is also the band's only album with a line-up consisting of Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider together with the two new members of Fritz Hilpert (who in '87 replaced Wolfgang Flür) and Henning Schmitz, who after ' The 91 album replaced Fernando Abrantes (who had only just replaced Karl Bartos). The album is as all the band's albums from '74 and onwards also released in a remastered 2009 version, and for that, it was issued with the shorter title, Tour de France for the simple reason that it had been created to the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the first Tour de France. At the same time, it also happens to be the 20th anniversary of the band's first edition of the title track. The album consists of 12 compositions with a total running time at approx. 56 minutes.

Stylewise, the band here presents a new sound based on basic elements from their previous albums but now with an implementation of techno, for which the band itself is seen as a major inspiration, and which in a way provides the music with a breath of fresh air. Most lyrics are written in collaboration between Ralf Hütter and French songwriter Maxime Schmitt.

The album was generally met by positively reviews and it ended up topping the German albums chart as the band's only. It reached number #7 in Sweden, number #21 in the UK, and a position as number #3 on the US Top Dance/Electronic albums chart, although it didn't chart on the Billboard 200, as the band's only album to date. A total of four tracks were selected for single releases: "Tour de France 2003" (Jul. 2003), which contains four different versions of the title track - none of which appear on the album (which basically is in keeping with the multiple versions of the original "Tour de France" single from '83), "Elektro Kardiogramm" (released as a promo single) in a 'Radio Mix' version, "Aéro Dynamik" released in 2004 as "Aerodynamik" for a single with the track in four different mixes, again, all of which differ from the album version and "Aerodynamik + La Forme Remixes" released 2007. The first single peaked at number #50 on the German singles chart, which was bettered by a number #20 in the UK.

The album stands as Kraftwerk's final with new material, although several releases have followed, e.g. the live album Minimum-Maximum from 2005, the box set Der Katalog (2009), the live box set 3-D Der Katalog (2017) and most recently, the exclusively digital release Remixes (2020). The band has maintained regular live tours up to the present day, despite one of the band's founders, Florian Schneider left the band in 2009 and then later in 2020 died at the age of 73.

The title track has iconic status and fits fantastically as an underlay for cycling, but the album is a slightly odd conglomerate with few other highlights and quite a bit of filler material, but it's nevertheless still worth to know off.

[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, Mojo 4 / 5, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

Kraftwerk "The Mix" (1991)

2009 remaster

The Mix

release date: Jun. 11, 1991

format: cd (2009 remaster)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider

label: Kling Klang / EMI - nationality: Germany

10th studio album by Kraftwerk following a full five years after Electric Cafe (1986) isn't officially a compilation, although it may perfectly appear as that since it's dedicated to compositions stemming from all of the band's studio albums beginning with Autobahn (1974) right up to the most recent studio album Electric Cafe (1986). Ralf Hütter has offered his thoughts on why it's not to be considered a compilation or let alone a remix album, as others would claim. He states that these tracks are an expression of the band's live versions of well-known songs, all of which have been subjected to reshaping during the many years of performances. Since '86 percussionist Wolfgang Flür has left the band and as of '87, he was practically substituted by Fritz Hilpert. In 1990, Karl Bartos also left the band, after which Fernando Abrantes took over in his place and on the album here, but Abrantes left shortly after the release only to be replaced by Henning Schmitz.

Incidentally, 2009 is the year in which Kraftwerk reissued all of the it's essential albums in newly remastered editions - like this one - and they also reissued the box set Der Katalog (2004) with a back cover label '12345678', indicating the band's 8 studio albums from 1974 to 2003. Regardless Hütter's explanation, and intention, it doesn't change the fact that the tracks on The Mix have all been taken from previously released studio albums, and yes, they are here in completely new remixed versions. The album consists of 11 tracks and has a total running length of 65 minutes.

From both Autobahn (1974) and Radio-Aktivität (1975) only the respective title tracks have been included; from Trans Europa Express (1977) three tracks are included: the title track, "Abzug" and "Metall auf Metall"; from the album Die Mensch-Maschine (1979) only "Die Roboter" has found its way the this; from Computerwelt (1981) we again find three selected tracks: "Taschenrechner", "Computer Liebe", and "Heimcomputer", and from Electric Cafe (1986) only the song "Music Non-Stop" is included. With a bit of quick math, that sums up to only ten tracks, and that's because, in addition to album tracks, there's also room for "Dentaku", which is a Japanese version of "Taschenregner" in a slightly different version, originally featured as a B-side to the single release.

The album received a slightly luke-warm reception, but still landed at number #7 in Germany and at number #15 in the UK. Kraftwerk also released the new versions of "Die Roboter" and "Radio-Aktivität" as the two (promotional) singles from the album.

The Mix is a fine album without dazzling. However, I think that especially the earliest compositions have been altered and given a more modern sound in such a way that they certainly don't stand as improvements to the originals. Later well-known tracks have been exposed to a little bit of everything, and at the end, the album is mostly for fans and connoisseurs, as others will be better served with the original versions. And of course you're are free to think what you want about all their fine tracks they have passed on and not included here. You may ask yourself why on Earth they didn't just release a double album, when there's plenty of material to revisit? It's certainly not an essential release, which basically functions more as bonus material - an appendix you can easily do without.

