Best Kraftwerk Album

Did anyone go out and buy any kraftwerk after reading this thread?

no, but i listened to "the man-machine".

i change my answer: radio-activity.

Weird that so few like Autobahn.

This is where I drop my usual complaint about the absence of remasters.

coming soon

i can see it now on Amazon.com - 'buy 'The Catalogue' box set with 'Chinese Democracy' for only £22.47 (save £8.14)'

and everybody gets a free Crystal Pepsi if they appear in 2008!!

crystal pepsi makes an excellent bike chain cleaner/lubricant, as it happens

Weird that so few like Autobahn.

it's actually the most listened to track of their Last.FM profile, which is unexpected, considering its length.

the first, like, eight seconds of 'antenna' are so incredible.

"Autobahn", to most people, is mainly about the title track and the first side. The second side is a bit unsatisfactory, even though "Morgenspaziergang" has some funny attempts to create nature sounds with synths and the last "Kometenmelodie" is actually a funny little tune.

But "The Man Machine" is the one, really.

XP: You sure the last.fm version isn't the shorter single edit?

Is this one of the few ILM album polls in which every choice got at least one vote?

Weird that so few like Autobahn.

exactly what i was thinking just now

Geir, it sort of baffles me that you like Kraftwerk. Where do they fit into your criteria?!

robot solidarity

Well, they are very melodic. Except maybe for 'Numbers'. I wonder if Geir likes that one.

Yeah, I love side 2 of Autobahn. Lots of melody, including two inspired by comets.

Has anybody heard 2 Live Crew's classic "Drop The Bomb" with the dope Trans Europe Express sample? I've been meaning to flip that with the original for ages now.

Geir, it sort of baffles me that you like Kraftwerk. Where do they fit into your criteria?!

-- jonathan - stl, Thursday, 3 April 2008 01:16 (4 hours ago) Link

srsly? they are very melodic!

oops, i didn't read moley

so baffled by the decision to play one of the four us tour dates in the suburban "club" in my dear STPL/MPLS hometown, but i'm not complaining

Geir, it sort of baffles me that you like Kraftwerk.

Well, they use lots of synths. And only very occasionally are they non-melodic. It's not like I am a fan of pre-"Autubahn"-Kraftwerk, mind you.

I would have seen you as more of a Trans Europe Express guy, Geir.

"Metal On Metal" is hardly my kind of thing.

but "Franz Schubert" must be

Isn't "Franz Schubert" mainly just a reprise of "Europe Endless"? I like "Europe Endless", but "The Man Machine" is closer to 80s synthpop stylistically.

i like the first two albums, but i can't understand someone who would choose either as their favorite compared to any of the others

I'd be interested to hear the three supporters of Electric Cafe explain their choice. To me, that's the indefensible choice. The Mix amazingly manages to sound very dated in its efforts to modernize their older songs, but as it functions as an introduction to Kraftwerk for many people (and then sucks so bad that said people never manage to move onto their original material - almost happened to me), I could see why someone could vote for it. The first three albums (1, 2 and R&F) are all brilliant in their own way as well. Actually, I've been listening to 1 and 2 more than any of the others recently.

But Electric Cafe?

I love the telephone song

i love that demo version of Technopop thats floating around on the internets - the arpeggio bit at the end is classic Kraftwerk and the exactly the sort of thing thats missing from Electric Cafe.

I love that demo. It sounds more like their mid-seventies stuff than Computer World, it's got their new equipment but they also took their Orchestron back out of the closet so it sounds just as much like 'Radioactivity', and then that arpeggio at the end might as well be from Man Machine

I hope the original 1984 version of the album turns up someday

Vako Orchestron Optical Disc Playback Sampler aka Pea Hix plays KW demos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXJJ2Ek4bmQ&feature=related

'Radioactivity' & Popul Vuh's 'Aguirre' = Orchestron choir wins over Mellotron choir

i think the mix still sounds dope, possibly because those versions are still generally the ones they do on their recent live DVD that my son is obsessed with watching.

I don't get Trans Europe Express. Don't know why, it just sounds a bit long and slow and boring. It makes me think of a train that got stuck in a siding rather than a whizzy fast thing.

"I don't get Trans Europe Express. Don't know why, it just sounds a bit long and slow and boring.

-- the next grozart"

i <3 ILM.

I regret saying Computer World way upthread. The only reason I said that was because "Computer Love" was my favourite song of theirs. But I think "Electric Cafe" is their best album. Maybe you just had to be there to hear what that sounded like when it came out, I dunno. But "The Telephone Call" is the second best Kraftwerk song I think.

