AUTOBAHN

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This was the breakthrough album for Kraftwerk, who had been struggling for years (and through several line-up changes) in order to make a difference in the music scene: the krautrock mark was still evidently born on their sleeves in "Autobahn", while they were decided to turn their road toward the trends of electronic avant-garde experimentation. Lifelong artistic partners Hutter and Schneider had by then invented a type of electronic percussion, and along came Wofgang Flür, an academically trained percussionist who was pretty much in tune with all this experimental stuff, focused on minimalism and electronic sources. A second newcomer, Klaus Roeder, played guitar and violin as a vehicle of additional textures to complement those sonic layers and basic harmonies provided by both Hutter and Schneider on synths and organs. The namesake 22-minute epic occupied the whole A-side of the vinyl, and to this day it's still one of the legendary anthems of Kraftwerk's entire career. This track is more epic in length than in structure, since there are no symphonic-oriented variations nor there is any pyrotechnical show-off: the main idea here is to provide a musical landscape of a highway, full of mechanical frenzy, urgency and sense of adventure than are inherent to any car travel in the high road. Music is for this Kraftwerk a document that "portrays" the usual situations and sensations that take place in our contemporary urban environment on a daily basis (or, eventually, a future environment that doesn't seem too far from today). This track alone serves as a manifestation of what is soon to become the band's main recurrent motif in both the musical and the ideological aspects. There are also some touches of flute (oh, an acoustic instrument in a Kraftwerk album. there were lots of them in the band's earlier albums, indeed), which, in my opinion, deliver the image of a human individual driving the car, a human heart that beats surrounded by the artificial environment built on plastic stuff, mechanical resources and electronic devices. The last 6 minutes of 'Autobahn' keep a slower pace, as if showing a relaxing moment - perhaps the relief of having reached the intended arriving point. This track is a gem in itself, and makes more than 50 % of the album's overall artistic value. but still there's more to enjoy here. The 2 part 'Kommetenmelodie' starts as a dense, somber minimalistic play of layers, until a more festive sequence comes to the fore, as if alluding the ritualistic meanings of the passing of a comet. This stuff reminds me a lot of Schulze, but again, the krautrock scene was so mutually integrated, that it was not odd that all bands would interact and influence each other. The most obscure track in the album is 'Mitternacht', enigmatic as a being from limbo who displays its shadow over the shades of twilight: very similar in spirit to TD's "Phaedra". Finally, the segued album's closure 'Morgenspaziergang' emerges with its lyrical evocations properly conveyed by soft synth layers and bucolic flute lines, over a background of birds singing at dawn. The last four tracks are definitely related to Kraftwerk's earlier album, so "Autobahn", as a whole, can be seen as a combination of "farewell to the good old keyboard-centered krautrock days" and "welcome to a brand new world of musical electronics all of our own".

Ok, Autobahn has a following. That's good but it is no where near as good as a TD release. Forget a period comparison either. Far too commercial and more like an older version of the band Yello ( remember them?)

If anything Kraftwerk remind me of a very commercial Faust, but just to add this album did reach the masses and ' Highway' desperately struggles to achieve progressive status. I am glad they are on this site though even to just certify how contrite and poor their sound was compared to their illustrious peers of the time/s. Sorry but not even close.

There is an overriding feeling of bliss that transcends over the atmospheric driving anthem of the 22 minute title track on Kraftwerk's fourth album. There is no other choice but to get saturated in the rhythm and mood of the music, something which could be the equivalent to going for a long floating drive while escaping through the effects of ecstasy, while comfortably aware and accepting of the dangers... The lines float in and out and all around your head, the transient lyric which at first sounds dated then functions to hypnotise the listener with a beautiful ease....The B side draws another facet of the band, shorter pieces bringing a darker tone, which bridge both sides together even if it is still a little low key when compared with the lengthy trip of "Autobahn". "Kometenmelodie 1" is certainly an experimental mechanical piece but by the end of Autobahn a more organic tone winds down the journey with a haunting solo flute to end the drive.

