Kraftwerk Albums (11)
What The Critics Say
For rock bands, hauling gear across countries and continents has not changed a great deal in the past several decades. The same can't be said for Kraftwerk. Grappling with sensitive cables and other technical gadgets in extreme climates has become a thing of the past. For them, everything has become easier to manage and transport, so it's natural that they'd become more enthusiastic about touring. Recorded during the group's 2004 journey through Europe, Japan, and the U.S., Minimum-Maximum is a two-disc representation of their revitalized live show. Visuals are such a crucial aspect of their performances that the set will naturally fall short of making you feel as if you are there -- whether it's Moscow, Warsaw, Budapest, or San Francisco -- while in your car or living room. More crucially, who really knows exactly how much live manipulation is going on with the elements of each track? Whatever the case, it all sounds good -- sharp, vibrant, alive. The original arrangements are often altered slightly, the tracks are tactfully sequenced, and the crowd noise is kept to a minimum (either near the close of a track or in recognition of one as it begins), so the release is sort of a glorified greatest-hits collection. Along with some wise selections from 2003's Tour de France Soundtracks, there's plenty of the expected classic material, all of which has given life to so much industrial, dance, and rap music. (You could, in fact, walk into the average techno club or turn on a mainstream radio station the week this was released and hear traces of Kraftwerk in one form or another.) "Radioactivity" and "The Robots," two of the more altered tracks, contain the greatest thrills; the former's permafrost placidity spirals into a frictionless dancefloor charge, while the latter is more muscular than ever, acknowledging advancements made by acolytes Model 500 and Underground Resistance. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
'Tour de France Soundtracks'
Release Date 7/22/2003
Tracks 12
Label Astralwerks
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Among electronic artists (as well as virtually the entire record industry), only Kraftwerk could construct a viable album by making only minimal adjustments to a sound they made definitive more than 30 years earlier. Tour de France Soundtracks, the group's first record in more than 15 years, is quintessentially Kraftwerk but still fits in well with contemporary dance trends like the experimental microhouse scene (highly influenced by the group's ultra-minimalism). The story of Tour de France Soundtracks actually begins 20 years earlier, in 1983, when Kraftwerk released the "Tour de France" single. Recorded in tribute to one of the sporting world's most grueling events, the track was a hi-res piece of dance-pop that made lyrical reference to various biking landmarks (like the infamous mountaintop finish at Tourmalet) and an assortment of sonic references as well (including a bike chain in free spin and the belabored breathing of a bicyclist -- in rhythm, of course). Techno-Pop, the album Kraftwerk scheduled to accompany "Tour de France," was postponed and later canceled (ironically, after a serious biking accident by Ralf Hütter, one of the group's resident biking maniacs). The track resurfaced two decades later, just in time for the centenary anniversary of the race, though Kraftwerk still missed the deadline -- only the rejuvenated single was available during the race. It has little in common with the original, but the new "Tour de France" is impressive nonetheless, boasting the kinetic power of a 100-strong peloton, a guttural Teutonic vocoder of the type beloved by fans, and a recurring tag so sublime Jan Ullrich could hum it through each of the Tour's 20 stages without fear of annoyance. Except for a closing reprise of the original "Tour de France," the rest of the album isn't as focused on biking; Hütter and Schneider construct sublime beatpieces with conceptual lines close to biking topics ("Aéro Dynamik," "Titanium," "Chrono," "Vitamin"), but never confront the listener with yet another track dropping bike terms like peloton or a l'enfer du nord. "Chrono" is the track closest to the Kraftwerk ideal, with its future-shock synth and percussion precision, while "Vitamin" is the farthest away (a downbeat track that still could only have escaped from the Kling Klang studio). Tour de France Soundtracks is a successful record on anyone's terms; it's one that fans won't need to cringe from, and one that newcomers will be able to enjoy for what it is. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Five long years after Computer World, Kraftwerk finally resurfaced with another LP, Electric Cafe; the rest of the pop music industry having finally caught up with the group's vision, they no longer seem so innovative and inspired -- indeed, the record's brief running time (under 36 minutes) seems indicative of a lack of ideas and new directions, with the spartan opening tracks, "Technopop" and "Musique Non-Stop," virtually interchangeable and the remaining cuts surprisingly mainstream in both form and content. