Kraftwerk was
very probably the first new wave band. They were a great influence
on the electronic sound of the early 80's as well as club "dance" music.
Starting in 1974, they released six studio albums worldwide as well as
numerous remixes and who knows what else they released in their native
Germany. Word is, they should be releasing a new album sometime soon.
*Click on
an album cover to find out how to order it
Autobahn
Ever wonder what it would be like to drive on the German
Autobahn? If it is possible to capture the experience through music,
then Kraftwerk did it with their first album release. This is nothing
like their later release, however it does show their brillance early on.
Tracks are: (1) Autobahn (2) Kometenmelodie 1 (3) Kometenmelodie
2 (4) Mitternacht (5) Morganspaziergang
Radioactivity
(1975) was Kraftwerk's 2nd release. Like all
of their work, it was a concept album, this one based on the radio.
Like Autobahn, this wasn't a very commercial album. Only Radioactivity,
Airwaves, and Antenna are really very listenable. Otherwise, probably
only diehard Kraftwerk fans will enjoy it. Tracks
are: (1) Geiger Counter (2) Radioactivity (3) Radioland (4) Airwaves
(5) Intermission (6) News (7) The Voice of Energy (8) Antenna (9) Radio
Stars (10) Uranium (11) Transistor (12) Ohm Sweet Ohm
Trans-Europe
Express (1977) was their
3rd release and the first somewhat commercial album. Like Autobahn,
it gives you a feeling of being in motion on some of the songs, but it
is much more musical, the beat catches you. I especially loved the
line in about meeting Iggy Popp and David Bowie. I thought that added
a special flavor. The idea of Showroom Dummies is taken from an old
Outer Limits or Twilight Zone episode in which all the mannequins go out
shopping at night when noone else is around. Finally, The Hall of
Mirrors makes me think of The Picture of Dorian Gray and it reminds us
that, "even the greatest stars live their lives in the looking glass..."
Tracks are:
(1) Europe Endless (2) The Hall of Mirrors (3) Showroom Dummies (4) Trans-Europe
Express (5) Metal On Metal (6) Franz Schubert (7) Endless Endless
The Man Machine
made Kraftwerk a full-fledged new wave act. It was released at the
height of the punk rock movement (1978) and the uniformity of their look
reminds me of Devo several years later, all wearing identical clothes,
with similar hair cuts. I like this whole album from the beginning
of the first cut to the last note of The Man Machine, however, The Robots
is my favorite cut on the album. It gives the same eerie feel as
Show Room Dummies. Also, Metropolis sounds like it could have been
the theme song for the early science fiction film of the same name, had
that film been in sound and in English. Tracks
are: (1) The Robots (2) Spacelab (3) Metropolis (4) The Model
(5) Neon Lights (6) The Man Machine
Computer World
(1981) is my favorite Kraftwerk album. Surprisingly,
it was made before the home computer craze caught on. Their music
has always sounded very computerized to me so this seemed like a natural.
Pocket Calculator and It's More Fun to Compute really cracked me up, while
Computer Love made me think of online romance. Tracks
are: (1) Computer World (2) Pocket Calculator (3) Numbers (4)
Computer World 2 (5) Computer Love (6) Home Computer (7) It's More Fun
To Compute
Electric Cafe
(1986) was released a full 5 years after Computer
World, but they hadn't lost a thing. This became their most popular
and highest selling album. I have heard all of these songs on the
radio at one point or another, but especially The Telephone Call in which
they took dialtones and other telephone noises and turned them into music.
Tracks are:
(1) Boing Boom Tschak (2) Techno Pop (3) Musique Non Stop (4) The Telephone
Call (5) Sex Object (6) Electric Cafe
The
Mix
(1991) is the last major
album that Kraftwerk put out. It wasn't however, an album of new
material. It's comprised of some of the bands more popular songs,
remixed mostly to a dance beat. Although I love the original versions of
these songs, some of these new mixes are very good. The new version
of The Robots was especially interesting.
Tracks are:
(1) The Robots (2) Computerlove (3) Pocket Calculator (4) Dentaku (5) Autobahn
(6) Radioactivity (7) Trans Europe Express (8) Abzug (9) Metal On Metal
(10) Homecomputer (11) Music Non Stop
I was also able
to find 2 very rare early recordings. They were called Kraftwerk
and Kraftwerk 2, recorded in 1970 and 1971. This music is very mellow
for the most part, but the first track on Kraftwerk is a bit catchy.
Tracks on Kraftwerk are: (1) Ruckzuck (2) Stratovarius (3)
Megaherz (4) Von Himmel Hoch Tracks on Kraftwerk 2 are: (1)
Klingklang (2) Atem (3) Strom (4) Spule 4 (5) Wellenlange (6) Harmonika
