Kraftwerk - Autobahn [EMI 180g LP (2009 EU)] 24-bit/96 kHz and CD-compatible format

“

Although Kraftwerk's first three albums were groundbreaking in their own right, Autobahn is where the group's hypnotic electronic pulse genuinely came into its own. Within Autobahn, the roots of electro-funk, ambient, and synth pop are all evident — it's a pioneering album, even if its electronic trances might not capture the attention of all listeners. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine/AMG

”

Autobahn (German for "motorway") is the fourth studio album by Kraftwerk, released in 1974. The album’s 22-minute title track was edited to about 3 minutes for single release and reached #25 on the US Billboard charts, charting even higher around Europe, including #11 in the UK. This commercial success came after the band had released three experimental and purely instrumental albums.

Autobahn is also the first of Kraftwerk’s concept albums of sorts, which they have done up to 2003.

Autobahn is not a completely electronic album, as violin, flute, and guitar are used along with synthesizers. The title track features both untreated and vocoded vocals; the remaining tracks are purely instrumental. Kraftwerk used a Minimoog, an ARP Odyssey, an EMS Synthi AKS and various devices of their own design and implementation, such as their famous electronic drums.

The title track is intended to capture the feeling of driving on the Autobahn: from travelling through the landscape, the high-speed concentration on the fast lane, to tuning the car radio and the monotony of a long trip. It describes the A555 from Köln to Bonn - the first Autobahn ever. It was built under the mayor Konrad Adenauer in 1929 to 1932 without any intersections.

The remaining tracks have a two-part structure – an introduction followed by a main section – and are loosely based around a theme of the night, beginning with twin tracks "Kometenmelodie (Comet Melody) 1 and 2", then an ominous-sounding "Mitternacht" (Midnight) and the final track, "Morgenspaziergang" (Morning Stroll). This last track begins as a dawn chorus bird-song effect created by the electronic instruments, with an extended conclusion that uses a repeating variation of the melodic phrase heard in the first instrumental section of "Autobahn".

Konrad Plank had reputedly played a large role in developing the Kraftwerk sound, and much of the recording and all of the mixing of the work took place at his studio in Cologne. Plank's contribution to the sound was evident when comparing the album version of "Kometenmelodie" with the demo-quality single "Kohoutek-Kometenmelodie", that had been recorded without his input.




Track listing

Side one

1. "Autobahn" ("Motorway") (Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Emil Schult) – 22:42

Side two

1. "Kometenmelodie 1" ("Comet Melody 1") (Hütter, Schneider) – 6:26 (inspired by Comet Kohoutek)
2. "Kometenmelodie 2" ("Comet Melody 2") (Hütter, Schneider) – 5:48
3. "Mitternacht" ("Midnight") (Hütter, Schneider) – 3:43
4. "Morgenspaziergang" ("Morning Walk") (Hütter, Schneider) – 4:04

Personnel

Original album credits

* Ralf Hütter – vocals, electronics.
* Florian Schneider – vocals, electronics.
* Klaus Röder – violin, guitar.
* Wolfgang Flür – percussion.
* Konrad "Conny" Plank – sound engineer.
* Emil Schult – cover painting.
* Barbara Niemöller – Back cover photo

2009 credits

The 2009 remaster contained further changes and additions:

* Ralf Hütter – voice, electronics, synthesizer, organ, piano, guitar, electronic drums, artwork reconstruction.
* Florian Schneider – voice, vocoder, electronics, synthesizer, flute, electronic drums.
* Wolfgang Flür – electronic drums "Kometenmelodie 1–2".
* Johann Zambryski – artwork reconstruction.