[ allmusic,com, Mojo 3 / 5, Q Magazine, Uncut 4 / 5 stars ]

org. cover

Kraftwerk "Electric Cafe" (1986)

Electric Cafe

release date: Nov. 10, 1986

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]

producer: Kraftwerk

label: Kling Klang / EMI - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Boing Boom Tschak" - 3. "Musique Non-Stop" (video-version) - 4. "Der Telefon-Anruf" (4 / 5) (single-udgave) - 5. "Sex Object" - 6. "Electric Café"

9th studio album by Kraftwerk released 5½ years after Computerwelt (1981) is the first album where the whole band is credited as producer - and the whole band is no longer as it used to be. The front cover shows the usual four faces, which are supposed to look like Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos, and Wolfgang Flür, however, only the first three actually appear on the album, while Flür is only credited as a permanent member. On his own initiative, he would leave the band after the album release at some point in '87. Additionally, Bartos has been 'promoted' from solely being credited 'electric percussion', he's now credited keyboards, 'electronics' and as lead vocalist on track #4. All six compositions are credited Hütter, Schneider, and Bartos, and only tracks #1 and #6 were created together with the songwriters Emil Schult and Maxime Schmitt, respectively. The original version counts six tracks with a total running time at just under 36 minutes.

Stylistically, the album doesn't introduce new elements or a change of sound, and the music is easily seen as an extension of the '81 album, and in reality most of the compositions were composed already in '82 but the production and mixing of the new Kraftwerk-album, which was intended to showcase 'top-of-the-art' sound quality was delayed for various reasons - including the fact that Hütter was injured in a cycling accident. The composition "Tour de France" had originally been intended for the this album, but as the album proved to be further delayed the song was instead selected for a stand-alone single and EP, and similarly, various titles for the new album were in play. In 2009, Electric Cafe was released under the original working title: Techno Pop, which came with the addition of "House Phone" and a shorter version of "Der Telefon-Anruf". The album release was met by lukewarm reviews, and nationally it peaked at number #26, at number #9 in Sweden, but at a more modest number #58 on the albums chart in the UK, which by this time already featured big synthpop names like New Order and Depeche Mode, who delivered breakthrough albums. Two singles were released from the album: track #3 "Musique Non-Stop" (Oct. '86) and "Der Telefon-Anruf" (Feb. '87), as the best composition from the album, although, also sounding like inspired by New Order.

Electric Cafe is not really a poor album, but it's yet another step in the wrong direction, where you find much of the compositions sounding like repetitions of previous ideas and parts of familiar songs - in general, the album doesn't stand as something that others could take great inspiration from, and the band appears most of all like a train that has lost its steam and perhaps should consider a (permanent) return to the garage.

[ allmusic.com, Uncut, Drowned in Sound 3 / 5, Smash Hits 2,5 / 5 stars ]

2009 cover

Kraftwerk "Tour de France" (1983) (single)

Tour de France, cd single

release date: Aug. 3, 1983

format: digital (1999 remaster)

[single rate: 4 / 5] [3,86]

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider

label: Kling Klang / EMI - nationality: Germany

Tracklist: 1. "Tour de France (Radio Version)" (4 / 5) - 2. "Tour de France (Kling Klang Analog Mix)" - 3. "Tour de France (Remix François K)"

Single release by Kraftwerk, originally intended for the album Electric Cafe (1986) but instead issued as a stand-alone single when the album ran into several years of delay. The single has since '83 been issued in many different versions and the 1999 edition is also an edited version. Originally, the single was released in 7'' and 12'' format versions with the maxi single having a more than 6 minutes version followed by the two tracks from the regular 7'' single - a 3 minutes version and a 2:40 minutes instrumental. The '99 CD edition starts off with an edited version of the original track, followed by an edited mix of a 1984 remix, and it ends with a 1984 François Kevorkian remix.

The single was neither a major hit nor went completely unnoticed when it first came out. It charted as No. #47 in Germany, No. #20 in Ireland, No. #6 in Sweden, and as No. #22 in the UK. When it was reissued in 2003 in a re-recorded version for the Tour de France Soundtracks album, it once again delivered similar chart positions, but the track has nevertheless become almost synonymous with Kraftwerk as the track that links the band's earliest and later phases smoothly together.

Kraftwerk "Computerwelt" (1981)

Computerwelt

release date: May 10, 1981

format: cd (1986 reissue)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider

label: Kling Klang / EMI - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Computerwelt" - 2. "Taschenrechner" - 3. "Nummern" - 4. "Computerwelt 2" - 5. "Computer Liebe" (4 / 5)

8th studio album by Kraftwerk released three years after Die Mensch-Maschine (1978) - also seen as number five in the list of classic Kraftwerk albums counting from Autobahn (1974), which by Hütter and Schneider is regarded their first, although, they actually released three albums before that. Like the band's recent albums this was recorded in the band's Kling Klang studio in Düsseldorf, and as usual it's the band's founders Hütter and Schneider who are credited as producers. On the 79 album we saw percussionist Karl Bartos as co-composer and on this, he's been granted a more prominent role as composer, and he is thus exclusive composer together with Hütter on all of the album's tracks. Schneider is credited the music on four of a total of seven tracks, and once again Emil Schult is credited album cover and as contributor as songwriter of three songs. And - one might be tempted to add - percussionist Wolfgang Flür is only credited as... percussionist, although rumor has it that he only appears in the credit list and doesn't play on the album at all, but officially it's the band's final album with Flür as instrumentalist.

The album continues deom where the '78 ended, and may at first sound like a mere extension of that, but Kraftwerk basically defined their strength in the present by composing small hooks and catchy melodies, made sharper as pure 'pop' tunes. This is best expressed on "Computer Liebe", as song Coldplay has used on its 2006 hit "Talk", just as La Roux incorporated parts of the track in the song "I'm Not Your Toy" (2009), and LCD Soundsystem has used a sample of "Heimcomputer" (track #6) on the song "Disco Infiltrator" from its debut album LCD Soundsystem (2005).

