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Kraftwerk
Autobahn


5.0
classic

Review

by Med57 EMERITUS
June 14th, 2005 | 104 replies


Release Date: 1974 | Tracklist


Y'know, it really can't be emphasised enough just how important Kraftwerk are to electronica. As The Beatles were to rock, as Black Sabbath was to metal, these guys really pretty much are the original archetypal electronic band. Seriously. And extending the tortured analogies with other bands, if Pink Floyd had The Dark Side Of The Moon, and Led Zeppelin had IV, Kraftwerk had Autobahn. Unlike both of those 2 albums, however, Autobahn is also Kraftwerk's best album, and therefore truly definitive for anyone who has never heard anything by the band before. In typical Kraftwerk fashion they also managed to completely confound expectations with this record. For a start, although this is actually their 4th album, their first 3 have all been deleted at the request of the band, meaning that they are now basically impossible to find, meaning that their first song now readily available is a true masterpiece. The title track of Autobahn is their Echoes, their Stairway To Heaven, their A Change Of Seasons; in other words, their legacy. (Seriously, I'll stop with the comparisons now). Weighing in at over 22 minutes long it's an epic in every sense of the word, and somehow completely encapsulates the feeling of a road trip. With stuttering electronica interspersed with sounds of horns blaring, wind rushing by and the simple lyrics of "fahren fahren fahren auf der Autobahn", this sounds like it could be a truly boring piece of music, and yet it's simply near perfect in its brilliance. As is well known Kraftwerk would later toy with the boundaries between machine and man on their later albums, but there's something near inhuman about how artificially brilliant this song is. You know what's even more surprising about the song though? The fact that it was a hit single in both the USA and Europe. Somehow it was cut down to approximately 3 minutes in length, really catapulting Kraftwerk to fame. This was possibly helped by the fact that the lyrics sound very much like "Fun fun fun on the Autobahn", turning one of the greatest electronic songs of all time into a sing-along for children in English-speaking countries. While it may not have been intentional, it's undeniably effective.

While the title track has become completely ubiquitous with the album, band and genre, it would be grossly inaccurate to paint this album as merely a "one song wonder". Autobahn is followed by Kometenmelodie 1 and Kometenmelodie 2, forming another 12 minute plus suite of music. Part 1 of this is hugely eerie, with a chilling synthesised effect moving over a thudding bass and slightly discordant collection of sounds. This is possibly the most overtly experimental song on the album, as well as being strangely soothing. Although Kraftwerk may sometimes be criticised for making music which is hard to relate to, this song definitely does not fall into this category, evoking a wide range of emotions in the listener in its 6 1/2 minute running time. Part 2 of the song is far warmer, initially carrying on from where Part 1 left off before developing into a truly majestic song over a melody that just about every band would sell their guitarist to be capable of writing. As with so much of Kraftwerk's work the layering on this track really is quite exceptional with the combination of many instrumental effects and sounds forming a mighty wall of noise in which every individual aspect of the music is still very discernible.

By the standards of this album, Mitternacht is something of a oddity, being a very doomy, claustrophobic song. Now I think of it, you know what this reminds me of? It should be the soundtrack to a horror film set in a disued nuclear power plant, with the disproportionately hunched over bad guy creeping around while gas is ejected from vents in the walls and water drips down from the roof. That's the sort of thing that we're talking about here. Just when we seem set for another longer song it ends very suddenly, just as the listener is really getting into the track-possibly the only near-significant criticism that I have of this album. The final track on this album, Morgenspaziergang is completely different from Mitternacht, opening with a "Mini Moog" (giving the effect of bird whistles), the song builds with flutes, keyboards and bass, all belying the band's reputation for producing pure electronica, in one of the most natural songs that they'd ever produce. This track clearly shows the diversity of the album, and indeed of much of Kraftwerk's material as a whole, sounding completely different from anything that has appeared thus far, and ending the album on a strong note.

