KRAFTWERK 2

The second Kraftwerk album finds the band reduced to its two core members Ralf and Florian. It introduces the rhythm machine but it is still far removed from the electronic direction they would take a few years later. Actually, given the line-up, there's a surprising amount of guitar on the album.

My favorite track is the guitar experiment Storm. Here you get, right from 1971, the essence of post-rock (which is probably the last thing you would expect to hear on a Kraftwerk album). It has a noisy intro followed by slowly floating guitar arpeggio's. Layers of experimental electronic sounds weave spacey chords around it. The same brooding atmosphere and anti-rock guitar usage are continued on the ensuing Spule4 and Wellenlänge. Both tracks have less melody but are not less effective in terms of creative power and ambience. I find both to be little art gems of a band that was light-years ahead of its time.

Atem and Harmonika are two more concise experiments. Not the most essential listening but still interesting. I'm less enthused about the 17 minute KlingKlang, a track that would have worked better for me had Klaus Dinger still been around to provide real drums. With the rhythm machine it remains too lifeless and static for its long duration. At least for me it does, most listeners prefer this track to the rest of the album.

A daring, unconventional and at times visionary album, but unlike the debut and the Organisation albums it isn't one that I picked up for more then a few rare listens.