Reviews were again quite positive and in Germany the album reached number #7 (as Autobahn had done back in '74), and number #15 in the UK. Four tracks in total were selected for singles release: in order tracks #2, #5 , #3, and #1, with no significant rankings. The second single "Computer Love" didn't initially perform significantly, but when it was re-released later that year as the B-side to "The Model" (from the 78 album Die Mensch-Maschine), then it topped the singles chart in the UK (although it was more likely "The Model" pulling that home). In retrospect, the album has achieved a fine position as an influential album, appearing on a number of lists counting the best albums of the 80s.

In my opinion, the album is a classic Kraftwerk album, although without reaching the same heights as the previous four. In the early eighties, the band was overshadowed by bands and artists who managed to write better hooks and music that wasn't so strictly electronic, although most of them drew great inspiration from Kraftwerk's back catalogue. I don't find a lot of recycling in many of the album's compositions, and it may be seen as the band's first step away from the strong influence they have otherwise had in shaping synthpop.

The title track makes it essential.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, Mojo, Select 4 / 5, Uncut, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard "Gladiator" (OST) (2000)

Gladiator (soundtrack)

release date: Apr. 25, 2000

format: digital (35 x File, FLAC) (20th Anniversary Edition, 2020 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]

producer: Klaus Badelt, Hans Zimmer, Ridley Scott

label: Universal Music Classics - nationality: Germany / Australia

Track highlights: 3. "The Battle" - 5. "Sorrow" - 6. "To Zuccabar" - 9. "The Might of Rome" - 15. "Elysium" - 17. "Now We Are Free" - *19. "Now We Are Free (Juba's Mix)" - *25. "Rome Is the Light" - *35. "Now We Are Free (Maximus Mix)"

*2020 Anniversary Edition

Soundtrack to a Ridley Scott directed epic drama starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Derek Jacobi, Richard Harris, and Oliver Reed (who passed away 1 year before the film premiered). The soundtrack is like the film an acclaimed work in its own rights, and all music here is credited Zimmer & Gerrard in collaboration and with Gavin Greenaway conducting [The London] Lyndhurst Orchestra.

The original soundtrack runs for just over one hour and counts the first 17 tracks - the remaining 18 tracks have been added to the 20th Anniversary Edition; however already in 2001 the soundtrack was released in this version as a 2-disc CD edition for the European market doubling its running time.

The music is held in a classic (heavily) orchestrated frame. The music is pompous but quite fitting to the likewise dramatic imagery side of the film. At times I notice a strong influence from Morricone and some inspiration from Richard Wagner but then aren't all great composers inspired by others? What really works on a higher level here, is that themes and styles go hand in hand with the images and the story, and yet as a standalone piece of work, this soundtrack still works quite nicely; although, I prefer the more progressive compositions and especially those featuring Gerrard's enigmatic vocal performances.

Gladiator (OST) is one of those rare soundtracks where everything is in sublime synergy. I may prefer more experimental and subtle soundtracks but this is one to cherish.

[ 👍allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

[ Hans Zimmer on the making of the soundtrack ]

Kraftwerk "Die Mensch-Maschine" (1978)

2009 remaster

Die Mensch-Maschine

release date: May 19, 1978

format: cd (2009 remaster)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider

label: Kling Klang / EMI - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Die Roboter" (4 / 5) - 2. "Spacelab" - 3. "Metropolis" - 4. "Das Modell" (5 / 5) (officiel video) - 5. "Neonlicht"

7. studio album by Kraftwerk following one year after Trans Europa Express and it's like that produced by the two co-leaders of the band, Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider.

Musically, the album falls closely in the same style as the '77 album with the addition of more danceable rhythms - especially heard on tracks #1, #2, and #4. Possibly, the biggest difference is that the balance of power - or at least the composer credits between the two founders appears to have changed. The music is now no longer solely credited Hütter and Schneider, as has been the case on all of the previous six albums. Percussionist Karl Bartos is here for the first time credited as a co-composer, and even on all six tracks, three of which solely with Hütter. Schneider, on the other hand, is only credited as co-composer on three tracks, and then Hütter stands alone as songwriter on all tracks except "Das Modell", which is co-written by Emil Schult. The fourth and final member of the band, Wolfgang Flür, is only credited 'elektronisches schlagzeug' ['electronic percussion'].

The album received generally positive reviews and reached a fine 12th position on the German albums chart list and went to number #9 in the UK, as the band's second best-charting album here. Three singles were released from the album, with track #1 as the first single, reaching number #25 on the national chart list, followed by track #4, which didn't chart, and finally track #5, which again didn't make it to the charts. "Das Modell" was reissued again in '81 as B-side to the versioned single "Computerlove" and was by then often chosen over the A-side by UK radio stations, after which EMI issued the single with "The Model" on the cover listed as A-side, although it was the same recordings with "Computerlove" on the A-side, but now the single reached number #7 in Germany, number #4 in Ireland, and going all the way to number #1 in the UK - as the first and only single by the band ('74's "Autobahn" is the closest competitor as the best-selling single at No. #11).