I bought "Electric Cafe" on the day of release and I was disappointed with it then - it already sounded dated. As I've said elsewhere, it just sounded like they were paging through presets on their DX7. Side one was such a let down, but side two was far better. "The Telephone Call" is a superb song though.

"Telephone Call" would be more universally regarded as one of Kraftwerk's finest if it weren't for the drumbeat. The sounds used for the BD/SD combo just don't work. They sounds lazy, along with the rhythm itself. Everything floating above the beat is awesome though, I'll give you that.

Surprised Computer World ranked so highly here. Always found this album a bit...silly? Relatively speaking, of course.

Anyone heard the vinyl reissues? I saw them at the shop today and had to stop myself from buying them all. I'll almost definitely go back and buy TMM and TEE. They also had Autobahn and Radio-Activity, both of which I like / don't love. But the reissues look might fine so I still sorta want them all.

I know what you mean about CW. I didn't rate it as highly as TMM or TEE on first hearing and like you I thought stuff like "by pressing down a special key it plays a little melody" wasn't really worthy of them. But it's grown on me a lot b/c it's probably their shiniest and most melodic effort, not to mention how visionary it is. I still wouldn't rate it above TMM but when I saw the Catalogue run last year I pounced on tickets for the CW evening.

Computer Love has one of their best melodies though.

Radioactivity is by far my favourite of the Kraftwerk albums.

I thought stuff like "by pressing down a special key it plays a little melody" wasn't really worthy of them

"Turn the dial with your hand
Till you find the shortwave band"

"We now switch the radio on, out of the speaker it rings out..We're driving down the motorway!"

Also CW is the album where Karl Bartos really comes into his own as a tunesmith, most of the melodies on that album are his. There was some discussion of this matter on the "favourite member of Kraftwerk" thread, it seems to me that Bartos' departure had a lot to do w/the project stalling after Electric Café

stuff like "by pressing down a special key it plays a little melody" wasn't really worthy of them

Not worthy in what way?

Computer Love is probably their best but it feels quite unrelenting to me - there's something a bit creepy about the whole vibe (that really takes over on the last two tracks) that prevents me from playing it too often. I would probably have voted Man Machine

I see what you mean, CW was my first Kraftwerk album and I was astonished at how lightweight and dinky it was for a band that was spoken of in such reverential tones. That said I listened to it a lot because it was catchy and funny, nowadays I recognize it as the classic it really is, and can see exactly how it got #1 here, though TE-E and Man-Machine are of course also pretty legit

Not worthy in what way?

Just b/c it sounds a bit twee and childish. "Turn the dial with your hand..." doesn't have that same tone of tweeness.

Anyone cares to stand up for Electric Café/Technopop? Always felt that one was unjustly dismissed. "Telefone Call" is all time in my book.

Never liked it much until I heard that live version of "Musique Non Stop" on Minimum-Maximum which quite frankly rules. I just think that style of music was really outdated/unhip at some point in time, relistening to it now it's a pretty neat album, even if for once they sound slightly behind the curve.

Yeah experiencing "Musique Non Stop" live during the Min/Max tour was quite a revelation.

Like the album apart from "Sex Object", which I think has some sort of sampled slap bass on it, ugh. First side is great, haters begone.

Also CW is the album where Karl Bartos really comes into his own as a tunesmith, most of the melodies on that album are his.

Citation?

Citation?

David Buckley's Kraftwerk Publikation goes into this.

Interesting. I have Publikation but haven't read it yet.

Don't know if someone said this already but there's a new kraftwerk doc just starting on bbc4 right now

In the uk obv

Too much Paul Morley so far.

Digging all the footage of German kids losing their minds.

Repeated at 01:30 for you TiVo just.

Don't bother. Only half-watching etc. so

Morley: "The Beatles influence stuff like Elton John unlike our Kraftwerk guys"

Some other idiot: "They will be our Bach"

20 mins there is footage of Coldplay.

Bin.

My partner was watching it next door could hear Tago-Mago Damo through the open door, also heard the fucking Morlester:( so didn't investigate.

That was a useless programme dear the bbc

Not enough recent 'werk concert footage to be a docu focused on their recent live shows. Not enough interview footage with non-fuckwits (the only Holger Czukay was stuff seemingly filmed for something else, and they only got to speak to Derrick May for to like 10 mins in a warehouse?) to be a decent retrospective docu.