Along with Trans-Europe Express this is one Kraftwerk's truly great albums, providing a blueprint for all future electronic based bands to examine. As a band Kraftwerk play the role of both John The Baptist and Jesus; preparing the way for no-one other than themselves to follow, constantly subtly experimenting with their sound, and although they may have recorded their best album at the start (well, now anyway) of their recording career, this in no way acts as a criticism of their subsequent material. A true classic of the genre, and of music as a whole, this must get 5/5.

The Band
Wolfgang Flür: Percussion
Ralf Hütter: Drums, Keyboards, Vocals
Klaus Roeder: Guitar, Violin
Florian Schneider: Drums, Keyboards

Released: 1974 (Philips)



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4
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Their breakthrough album. One of the most iconic too....



Comments:Add a Comment 
Jawaharal
June 15th 2005


1832 Comments


awesome job med57. Seriously get a job for writing reviews. I am definately going to check this out if it is as good as jesus and john the babtist mixed together m/ m/.


Robert Crumb
June 15th 2005


165 Comments


Fantastonomical work, good sir.This Message Edited On 06.15.05

br3ad_man
June 15th 2005


2126 Comments


Good work. Of the three Kraftwerk albums I have, this is my favourite.

Med57
Moderator
June 15th 2005


1002 Comments


(A) I thought you'd already reviewed it but then I realised that I still had a chance to do it first. So I did. And that's the end of that particular story I guess. Jom, of course I'll send you some stuff. ;)

wikuk
October 21st 2005


1110 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

d*mn good review

C20H25N3O
March 11th 2006


583 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

My favorite Kraftwerk Album



1974 for Progressive, Electronic music was like 1994 for hip hop



3 very important albums for Electronic music were released in 1974:



Phaedra By Tangerine Dream



Autobahn By Kraftwerk



and the virtually unknown...



Future Primitive By Eko which is just as good as the other 2



If anyone can find Future Primitive in stores, you are lucky, I have searched all over Riverside, and I can't find this gem anywhere.

RandyfromPennywise
March 30th 2007


752 Comments

Album Rating: 1.0 | Sound Off

So shoot me in the arse, but this is possibly the worst album I've heard in the last six months. I had heard so much about this band with the cool sounding name that was oh-so influential. Look, I'm not going to bash this at all, it's obviously undeniably significant, but this is not my cup of tea. At all. Listening to Autobahn was a horrible experience. To state how bad I think this music is, after listening to the album twice through, I immediately deleted it from my computer, never to be heard again.



Great review by the way.

descendents1
April 23rd 2007


702 Comments


That's like saying you don't enjoy "The Godfather."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poqr2BuillY

IsItLuck?
Emeritus
July 27th 2009


4957 Comments


fun fun fun on the autoban

Bouben
September 24th 2009


21 Comments


deleted

demigod!
April 24th 2011


49628 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Damn, why is this so horrible underlooked on here? Amazing album; the title track is one of my favourites ever.

Rev
April 24th 2011


9882 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Good to see more love for this

aok
April 24th 2011


4626 Comments


good to see more love for kraftwerk, which i regretably don't know as well as i should =/

wabbit
April 24th 2011


7059 Comments


I haven't listened to Kraftwerk is so fucking long. Probably should

demigod!
May 9th 2011


49628 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

this doesn't get the respect it deserves... sad

robertsona
Staff Reviewer
June 14th 2011


28139 Comments


i'm listening to this (the title track) right now and it's really cool but it's clipping a lot...is that normal or should i get a new copy lol

demigod!
June 14th 2011


49628 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

uhh i kinda has a little bit of clipping sounds, but idk if it's as many as you're hearing. try listening to the song on youtube then comparing it to your copy

Valerius
October 23rd 2011


1137 Comments


Wow. Just heard this. This is genius.

aok
February 22nd 2012


4626 Comments


wellll i was gonnna see this live at moma but nooo online ticketing doesn't like me

(*cries like a little girl even though that doesn't make sense cause i'm like not even that big of a kraftwerk fan*)

Ballz3D
July 6th 2012


552 Comments


Yeah man. When I think Kraftwerk, I think Autobahn. Hard to believe this was made in '74. They were way ahead of their time.



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