"The Model" from '81 was probably the first time I really took notice of the band and I especially remember the excellent music video that was made to promote the reissue, but I only got to know of the album during the late eighties without being terribly impressed back then. The strict synthpop was definitely not my favourite genre - I needed a clearer connection to new wave and / or post-punk to accept the music, and therefore Kraftwerk and artists like Tangerine Dream, Electric Light Orchestra and Brian Eno were typical examples of music I opted out on, while instead, I was much more excited about Orchestral Manouevres in the Dark, Human League, New Order, and German band Ideal when they combined synth with new wave and post-punk. After the turn of the millennium, I rediscovered Kraftwerk. It's not music I've listened to intensively but still find fascinating - especially considering all the artists they've inspired over several decades since their start in the 70s. Kraftwerk has exerted a great influence on the British 'second wave' with artists such as Human League, Gary Numan, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, OMD - on the development of the hip hop genre - and again during the late eighties and early nineties they have inspired the industrial rock genre and especially an entire techno scene, not to mention post-rock artists of the 90s, and when more comtemporary artists after 2010 find a starting point for their music, it's not seldom in combination with one or more of the aforementioned styles AND basic synthpop and electronic performers, making Kraftwerk one of the most influential bands ever.

Die Mensch-Maschine is well-produced, it has fine touches for strong pop-melodies and it may not sit as the band's most interesting release, but it's worth much more than just to know of.

Recommended.

org. cover
l-r: Bartos, Hütter,
Schneider, Flür

Kraftwerk "Trans Europa Express" (1977)

2009 cover

Trans Europa Express

release date: Mar. 1977

format: cd (2009 remaster)

[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,28]

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider

label: Kling Klang / EMI - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Europa Endlos" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Spiegelsaal" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Schaufensterpuppen" - 4. "Trans Europa Express" (5 / 5) (live) - 5. "Metall auf Metall" - 6. "Abzug" - 7. "Franz Schubert"

6th studio album by Kraftwerk following Radio-Aktivität (Oct. 1975) is the band's second album in their most classic and longest-lasting line-up. Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, who are credited the majority of the tracks are both credited on vocals, synthesizers and 'electronics'. Additionally, Hütter plays on 'Vako Orchestron' and 'synthanorma sequences', while Schneider also handles vocoders and 'votrax'. Apart from the two 'band leaders', the two remaining members are percussionists Wolfgang Flür and Karl Bartos, who are solely credited 'electronic percussion'.

At first, the album sounds much like a close progression from the '75 album, but new electronic instruments add completely new possibilities and sound bits to the band's electronic soundscape. With the use of especially sequencers, vocoders and electric percussion, the band once again marks itself out as musical avant-garde and perhaps takes a larger leap in the electronic genre than the one you find from Autobahn (1974) to the predecessor. Kraftwerk has now moved away from the small electronic quirks we find on the '75 album, and instead they have in a way focused the musical expression - made it more rigorous without simplifying - and at the same time they have created the band's most coherent album to date.

The highlighted tracks above are seven out of eight from an album with no fillers - last composition is the 47 seconds "Endlos Endlos", which basically only serve to resume the album's main theme and melody from track #1, so that the album ends the way it starts. In fact, there are fluid transitions between many of the tracks, even though they appear as distinctively different compositions.

Trans Europa Express was (as the second of the band's classic albums) released in both a German version and in a versioned English album with translated song titles and lyrics titled Trans Europe Express. The album landed at number #32 in Germany, but peaked at number #2 in France, and as number #8 in Italy. Two selected tracks: the 4th and 3th tracks, respectively, were released as singles without charting.

The album was released to generally positive reviews, but over the years it status has heightened to one of modern music's most significant cornerstones. In retrospect, it has achieved finer status than Autobahn and is naturally included in countless lists of the best albums of all time, e.g. "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (Rolling Stone), "The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made" (Mojo), "Top 100 Albums of All Time" (NME), "The 50 Best Albums of the 70s" (Q Magazine), "The 20 Most Influential Albums" (The Times), etc. etc. - just as the album is naturally found in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

The album has been released in several first editions with different front covers. The first German and some European editions came with a black and white cover with Hütter and Schneider flanked by Bartos and Flür (original Kling Klang / EMI releases), and a (second) colored cover with Schneider and Hütter on the right of the picture (Capitol editions) released in the UK, Scandinavia, and in the Netherlands, and with Kraftwerk's own 2009 remastered edition, the album was launched with a brand new cover without the four band members.

Trans Europa Express is possibly Kraftwerk's finest and greatest achievement. Autobahn, with its groundbreaking form, upholds a very special positions, and Die Mensch-Maschine and Computerwelt have their obvious individual strengths, but both lack a tiny bits in absolute coherency, which the band's brilliant 77 album contains.

Personally, I didn't listen to the album until sometime in the 80s, and unfortunately only after becoming acquainted with bands and artists who have clearly been heavily inspired by Kraftwerk and this very album. Imho, the album is of huge importance for the musical heritage - for the development of synthpop, new romantic, and other related styles. It's hard to imagine the distinctive sound of many artists from diverse styles without thinking of Trans Europa Express. When not counted among my top three favourites from 1977, the album is only absent because of the fact that I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the electronic genre until much later. Back then, I focused on punk rock and post punk during this period, and here are three albums with three of my biggest favorites from the time: The Ramones, The Clash, and The Jam - artists I listened to far more than the brilliant German band. By detours I discovered Kraftwerk's music and the band's enormous musical influence - and it's for that reason alone I pay tribute to the band and this album. Another note of interest, is the colossal difference in sound production quality when comparing releases by the aforementioned punk bands to that of Kraftwerk releases from the same period. In this way, Kraftwerk stands out as a band from an almost distant future. The album is also demanding to listen to if you subsequently listen to (perhaps) more popular releases from bands such as Human League, Devo, Yellow Magic Orchestra, New Order, Depeche Mode, Per Shop Boys, and then it even seems obvious to compare with much later releases from artists like The Orb, Sigur Rós, Mogwai, The Chemical Brothers, etc.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, Mojo, Q Magazine, Uncut 5 / 5 stars ]

    

1977 org. cover
l-r: Bartos, Schneider
Hütter, Flür

 

1977 UK cover
l-r: Flür, Bartos
Schneider, Hütter

Note the two founders of Kraftwerk, Hútter and Schneider
are in grey suits, while the two newcomers, Flür and Bartos - by the way
not credited one single track - are dressed in black suits.