Also no Wolfgang or Karl, and the only archive interview footage is of Ralf.

Worth it for the old live performances of Pocket Calculator and The Robots

And Coldplay can do one

haha i came on ilm specifically to see what yers thought of this doc, i had a feeling it'd be judged to be lousy. weird though; the recent BBC Abba and Kate docs were great IMO.

No they weren't - its the usual 'isn't pop great' dreck filled with talking heads who would've hated the stuff at the time it was released.

Burn these museums.

Can't wait for UK Garage Britannia tho'.

the way it started with the tate gallery person listing a few random high profile artist pals who might be partial to a bit of the old kraftwerk and/or wanted to blag tickets off her was just ugh

mark s' review of the Tate show.

http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2013/02/kraftwerk-tate-modern-turbine-hall-13-2-2013/

But yeah Nick these ppl disgust me.

Derrick May was beautiful, most of the rest of it was the usual supertrite cobblers, just stick up all the concert footage you've got and stfu imo

http://youtu.be/JHhBfx0ILkY?t=38m17s

this performance is fantastic too, hadn't seen it before and was worth ignoring the blathering heads for

lol yeah - blew the whole they are robots and don't interact.

I mean its mostly true but that was great. thx for posting it.

fucking Coldplay barely even deserve a mention in an hour long Kraftwerk documentary, let alone 2 minutes

Argh, now it's jumped back to them again! What the fuck

ah dammit, had been looking forward to watching the entire German documentary NV posted when I had an hour to spare, but it has been mercilessly yanked from youtube already

:(

it was just a dub of the one shown on BBC4 i think, don't know if there were different talking heads

ohh ok

I would hope there would be less Coldplay in the German version but probably no such luck

i only looked for that "rocking out" bit, don't know if there was a German Paul Morley or what

Klaus Mehrlig or something

That documentary would be quite a good intro for people who know nothing about Kraftwerk tbf

Also I just got Electric Cafe and it sucks :(

OK it's not a complete disaster but compared to their other albums it isn't very good at all

stick with it

I've been sticking with it since 1986 and it still sucks.

Too bad for you. IMO it's the album that benefited the most from the remastering job. "Boing" and "Musique" are pretty massive on the new edition.

a few weeks ago i succumbed to the urge and tracked down a copy of each remastered edition.
and yeah, EC/TP does sound really good now.
that said, i have the original vinyl, and have always had a soft spot for this album.
goes nicely alongside the other digital/sample/vocal cut up album of the era - zoolook by jean-michel jarre

those remasters are excellent. glad someone brought up Zoolook - IMO it's a better album but between that and Electric Cafe, I really wish there was more of this stuff. that kind of surreal digital sampling was pretty cool!

excellent balcony-cam footage for gear trainspotters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b16s210t0pk#t=698

It changes all the time, but right now my favourite is Trans Europa Express.

I could make a case for any of them except Kraftwerk 2 and *shudders* Electric Cafe. (I'm ignoring the general existence of The Mix.)

My favourite Kraftwerk album is typically "whichever Kraftwerk album I am listening to right now".

I mean, in terms of "most typical" if I'm trying to turn a new person onto Kraftwerk (I've got our Punk Receptionist at work into Can, but she's balking at Kraftwerk so far) I'll tell them to start with Man Machine. But favourite? I don't know!

At the moment I'm really into the transitional period, Ralf und Florian -> Autobahn -> Radioactivity specifically because it's so unformalised and the gel hasn't quite set yet. I could watch the video for antenna all day long. (I sometimes wonder if I love them or just their iconography, but I'm a sucker for oscilloscopes.)

I have loved that double album debut, I got it in 1975 (long story), and Autobahn too (that was earlier), I know R&F and Radioa quite well..

I got the big box a few years ago for a daft price thanks to a mistake by Amazon but I've not unshrinkwrapped it yet as the albums are all on Spotify, ..

I think the best way of approaching it is to bite the bullet and play them in reverse chron order. What I have heard of Electric Cafe is that its not so bad, the I guess its because I remember the girls singing along to boom-chakk back in the day.

Did anyone else want the KraftNeu or the Kohoutek single?

I first heard the majority of Kraftwerk through 'The Mix', so sometimes those original versions can sound a bit flat and lo-fi to me, even if the Mix's versions are pretty terrible. My problem with Kraftwerk, iconic and important that they were, is that sometimes their tracks go on just a tad too long. Like, for me listening to Autobahn can feel a bit like something I have to subject myself to out of self-improvement; like reading Moby Dick or something. It's not that I don't enjoy it, but it can feel like a bit of a slog after just a few minutes.

