Trans Europe Express (2009 Digital Remaster)

One of the most enjoyable and innovative records of its era, Kraftwerk's 'Trans Europe Express' is a masterpiece of eerily beautiful, paranoid synth-pop. The album's general structure is, as one might expect, the journey of the Trans Europe Express train, yet the scope and feel of the album go far beyond the train itself (something that cannot be said for Kraftwerk's later 'Computer World'). There isn't a bad song on the entire album, though some are admittedly stronger than others. Opener 'Europe Endless' is the best piece on the album, and arguably Kraftwerk's finest ever song, awash with infectiously catchy electro beats, vocoder-filtered vocals, and prescient lyrics - "promenades and avenues, Europe endless/real lives and postcard views, Europe endless". The album does admittedly have a few relatively weaker (albeit still good) tracks, such as the slightly over-repetitive, yet hypnotic title track, and 'Metal on Metal', these being the two songs which adhere most strictly to the sounds and concept of the train, and lose out a little, from doing so. Still, many of the numbers here, such as the classically-influenced 'Franz Schubert' and the creepy, yet wonderfully melodic 'Showroom Dummies'; an evocation both of social unrest and of the 'robot' image, which the band attempted to cultivate, almost reach the standard of 'Europe Endless' (whilst both sounding largely different to that track). In truth, there's little to criticise about 'Trans Europe Express'. It is a record which still sounds remarkably fresh and powerful over thirty years later (especially with this latest remastering), and which perfectly highlights why Kraftwerk were such an excellent and an influential band. For anyone looking for a great, early synth-pop record, or even just a hauntingly beautiful, pared-down record, then I would recommend 'Trans Europe Express' unreservedly.

This album, I guess, represents early electronic music limited by the technology of its day. However, it is plain to hear how each piece has been crafted to give it atmosphere and coherence within the context of the album. Also considerable care and skill has also been brought to bare on the recording quality which is superb! These recordings are of the order of 40 years old but most modern rock and pop recordings have nowhere near the sound quality. Certainly the technology has moved on but I suspect recordings these days are designed to be streamed and played through a phone speaker or in the car where there is significant ambient noise and limited dynamic range. This shows in the greater dynamic range of these older recording which leads to a more exciting and engrossing connection with the music. Perhaps people having a dedicated "hifi" is perceived to be a thing of the past - but those of who that still do, find it frustrating that modern record Companies seem generally incapable of producing high quality sound. The vinyl record has almost no hiss or rumble which allows the music to be set against an inky black silence of ambient noise. The soundstage is wide (left to right) and deep (front to back) creating a wonderfully three dimensional musical stage. All this together with the clarity and dynamics of the musical recording reinforces the integrity of the music itself. For those who like early electronica or want to hear what a good recording can sound like, I would recommend this album - especially on vinyl which is what I bought.

USUAL EXCELLENT RELEASE FROM THE GREAT BAND

This is a review of the remastered edition of this 1977 landmark recording. I purchased it after reading a 2009 review that claimed it as, "Probably the most influential album released in the final quarter of the past century." That's as maybe, but within the first few minutes of the opening track I was struck how it must have influenced Gary Numan's opening on his hit `Cars', and how it also affected some of Billy Currie`s work with Ultravox. Given my love for European train travel, I'm surprised it's taken me this long to sit down and listen to the work all the way through. Kraftwerk passed me by in the 1970s. Their music was seen by me to be too cold, too clinical, and too repetitive. And `Trans Europe Express' is all of these. Instead, I was a Tangerine Dream man. As an example of the inane repetitiveness, the words "We are showroom dummies" is repeated at least thirty-eight times on the `Showroom Dummies' track. What saves this disc is the incredible rhythm of the title track as it meanders across, below, and behind the stereo spectrum. For sure, the words "Trans Europe Express" are also repeated seemingly endlessly, but the difference here is that we are on a journey and there are wider changes in the arrangement of the music. The CD comes with generous sleevenotes, not in terms of information but of photographic representations of the group that attempt to match the mood and titles of the CD's tracks: thus we see them at Dusseldorf Hauptbahnhof, as Franz Schubert, as showroom dummies. I like the way the final track links the sound of its immediate predecessor with the words of the opening track, thus creating a kind of `Endless' circle. It's not, for me, a brilliant album, but it is good enough for me to order `Autobahn'.