Kraftwerk "Autobahn" (1974)

2009 cover

Autobahn

release date: Nov. 1, 1974

format: cd (2009 remaster)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider

label: Kling Klang / EMI Records - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Autobahn" (5 / 5) - 3. "Kometenmelodie 2" - 5. "Morgenspaziergang"

4th studio album from by German band Kraftwerk as follow-up to Ralf und Florian (Oct. '73) is by many considered the start of the band's success story - a group which originally, and partly still here, is a duo with Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. 'Partly' because Kraftwerk is at this point both a functioning duo-project and an artist collective at the same time. Although, not yet an official member during these recording, percussionist Wolfgang Flür plays on the album - and he will be a stable member from the release and up until '86. On the other hand, both guitarist Klaus Röder and songwriter Emil Schult (who is also credited the front cover) appear together with Hütter and Schneider inserted in what should look like a rear-view mirror on the front cover, where a picture of Flür has been inserted onto the dashboard of the car, as illustration of the band's five official members - however, Röder already left the band by the time of the album's release. On some later vinyl releases, Schult is not mentioned as a member... And on other releases, the rearview mirror image and dashboard have both been retouched. However, there is no doubt that the two musical driving forces are the founders of the band: Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider.

Autobahn with its five tracks has a total running time of approx. 42 minutes, and it has achieved iconic status in music history as a groundbreaking avant-garde album with a colossal significance for the beginning of synthpop, ambience and the entire electronic genre, and an album that has inspired contemporary and later artists across genres, and it's not only the title track, which has given the album this extraordinary status. On the band's previous albums, it was mainly or partially unmistakable krautrock and musique concrete which characterised Kraftwerk's music, but with this very album, the band marks the start of a predominantly electronic approach with the inclusion of elements from musique concrete. On the vinyl edition, the track "Autobahn" - credited Hütter, Schneider and the poet Emil Schult (who often co-wrote the songs) - with its nearly 23 minutes running time fills the entire A-side, and the song has become a modern evergreen. A song like "Kometenmelodie 2" has significant similarities with some music by Jean-Michel Jarre, while inspiration especially from this and from the final track "Morgenspaziergang" may be heard on several compositions by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, who have shown great admiration throughout the band's career on multiple occasions via album and song titles, in compositions, as well as on covers. David Bowie, Roxy Music, and Brian Eno are also indebted to the music by Kraftwerk.

Personally, I didn't give the band much importance until they made "Das model", or rather: not until the song was re-released with an accompanying video in '81, and then I didn't even know that the track featured on the album Die Mensch-Maschine ( 1978). The band and its music was always in the periphery of what I found interesting, without understanding that much of the British synthpop that I was particularly excited about in the early '80s owed huge debt to Kraftwerk. I do however, reacll the title song from some airplay on the national radio back in the lat 70s, and it was a tune that stood out. One of the great Danish bands from the 80s was the new wave band Kliché, and their two acclaimed studio albums Supertanker (1980) and Okay Okay Boys (1982) are nearly unimaginable without Kraftwerk and especially this very album.

The album peaked at No. #4 on the UK albums chart, as No. #5 on the US Billboard 200, and as No. #7 in Germany. The title track released as a single went to No. #9 on the national chart list, No. #11 in the UK, and made a 25th place in the US. Still, the track has achieved iconic status.

Autobahn is a piece of music history on par with the best works of the greatest artists. And it's not just huge because it's original, but because it anticipates and forms new styles and helps creating a whole new genre. The album is naturally included in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". The band has reissued this album and most other albums in 2009 in remastered editions, however, it's worth noting that the first three albums by Kraftwerk have never been officially reissued in any format. This rejection is also seen on the 8-disc box set Der Katalog (2009), where they enlists all their studio albums from 1-8 on the back cover starting with Autobahn, thus completely omitting the first three albums, just as Hütter says that with that collection they have collected all of their previous albums. On a later occasion he said that they have plans to release a second box set containing the earliest recordings, although, this has not yet materialised.

Essential.

[ allmusic.com, Uncut 5 / 5, Drowned in Sound, Spin 4,5 / 5, Mojo, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

original cover

detail from cover

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Kraftwerk "Ralf und Florian" (1973)

Ralf und Florian

release date: Oct. 1973

format: digital (1994 unofficial reissue)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,15]

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider

label: Germanofon - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Elektrisches Roulette" - 3. "Kristallo" - 5. "Tanzmusik" (live) - 6. "Ananas Symphonie"

3rd studio album by Kraftwerk originally released on Philips and here in an unofficial version from Czech Germanofon released approximately 1½ years after Kraftwerk 2 (1972), and as on that, the band / music project here, as the title indicates, only consists of the two founders: Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Both are jointly credited a long range of instruments - and as something new: now also on vocals, which is, however, quite minimalistic with vocals as backing choir and a kind of secondary instrument - also without recognisable lyrics. Konrad 'Conny' Plank is not co-producer on the album, as he was credited on the first two albums, instead he is here credited as sound engineer. And just like the two previous albums, Ralf und Florian was reissued on Philips and Vertigo through the 70s, but releases after 1979 are all unofficial issues, and Kraftwerk has basically written off the albums from before Autobahn (1974).