The only one I can't say that about is Radioactivity which is such a great understated record. Computer World works well too, as a pop album.

That Minimum-Maximum live disc is pretty much my go-to; for some reason the pumped-up, bass-boosted sound works for me there in a way that it doesn't on The Mix, even though the arrangements are basically the same

The live MinMax performance lives on my pad.

I went to Edinburgh a few years ago, and there was a street performer with his face painted silver dancing to 'Techno Pop', does anyone know if he was a regular feature?

My problem with Kraftwerk, iconic and important that they were, is that sometimes their tracks go on just a tad too long. Like, for me listening to Autobahn can feel a bit like something I have to subject myself to out of self-improvement; like reading Moby Dick or something. It's not that I don't enjoy it, but it can feel like a bit of a slog after just a few minutes.

Autobahn for me is best listened to horizontal with the headphones on... I love the way that the replicate the traffic on the synths during the middle section, it's almost like you can hear the cars creeping up behind you and zooming past.

If you think 22 minutes of your life is too long to sacrifice for a masterpiece like Autobahn, then seriously. You do not not deserve Kraftwerk.

the best time I ever had listening to autobahn was on the motorway, in fact. it works really really well with cars overtaking and changing lines in time with the synthy whooshes and whirrs

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when they were recording these albums, just to see how they worked up a track from beginning to end and went through the process of finding the relevant sounds and what the general vibe and interaction between the band members was like. I could imagine them hitting upon that throbbing, pulsing bassline to 'Spacelab' and getting quite excited about it.

Did I ever tell you that my music teacher played "Autobahn" in its entirety in a music lesson one day? On a record player, that is! I don't have any real memory about it, other than it got played, no-one paid any attention in music lessons in the school I went to and none of the teachers expected you to tbh.

Just read another old thread where everyone’s talking about how much the Tour de France stuff sucks and I just want to say the Tour de France stuff might be my favorite Kraftwerk material, on the studio recordings and on the live collections. God I love it.

Aero dynamik!

tour de france sdtrk is in my top 4 or 5 kraftwerk albums, its so beautiful

The original 'Tour de France' is fantastic, but Tour de France Soundtracks is a bit of a slog for me. I very rarely listen to it, and when I do I wanna put on Trans-Europe Express or The Man Machine instead.

yeah Turrican otm, TdfS is tired in the extreme – not a patch on their 70s stuff.

It’s remarkable how they managed to do virtually the same live tour for 20+ years and with songs from 40+ years and still make it look cool.

Yeah - they really managed to make the most of what they have.

On Tour de France Soundtracks - I was kinda disappointed when it came out but it rapidly grew on me . The melodies are maybe not as memorable as on their classic stuff but the sound-design is amazing. Hearing that stuff live on the Minimum/Maximum tour was revelatory.
It's all good

My problem with Kraftwerk, iconic and important that they were, is that sometimes their tracks go on just a tad too long. Like, for me listening to Autobahn can feel a bit like something I have to subject myself to out of self-improvement; like reading Moby Dick or something. It's not that I don't enjoy it, but it can feel like a bit of a slog after just a few minutes.

https://www.discogs.com/Kraftwerk-Kraftwerk-2/release/215702?ev=rr

https://www.discogs.com/Kraftwerk-Kraftwerk-1/release/215693?ev=rr

You might like these then - Vertigo in Italy issued these two albums, basically each side has redux versions of one of the first four Kraftwerk albums. I can imagine Ralf/Florian having a fit ...

While I'm here:

Have you ever seen a less-likely appearance by Kraftwerk on any various artists album, ever?

https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/346250424

"Various Artists - "Be My Boogie Woogie Baby" - Featuring Winchester Cathedral by the New Vaudeville band, "I was Kaiser Bill's Batman", "Mouldy Old Dough", and "Autobahn"

mmmmm

Vitamin is a jam though, sounds beautiful played live too.

I can imagine Ralf/Florian having a fit

Perhaps but now their latest release is pretty much shortened versions of their 8 'pop' albums (or a sampler thereof.)

Don't get me wrong, I think the sound design and production on Tour de France Soundtracks is great - I've no doubt they spent a lot of time on it. For me, it's a case of the end result leaving me feel a bit cold. For all of their "we are ze robots"/"we're musik workers" schtick, their work from Autobahn to Computer World has a lot of warmth, humanity and emotion in it. Even Electric Cafe has 'The Telephone Call' ...