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Man-Machine is closer to the sound and style that would define early new wave electro-pop -- less minimalistic in its arrangements and more complex and danceable in its underlying rhythms. Like its predecessor, Trans-Europe Express, there is the feel of a divided concept album, with some songs devoted to science fiction-esque links between humans and technology, often with electronically processed vocals ("The Robots," "Spacelab," and the title track); others take the glamour of urbanization as their subject ("Neon Lights" and "Metropolis"). Plus, there's "The Model," a character sketch that falls under the latter category but takes a more cynical view of the title character's glamorous lifestyle. More pop-oriented than any of their previous work, the sound of The Man-Machine -- in particular among Kraftwerk's oeuvre -- had a tremendous impact on the cold, robotic synth pop of artists like Gary Numan, as well as Britain's later new romantic movement. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Although Autobahn was a left-field masterpiece, Trans-Europe Express is often cited as perhaps the archetypal (and most accessible) Kraftwerk album. Melodic themes are repeated often and occasionally interwoven over deliberate, chugging beats, sometimes with manipulated vocals; the effect is mechanical yet hypnotic. Thematically, the record feels like parts of two different concept albums: one a meditation on the disparities between reality and image ("Hall of Mirrors" and "Showroom Dummies" share recurring images of glass, reflection, illusion, and confused identities, as well as whimsical melodies), and the other the glorification of Europe. There is an impressive composition paying homage to "Franz Schubert," but the real meat of this approach is contained in the opening love letter, "Europe Endless," and the epic title track, which shares themes and lyrics with the following track, "Metal on Metal." The song "Trans-Europe Express" is similar in concept to "Autobahn," as it mimics the swaying motion and insistent drive of a cross-continent train trip. What ultimately holds the album together, though, is the music, which is more consistently memorable even than that on Autobahn. Overall, Trans-Europe Express offers the best blend of minimalism, mechanized rhythms, and crafted, catchy melodies in the group's catalog; henceforth, their music would take on more danceable qualities only hinted at here (although the title cut provided the basis for Afrika Bambaataa's enormously important dancefloor smash "Planet Rock"). ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
A concept album exploring themes of broadcast communications, Radio-Activity marked Kraftwerk's return to more obtuse territory, extensively utilizing static, oscillators, and even Cage-like moments of silence to approximate the sense of radio transmission; a pivotal record in the group's continuing development, the title track -- the first they ever recorded in English -- is their most fully realized electro-pop effort to date, while "The Voice of Energy" precipitates the robot voice so crucial to their subsequent work. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Although Kraftwerk's first three albums were groundbreaking in their own right, Autobahn is where the group's hypnotic electronic pulse genuinely came into its own. The main difference between Autobahn and its predecessors is how it develops an insistent, propulsive pulse that makes the repeated rhythms and riffs of the shimmering electronic keyboards and trance-like guitars all the more hypnotizing. The 22-minute title track, in a severely edited form, became an international hit single and remains the peak of the band's achievements -- it encapsulates the band and why they are important within one track -- but the rest of the album provides soundscapes equally as intriguing. Within Autobahn, the roots of electro-funk, ambient, and synth pop are all evident -- it's a pioneering album, even if its electronic trances might not capture the attention of all listeners. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Continuing to work with Conny Plank, who once again provides a compelling job as producer and engineer, Kraftwerk went right ahead and named their new album after their two remaining members -- an understandable enough move. Like the first two albums, Ralf and Florian still has not seen official re-release, for all that one can practically taste Kraftwerk's leap into the beyond on it. Given that this was the last album before the most famous lineup was formed and Autobahn was released, it's appropriate to listen to Ralf and Florian as a harbinger for the future, though perhaps all too easy. Take it on its own terms -- a further investigation of electronic possibilities in a more open-ended, less constantly structured fashion than would be the case later -- and Ralf and Florian becomes most enjoyable. "Kristallo" certainly shows how