The album is the first to be listed as having been recorded at the band's Klingklang studio in Düsseldorf, and it clearly bears the stamp of being somewhat more well-produced and reworked. Stylistically, Kraftwerk has moved towards the mastery of greater spaciousness and a more condensed simplicity, again taking a move further away from the rhythmic krautrock, although you'll find reminiscences of more traditional instrumentation with guitar and rhythm instruments such as bass and drums on some compositions. With the exception of the final track, 'songs' have generally become shorter and the music has been shaped as electronic ambient and less chaotic. The album has been hailed as essential for the ambient genre, and when listening to "Tanzmusik" it's hard not to think of more contemporary acts such as The Orb, Boards of Canada, Sigur Rós and Danish band Efterklang - to name just a few.

After the release, the band made several live performances, including on German TV, where Wolfgang Flür often participated on drums (see live version of "Tanzmusik") - from Autobahn and afterwards he was credited as permanent member of the band's new line-up.

[ 👍allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Kraftwerk "Kraftwerk" (1970)

Kraftwerk [debut]

release date: Dec. 1, 1970

format: digital (1994 unofficial reissue)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,84]

producer: Ralf Hüttel, Florian Schneider-Esleben, Konrad 'Conny' Plank

label: Germanofon - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Ruckzuck" - 2. "Stratovarius"

Studio debut album by Kraftwerk consisting of the two founders Ralf Hüttel and Florian Schneider-Esleben after they had left the experimental German band Organisation, who had released the album Tone Float (Jun. '70). On this first outing, the drummers Andreas Hohmann and Klaus Dinger are also credited as members. Hohmann plays drums on the first two compositions, while Dinger is credited drums on the final cut.

The album consists of four tracks with varying playing time running from 7:50 to 12:10 minutes and with a total running time of just under 40 minutes. It's experimental instrumental music pointing to inspiration from another German band: Tangerine Dream, which had just released its debut Jun. '70, and then it's also music with influence from experimental releases by Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, John Cage, and especially Karlheinz Stockhausen and musique concrete in general. Several tracks and parts of compositions sounds very much like the result of spontaneous sessions with Hüttel playing organ and a special instrument: electric 'tubon', while Schneider is credited playing violin, flute, and percussion. Besides a krautrock style, the individual compositions are made with some interesting twists pointing to ambient and progressive elements and rhythms you may find on early electronic music of the mid-70s by Brian Eno, Roxy Music, David Bowie, Jean-Michel Jarre, and in the early eighties by an artist like e.g. Laurie Anderson and among many synthpop bands, and then again in the early techno scene. You'll find sound bits hinting at this in the actual electronic explosion from the late 80s and early 90s with bands like The Orb, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Dust Brothers etc. and in much wider sub-styles. The album was originally released on Philips - reissued several times through the 70s and also on cassette from '77, but it has never been officially released on CD format, nor has it been reissued after 1980, and Germanofon releases (many from '94) of the band's three earliest albums are all unofficial or 'bootleg' releases, and the band themselves haven't found it fruitful to reissue the earliest albums. This may also be seen e.g. with the band's own 8-CD box set Der Katalog (2009), which doesn't include releases from before Autobahn (1974).

The album is a pure curiosity. There are many other and better experimental albums from the period, and it's only interesting that Hütter and Schneider already here named their music-project Kraftwerk, although, the electronic characteristics were only established with the band's fourth album. Still, it's a bit of shame how Hütter and Schneider somehow won't acknowledge their musical starting point. There are some fine parts pointing to both their own later progression, but also to much other music that flourished during the 70s.

[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Rammstein "Rammstein" (2019)

Rammstein
release date: May 17, 2019
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,02]
producer: Olsen Involtini, Rammstein
label: Universal Music - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Deutschland" - 2. "Radio" - 3. "Zeig dich" (live) - 4. "Ausländer" - 6. "Puppe" (4,5 / 5) (live) - 8. "Diamant"

7th studio album by Rammstein - also referred to as [untitled] - released almost a full decade after Libe ist für alle da (2009). For the first time a studio release is without Swedish producer Jonas Hellner - instead Rammstein has co-produced the album with German guitarist, producer, and engineer Olsen Involtini (aka Olsen Olic), who arranged strings on Mutter (2001) and Reise, Reise (2004) and furthermore is guitarist in the American / German band Emigrate [founded by Rammstein guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe].
2011 saw the best of compilation album Made in Germany 1995-2011 featuring one new track, but other than that, the following 9 years saw Rammstein members engaged with live tours and individual projects including Till Lindemann's collaboration, Lindemann, Richard Z. Kruspe's band Emigrate, and the production on a new Rammstein album was announced on several occasions from 2013 - '17.
A decade is a long time in the music business and even longer than many bands survive together, but for Rammstein time hasn't made the band less popular - all thanks to the widely spread conception of being one of the most fascinating live acts around. Two months before the album release, Rammstein released an extended music video for the first track, "Deutschland" in cinematic proportions, and the single attracted much attention and also peaked at #1 on the national singles chart list. Also the second track, "Radio" was issued prior to the album release - peaking at #4, and following the album, the single "Ausländer" was released as the so far third and last single from the album, peaking at #2. The new album replicates their previous albums by topping the German albums chart list, which was followed in a number of other countries - especially around Europe. It has already been met by international acclaim as one of the band's absolute best studio albums, which I too find very understandable.
The album opens up with four strong tracks, and with the composition, "Puppe" - as a contender to their best song ever - the band reaches new heights of energetic brutality and they successfully explore new territories within industrial metal. On "Diamant" the angry music is exchanged for a surprisingly soft emotional brake. There are so many strong tracks here, and the best thing about it is the sense of revitalisation of a band, which many thought had peaked with Mutter some 18 years ago, but here they produce one of their best albums on which they primarily sound like Rammstein but also by adding new dimensions to its strict stylistic repertoire. They are sort of widening the genre by adding new elements to it, like a sense of humour, sentimentality, and a display of trust in own abilities.
Highly recommendable.
[ 👍allmusic.com, Kerrang!, Exclaim!, NME, Clash 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