... which Ralf disliked because he thought the vocal was too emotional.

Wow, never seen a poll on here I disagreed with more.

For me Autobahn > Kraftwerk 1 > Trans Europe Express (> Concert Classics) > Man-Machine > Kraftwerk 2 > Radioactivity > Ralf & Florian (> Tone Float) > Computer World > Tour De France > Electric Cafe

Haven't heard The Mix or TDF Soundtracks but guess both are not for me. I know Concert Classics is a bit obscure but it's probably their LP I have listened to the most.

Cannot fathom people saying the tracks on Autobahn are "too long", I would be happy if they went on for hours.

My main issue with TdfS is that the tunes just aren't there. There's none of the heart-tugging melodies that made the run from Autobahn to Computer World so perfect. I put this down largely to the absence of Bartos, who was responsible for most of the music on those albums. xp

What albums?

the "truncated" version on the 3-D Katalog semi-live set they put out is better than the studio version, I think

agreed that the album didn't really come alive for me until Minimum-Maximum came out. the "Etape" thing really did not need 20 minutes. "Elektro Kardiogramm" still bores the piss outta me though

I meant Autobahn through Computer World but looking again I see he only has songwriting credits on The Man Machine and CW, my bad. Those two are definitely the most tuneful/melodic Kraftwerk albums though. xp

Yes, he wasn't even in the band yet when "Autobahn" was recorded!

My main issue with TdfS is that the tunes just aren't there. There's none of the heart-tugging melodies that made the run from Autobahn to Computer World so perfect.

Yes, this too! Some of the melodic passages on 'Autobahn', 'Europe Endless', 'Computer Love', 'Neon Lights' etc. are like a warm hug for the ears.

I think even at their brighter “pop gone electronic” there’s always been a more ambitious message going on.

Kraftwerk are very self-conscious about their aesthetic choices and I think they are actually embracing the idea of technology turning men into robots, not rejecting it. I haven’t read interviews to confirm it but to me the concept behind it all is to show how change is inevitable and how there’s positives of technology in our lives, of course it comes included with a very German style of humor in the delivery of the concept... so it’s hard to tell. To some people these ideas behind their music gives it a haunted emptiness, a sort of “brave new world” dread.

The wrong album won.

agree, but it did pretty well considering how long it's been suppressed for!

Bold #1 and #2 there. Totally dig Minimum Maximum, but Ralf und Florian, while really lovely and a solid record, lacks that laser focus of their late 70's early 80's peaks. I think if this poll was active I would lean towards Trans-Europe Express.

Ralf & Florian is definitely a Kraftwerk album, it's got the band name on it, record label, sleeve, all over.

I have one - a cheapie off ebay thanks to a mis-posting of it named "Rolf and Florian", £20 damn mint!

Fork it over.

Nooooooo

Radio Activity doesn't get much love here, does it? Since the first time I heard it (about a decade ago), it's been my favorite.

... 4th favourite album in this poll, not really unloved.

Yes, but that coupled with it not even placing on Alfred's list makes me think I'm a much bigger fan than the majority here.

4th out of 12, getting twice as many votes as the next option

I'm a much bigger fan than the majority here.

So, you are a bigger fan than most of an album that gets plenty of love on ILX.

Well seeing as most people voted for other Kraftwerk albums, he's right!

i'm listening to minimum-maximum for the first time hahaha this is fucking crazy!!!!!

computer world is the best kraftwerk album though, the poll is right

Die Mensch-Maschine hands down, perfect experimental - pop crossover.

Minimum-Maximum is so good, I bought it right when I got my subs installed and it was wild to hear these songs with pounding bass

I thought that album was what turned me around on Tour de France Soundtracks, but looking back that album was great all along

i f&cking love minimum-maximum.
i know hardcore KW fans who hate the revised versions and hate the album with a burning passion.
but for me, it's the best of all worlds.
classic tunes, revised sonics, and the sound of the best live gig ever.
i saw their 3d tour a few years back, and yeah, it was truly brilliant,
but it was not on the same level as the m-m versions.

Same. Seeing them on the Min-max tour in Prague remains my favorite concert ever. The Man-machine ticker intro, the sound, the visuals, the thrill at seeing those robots come back in for Robots.
Also saw them do TEE for a 3D show it somehow something was missing (perhaps lesser acoustics despite being in a modern classical venue)