C/D: Side One of Kraftwerk's Electric Cafe

We all know that Kraftwerk's last album of the 80's was a disappointment -- in retrospect, it was clear the band let this one marinade for too long and probably would have been better served by releasing the earlier version of the record in 1983, with "Tour de France" on it.

Still, nearly a quarter-century later, side one--with its suite of Boing Boom Tschak/Technopop/Musique Non-Stop--has its charms. The spatial mix of sounds is as brilliant as anything in their career. The lyrics are adorable. Yes, it still sounds a bit late to the game in light of The Art of Noise (the success of which had to be one of the factors that drove Ralf to keep retooling the record). But I'll never forget how much I loved this when I first heard it (pre-AON) and these feelings are hard to shake.

What say ILM of this decidedly flawed masterpiece?

Well, I like it.

Side 1 + "Telephone Call" are great, tails off somewhat precipitously thereafter

e-lectric caf-éeeeee!

hehe, i ain't heard it but i like the song...

e-lectric caf-éeeeee!

What exactly was/is an "Electric Cafe"? Conceptually this album was a dog.

I'd never heard this in full until The Catalogue and I think it's pretty charming. Only track I don't like is Sex Object. For my money it's aged considerably better than the Art of Noise, too.

(Is House Phone on the original Electric Café or only the Techno Pop version reissued last year and included in The Catalogue? It's not listed on Wikipedia for the original releases, or on a couple of the editions I looked at on discogs but there are about 40 so I'm not looking at them all.)

I love the fact Kraftwerk would sing about Pocket Calculators and Autobahns as if they were the most futuristic things in the world. Even by the mid-70s, pocket calculators were pretty common, right? Same goes for Electric Cafe - where did this concept come from? Predicting, internet cafes maybe? Either way, it is a silly idea for a song, let alone a whole album. Didn't the Other People Place do an album about a futuristic cafe as well?

"Autobahn" isn't about autobahns being futuristic or anything

"Trans Europe Express" is about trains. Oh, and meeting David Bowie and Iggy in Berlin. (They are not there now)

From the album with a track called "Franz Schubert"

Düsseldorf is the meeting point iirc.

Let the mountain come to Mohammed

Iggy got around.

This entire album is awesome, esp. The Telephone Call and the title track.

What exactly was/is an "Electric Cafe"? Conceptually this album was a dog.

― Tom D (Tom D.), Tuesday, February 16, 2010 12:38 PM

For example, Piazza Virtuale(1986), or later Hotel Pompino(1990) were Electric Cafés.

it was the internet

or garu G's gran.

On some days the side one triptych might be my favorite things they did. Love the version they closed the Mininum Maximum shows with.

Yep.

Thirteen years later, I stand by my OP.

Minimum Maximum really turned me around on that tune, now I actually really dig the Electric Cafe LP

Nah, this whole album sucks

Balls

... what I mean is that statement is balls, not that the album sucks balls. In case of confusion.

I kinda regret now not having picked the Techno Pop show when they did Catalogue gigs in my city (went with TEE which was a bit underwhelming)

I read something recently about Boing Boom Tschak having a significant influence on Brazilian Baile Funk, which is interesting

Side one of EC is my third favourite thing they ever did, after 'Computer Love' and the first eight minutes of side two of EC

i think Boing Boom Tschak also had lots of influence in multiple places from belgian rave to miami bass etc. etc. also, after 'computer world' it is surely their most sampled album. side 1 is all time.

the version I have is called "Techno Pop" which includes an edited version of "Telephone Call" + a remix called "House Phone" which sounds awesome. in fact I suspected it might've been recorded later but I think it appeared on the single.

I've always had a soft spot for "Sex Object" too, primarily just for how wtf it is

i love this album, but will often dig out the Min Max versions when in the mood.
i am aware of some hardcore KW fans hating the revisions, but i absolutely love'em.

House Phone is so good

I'm not totally keen on The Mix but I do love all the Kling Klang remasters which boost the bass and generally thicken up the sound. For a band that inspired so much dance music, those original mixes sure didn't have a lot of bass on them.

that said The Mix/Minimum Maximum version of Musique Non Stop is very much the shit, though I do miss that Sega Genesis bass sound on "Techno Pop". something about that sound just burrows into the pleasure center in my brain.

recently saw an advert from 1983 for "Techno Pop", which as you know was the working title for this album. I think the tracklist was the same except "Tour De France" was there instead of the Electric Cafe title track. as the story goes the album was delayed for a while because Ralf got laid up after a bike crash, and also apparently he heard "Blue Monday" and wanted to re-do the entire mix. in Karl Bartos' book he says he's heard the original mix and apparently it's very good. kinda makes you wonder what if that album had come out as planned. would Kraftwerk had remained active into the 80's? would the Tour De France Soundtracks album be something entirely different? whoever hit Ralf's bike altered the course of electronic music history!