2019 Favourite releases: 1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Ghosteen - 2. The Cranberries In the End - 3. Rammstein Rammstein

Anadol "Uzun Havalar" (2018)

Uzun Havalar

release date: Jul. 13, 2018

format: digtal (7 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]

producer: Anadol

label: Kinship - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Görünmez Hava" - 2. "Ay Çürüdü" - 3. "Adieu" - 4. "Casio Havası" - 7. "78 Yılının En Uzun Dakikası"

2nd full-length studio album by Türkish-born Gözen Atila following one year after her debut Hatıralar. The album is made up of seven instrumental electronica / synth-folk collages. Where the debut was much more influenced by Turkish folklore, Uzun Havalar appears like a stronger original work. You may still hear an influence from Turkish music tradition but the overall shape is one of contemporary synth-folk electronica. Anadol mix old and new, it's a pot of Eastern mystcism mixed with Western melancholia.

Anadol "Hatıralar" (2017)

Hatıralar

release date: Mar. 24, 2017

format: digital (16 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,58]

producer: Anadol, Işık Sarıhan

label: Inverted Spectrum / Pingipung - nationality: Germany

Second album by Anadol (aka Turkish-born Gözen Atila Kaya) originally recorded in 2011-12 in Turkey and Berlin and released on Inverted Spectrum Records, Turkey. The debut comes in various versions - apparently, the original was a memory-stick release, which was reissued by Pingipung as a 12-track vinyl lp and as downloadable album via Anadol's bandcamp profile. 'Hatıralar' is Turkish for 'memories.

Anadol is a musical project primarily playing instrumental psychedelic synth folk - a unique combo where the sound artist combines musical influence from Turkish folklore, Western music and various types of world music to produce simple melodic patterns using synthesizers with sporadic added instrumenation.

EDIT 2023:

The album has been reissued in a remastered and remixed version counting 12 compositions.

Nils Frahm "All Melody" (2018)

All Melody
release date: Jan. 26, 2018
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,86]
producer: Nils Frahm
label: Erased Tapes - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 2. "Sunson" - 3. "A Place" - 5. "Human Range" - 6. "Forever Changeless" - 7. "All Melody" (live) - 8. "#2" - 11. "Kaleidoscope"

9th studio album by Nils Frahm, who has released albums on independent English label Erased Tapes since 2009. This is modern classical and minimalism fusioned with electronic, and perhaps with the addition of ambient, although, that may be an integral part of the aforementioned styles combined. It's difficult to label as either part of an experimental electronic genre, or rather think of it as avant-garde within the classical sphere. It's really transgressing the idea of fixed music genres as belonging to either popular music or classical, almost in a "wave versus particle" theory - this is really both depending on perspective.
It's simplistic, and at times truly minimalist but also built using melodic harmonies in a very organic way. And there's an ever-present sensation of ambience, which makes me think of a modern version of Jean-Michel Jarre - at least when thinking of his earliest works - just without traditional synths.
Previously, I have seen Frahm as an artist who makes music that requires ones full attention, but with All Melody he has moved into the hemisphere of popular music where manifestations may be listened to with randomised attention, so to speak. And speaking of manifestations - Frahm was musical composer to the fabulous Julian Rosefeldt film "Manifesto" (2015) featuring Cate Blanchett, in which she brilliantly plays a dozen different characters, and the music plays its very own prominent part.
Perhaps there's some need of sharpened attention when listening to All Melody but that doesn't mean you necessarily need to put on a pair of headphones to absorb the message; however, you may very well do just that and thereby extend your experience. I come to think of Philip Glass - the seemingly repetitious intervals that you meet along the way in most of the compositions here, but also Jarre and a sense of ethereal spaciousness.
Sometimes listening to this album makes me imagine watching an imaginary Godfrey Reggio sequel to "Powaqqatsi" where you're exposed to unexpected lifeforms seen from the flight of a drone, through the eyes of a seagull, or through the lenses of an underwater camera following a herd of dolphins to a secret place in the outskirts of Atlantis.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Drowned in Sound 5 / 5 stars ]

Nena "Oldschool" (2015)

Oldschool

release date: Feb. 27, 2015

format: cd (Deluxe Edition)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]

producer: Samy Deluxe (aka Samy Sorge)

label: Laugh + Peas - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Oldschool" - 2. "Lieder von früher" - 3. "Genau jetzt" - 4. "Ja das wars" - 7. "Berufsjugendlich" - 8. "Sonnemond" - 11. "Magie" - 12. "Kreis" - 14. "Peter Pan"

12th studio album by Nena following a little more than two years after Du bist gut (Nov. 2012). The standard issue contains 13 tracks with a running time of 43 minutes, whereas the Deluxe Edition comes with an additional four songs - not collected at the end but scattered here and there all over the album, and it comes with a total running time at approx. 58 minutes.