Kraftwerk was right on the verge -- various sequencer-driven rhythms and pulses provide the bed for what sounds like a free-flowing harpsichord solo or its near equivalent. "Tanzmusik," meanwhile, captures the sheer sense of beauty often present in the band's glory days, complete with what sounds like celebratory handclaps and bells, though crucially lacking the elegant melancholy that gave later songs total heft. "Tongebirge" is another one of the tracks that shows Kraftwerk right on the cusp of future changes, Schneider's swirling, lovely flute performance further treated with reverb and flange, while Hütter adds some immediately familiar (from later albums) synth tones. There's still no core rhythm or melody, though, the immediate distinction between this era of the band and the later one. Parts of the lovely, piano/flute-led "Heimatklänge," meanwhile, suggest some of David Sylvian's early instrumental solo work in its sweet appeal. Another hint of the future appears with the final song, thanks to the electronically distorted opening vocals chanting the title of "Ananas Symphonie." The inclusion of what sounds like steel guitar and banjo at the end is something else again. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Like its predecessor (similarly designed right down to the traffic cone cover, though green instead of red), Kraftwerk 2 has never been properly re-released, giving it the same lost-classic aura as the first album, or at least lost, period. Thankfully, bootleg reissues in 1993 restored it to wider public listening; even more so than Kraftwerk 1, its lack of official reappearance is a mystery, in that the band is clearly well on its way to the later Kraftwerk sound of fame. Stripped down to the Hütter/Schneider duo for this release, and again working with Conrad Plank as coproducer and engineer (this album alone demonstrates his ability to create performances combining technological precision and warmth), Kraftwerk here start exploring the possibilities of keyboards and electronic percussion in detail. Given that the band's drummers were gone, such a shift was already in the wind, but it's the enthusiastic grappling with drum machines and their possibilities that makes Kraftwerk 2 noteworthy. The nearly side-long effort "KlingKlang," which would later give the name to the band's studio and which predicts later lengthy efforts like "Autobahn," shows how the duo is still working toward its future styles. Steady beats are sometimes sped up and slowed down; more freeform performances on flute, violin, and keyboard remain present (rather than honing in on a core melody); and again, no vocals yet grace the recordings. On the second side, the more rock-oriented origins of the group still cling on, mostly without any percussion whatsoever: the distorted solo guitar start of "Strom," the guitar/bass duets of "Spule 4" (queasy) and "Wellenlänge" (quite beautiful and very indicative of many '90s space rock efforts). Ultimately as with Kraftwerk 1, Kraftwerk 2 isn't the "classic" sound of the band, but it's astonishingly worthy on its own, well worth seeking out. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
What might have been simply seen as an agreeable enough debut album has since become something of a notorious legend because Kraftwerk, or more accurately the core Hütter/Schneider duo at the heart of the band, simply refuses to acknowledge its existence any more. What's clearly missing from Kraftwerk is the predominance of clipped keyboard melodies that later versions of the band would make their own. Instead, Kraftwerk is an exploratory art rock album with psych roots first and foremost, with Conny Plank's brilliant co-production and engineering skills as important as the band performances. Still, Hütter and Schneider play organ and "electric percussion" -- Hütter's work on the former can especially be appreciated with the extended opening drone moan of the all-over-the-place "Stratovarius," combined with Schneider's eerie violin work. But it's a different kind of combination and exploration, with the key pop sugar (and vocal work) of later years absent in favor of sudden jump cuts of musique concrète noise and circular jamming as prone to sprawl as it is to tight focus. Having never been given an authorized CD re-release, and long since out of print on vinyl, Kraftwerk only came to wider notice again in 1993 as part of the bootleg series that also resulted in the appearance of the early Neu! albums. The connection is important, given that Neu!'s Klaus Dinger is one of the two drummers; the roots of the motorik trance and tripped-out ambient wash of the later band can clearly be heard throughout. "Ruckzuck," with its repetitive flute mantra from Schneider and the initial groove suddenly turned into a stuttering, nervous freakout, is merely one demonstration, as is the steady rise-and-fall of feedback and flute at the end of "Megaherz." As a smart reference, there's an actual picture of a "kraftwerk" -- a power station -- in the gatefold art. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