Un gran disco de los abuelitos de la música electrónica, muy recomendable y lo obtuve a buen precio...

**Intro** This isn't just a casual music album, this is a snapshot of electronic music as it was in 1977, back when people weren't even sure if electronic music was going to be something that you enjoyed at a dance club or in a concert hall. Also, there weren't really very many commercially made electronic instruments, so a lot of the music that you hear on this album is made from instruments that Kraftwerk made themselves. This means that no only did they write a compose the songs on this album, they designed the timbre of each sound! **The songs** There are relatively few songs on this album, but they are all fairly long, and one gets the sense that Kraftwerk worked on each one a lot before they decided they were satisfied and approved the album for release. One gets the impression that every small note shape, timbre, rhythm, and embellishment is there because the band decided to put it there, and nothing was accidental. The stereotypical German attitude toward precision certainly seems to be here. 1.) Europe Endless - A gentle start to the album, a happy beat that suggests the forward motion of travel. Bright percussive electronic sounds and occasional vocals with a pleasant German accent, sometimes distorted and sometimes not. Music already suggests train sounds and train travel, though the song does not commit explicitly toward trains. 2.) The Hall of Mirrors - A darker song, focuses on self consciousness and self-image issues. Repetitive, echoing, and with electronic sounds that suggest pacing footsteps. The vocals seem forlorn to me. 3.) Showroom Dummies - Somewhat silly in some ways, and more dark and ironic in others, this song is about mannequins in a store window, the lyrics are from the mannequins' first person perspective. 4.) Trans-Europe Express - This is the masterpiece of this album. The electronic instruments that they are using seem to perfectly capture the sound and spirit of a train and its sounds. It seems to suggest a train ride at night, because there is a dark mood to it. There is a highly distorted voice that just repeats "Trans-Europe Express" repeatedly as a sort of degenerate chorus, but then there is also non-distorted lyrics that have more content, and are not distorted. Both sets of lyrics are fairly dark and a little creepy. It is amazing to listen to how their notes and sounds artfully imitate a train. 5.) Metal on Metal - The previous Trans-Europe Express song seamlessly transitions into this song. For this reason, it is important that you purchase and enjoy both of these songs after each other. This song is very good for all of the same reasons as Trans-Europe Express is. 6.) Franz Schubert - This song is brighter and happier than the previous four songs. I like to think of it as when the sun comes up in the morning after a long night on the train, and you are looking at the beautiful green countryside of Germany. 7.) Endless Endless. This song is a seamless continuation of Franz Schubert, but with highly distorted, bright vocals that chant "Endless Endless" repeatedly. The timbre, tempo, and accompaniment evolve slowly over time, creating a trance-like atmosphere. The point is not really to listen to the lyrics, it is to study the subtle evolution of the song as it progresses, as with more modern Trance and House music. **Buying and Listening Advice** This is an incredible album that offers the modern listener a view of what very early electronic music was like, and the origins of where essentially all of our electronic music came from. Because this album was made well before the days of M3P's, and songs 4&5 and 6&7 continuous transition from one onto the next, it is best to buy this album as a whole, rather than picking out single songs. The Trans-Europe Express/Metal on Metal pair of songs is probably the best part of the album, but all of the songs are rather deep and provocative. Unlike most electronic music, it isn't really something you would play at a party. Instead, consider listening to this music if you feel quiet and meditative. It is easy for me to give this album 5 stars because it is *so unique*. Enjoy!

J'ai redécouvert cet album mythique de Kraftwerk, qui a très bien vieilli Outre le magnifique morceau titre, on y trouve d'autres chansons et mélodies moins connues mais agréables à écouter.

Great album with original artwork. Amazing.

Krafwerk, l'un de pioniers de musique electronique & techno. Pour les fans de ce type de musique - un album absolument incontournable. Cd est tres bien realise au niveau de la qualite d'eregistrement.