Stylewise, the album is a bit of a turn to more electronically-based compositions and at the same time with a fresh incorporation of elements from songs of Neue Deutche Welle of the 1980s without sounding 'oldschool'. The title obviously both refers to the lyrical content as well as the new take on older styles. Surprisingly, the album comes with several great songs, the whole album being a fine uptempo diverse collection, and in general, this is actually turns out as one of Nenas all-time best studio albums!

Recommended.

Nena "Du bist gut" (2012)

Du bist gut

release date: Nov. 2, 2012

format: 2 cd (Deluxe Edition)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,06]

producer: Derek von Krogh

label: Laugh + Peas - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Das ist nicht alles" - 2. "Schmetterling" - 3. "Lied Nummer eins" - 5. "Freiheit" - 8. "Wo ist mein Zuhause" - 15. "Du bist gut"

11th studio album (not counting her many releases with music for children) by Nena following three years after Made in Germany (Oct. 2009). Disc 1 contains a total of 15 tracks with a running time surpassing 71 minutes - this is also released as the standard album. Disc 2 contains 8 live recordings of some of her most familiar songs, four of which are new studio live recordings and four recordings from a live concert in Berlin.

Nationally, the album made it as high as to number #2 on the albums chart list but critics didn't meet it with a warm welcome, in fact, the album is regarded as one of her weaker solo albums, and critics mostly found that it failed to showcase anything new from an artist who was caught on repeat. I admit that it sums up much of her previous work, and the best thing here is Disc 2 and especially the Berlin live recordings.

The front cover art is credited Nena's daughter Larissa Kerner and her son Sakias features on vocals on a few tracks.

Nena "Made in Germany" (2009)

Made in Germany
release date: Oct. 2, 2009
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,35]
producer: Derek von Krogh, Uwe F.-Petersen, Reinhold Heil, Nena Kerner
label: Laugh + Peas / BMG - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 2. "Du bist so gut für mich" - 3. "Ich bin hyperaktiv" (4 / 5) - 5. "Geheimnis" (live) - 6. "Du hast dich entschieden" - 7. "Wir sind wahr" - 9. "In meinem Leben"

10th solo studio album by Nena (released after Himmel, Sonne, Wind und Regen, a 2008 album made for children) but viewed in her pop / rock discography, it follows her double album Cover Me (Oct. 2007). The album is her second to be released on her own established label Laugh + Peas (the first being the 2008 album with children's music), and it comes out as a fine combo of her 2001 and 2005 releases, meaning primarily German pop / rock with synthpop and / or electropop elements. The album is her first to include her twins Larissa and Sakias both featuring on additional vocals on three of the songs. It appears that Nena is the so far only artist to have had 14 singles charting on the German singles hit list - the most recent entry being the single "In meinem Leben" peaking as number #4. The album was a new successful release in Germany going as high as number #3 on the albums chart list.

Nena "Cover Me" (2007)

Cover Me
release date: Oct. 2007
format: 2 cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,54]
producer: Derek von Krogh, Philipp Palm, Nena; Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen
label: Warner Strategic Marketing - nationality: Germany

9th solo album by Nena is a 2 cd and 31 tracks covers album.
Disc 1 are all songs of German origin, which is produced by von Krogh, Palm and Nena, whereas Disc 2 are of foreign (meaning primarily English) origin, all produced by Fahrenkrogh-Petersen, and these generally count the least favourable compositions as they are also the most familiar songs, e.g. The Cure's "Friday I'm in Love", Bowie's "Heroes" (here: "Helden") and "Starman", Rolling Stones' "The Last Time" and "She's Like a Rainbow", Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and "Blowin' in the Wind", Neil Young's "After the Goldrush", and Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi".
Initially, I found it superfluous, but it's actually quite fine once you dig into the material. It's really a huge blend of sources, representing songs from all eras and various original styles, but Nena has handpicked the songs, claiming them as personal favourites, and she mostly manages to make them her own with her own personal interpretations. Now, Nena doesn't possess the strongest vocal instrument and you would perhaps believe her hardest parts would be to cover Joni Mitchell or Mazzy Star, but these are actually fine personal songs that add new dimensions to the original versions. Generally, the more difficult covers here are the ones where the arrangements come too close to the originals, e.g. the songs originally performed by Rolling Stones, Moby, Air, and T. Rex.
All in all, it's a fine collection, which both include fine interpretations as well as mildly unneccessary inclussions, but Disc 1 definitely saves the whole album.

Nena "Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann" (2005)

Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann (compilation)

release date: 2005

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

producer: various

label: Sony BMG - nationality: Germany

Compilation album by German neue-welle band Nena released somewhat simultaneously with the release of Nena, the solo artist's eight studio album Willst Du mitt mir gehn (Mar. 2005). The background to this is probably given the fact that Nena signed with Warner in 2002, when she released the album Nena Feat. Nena, an album of old songs in new versions but previously issued by Polydor (now owned by Sony BMG) and also the compilation Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann mostly concentrating on Nena the soloist's career but also containing tracks by Nena the band. I guess, Sony BMG were provoked to show they owned the rights to release the band's original songs, so they simply used the title used by Warner, which they could rightfully claim is taken from one the band's biggest hits - originates from Feuer und Flamme (Jun. 1985).

Anyway, this is a decent compilation, which also proves that the band was much more than the 'Ballons' song.