Kraftwerk's fourth album was their first international success, and the first to feature what was to become their trademark sound. For all its status as a landmark in the development of electronic music and as a conceptual masterpiece, it was actually neither of those things; it was the last Kraftwerk album to feature conventional instruments (although they were very much secondary to the synthesiser and electronic percussion) and only the epic title track can be considered conceptual. It was really the work of a band in transition, and heralded the arrival of two key players in the band's development over the next few years - drummer turned electronic percussionist Wolfgan Flur and sleeve designer and occasional lyricist Emil Schult.

The title track evolved from a journey down the autobahn in a grey mercedes with a tape recorder picking up the sounds of the traffic. Kraftwerk's hommage to the enormous highways criss crossing Germany's industrial heartland was considered controversial in some quarters. The autobahn was a legacy of the Third Reich, an episode in recent history that German popular culture had so far avoided confronting. This was a good indicator of what was to come - Kraftwerk were always aware of the darker, more sinister aspects of the high tech, industrial world that they wrote about, and their work was full of ambiguity, subversion and ominous warnings. The piece itself combines found sounds with a motorik beat (something they had in common with Neu!, who had worked with Kraftwerk shortly before this album) and almost classical melodies. The 'fahn fahn fahn' refrain (it means drive drive drive) is a sly nod to the Beach Boys, and bits of guitar and flute add a human element to the almost robotic feel of much of the track. As other reviewers have noted this track is hypnotic and trance like, and it actually feels like you're driving a brand new car on a new, perfectly smooth motorway.

The second half of the album is purely instrumental, and shows a gift for melody that had only been hinted at on earlier albums. Kommetonmelodie 1 is rather sombre, but segues into the gorgeous part 2 which is light, breezy and melodic. Mitternacht is another low key piece, and the album ends with an almost folky piece played on flutes and recorders (the last time purely acoustic instruments would feature on a Kraftwerk album).

Kraftwerk's prog credentials are debatable, but they were a crucial part of the German electronic music scene of the 1970s and remain hugely influential cross many genres to this day. Few bands have combined lyrics, melody, rhythm and visual imagery so intelligently and to such great effect, and they should be considered essential listening for any open minded music fan.

If ever there was an album that proves that complexity is not essential for quality in music then "Autobahn" is it in my opinion. This is a minimalist gem. Every time I listen to it I marvel at how clever it is. For 1974 KRAFTWERK were way ahead of their time (a decade ahead?). Loads of synthesizer but with a totally different approach to that of TANGERINE DREAM (or other synthesizer-centric contemporaries such as TRIUMVIRAT, ELP and WAKEMAN, for that matter).

The nearly 23-minute track 'Autobahn' is a work of electronic art. It's just so German, so Bauhaus, it's unbelievable. The use of synthesizers to evoke the feeling of travelling along an autobahn is perfect: the boom of the road; the Doppler 'neeeeeaahhh' of cars whizzing past in the other direction; the throbbing beat of passing pylons, bridges and lampposts; the sound of the wipers; the hiss of water on the asphalt; horns blaring; the mesmerising pulse; the chant - at one point made to sound like it's coming from the twiddling of the tuning knob on an analogue car radio - and the shear monotony of it, pounding into your brain. And yet I find myself humming or tapping my foot to much of this. The synthesizer is not trying to duplicate the sounds of the autobahn; it's evoking them musically in a catchy and hypnotic fashion. What's more hypnotic than a long car journey on an autobahn?

'Kometenmelodie 1' is dark and moody, and could be the background music to a spacewalk (not surprising, given the track name) - I find it very atmospheric. 'Kometentmelodie 2' lifts the gloom and quickly breaks into a catchy piece of electronica that the jerky dance style of the 1980s would suit. 'Mitternacht' sounds, as the name suggests, spooky. The night sounds from the synthesizer, the plinking, the hooting, the baying, and the hissing. 'Morgenspaziergang' uses synthesizer like the morning calls and noises of a whole host of birds. It really is the dawn chorus. Then the repetitive, simple flute (almost cuckoo-like), acoustic guitar and piano continue to evoke the feeling of the early morning. I can almost see the mist lying on the fields as I walk along the path. This is an excellent and relaxing ending to the album.

I realise that this stuff is not for everybody. If you want ornate Progressive Rock or 'space music' à la TANGERINE DREAM then look elsewhere. If you want an oeuvre of mesmerising analogue electronic music from a bygone era that is superficially accessible yet clever then check it out. It doesn't sound dated to me and I believe it to be something special, avant-garde at the time of release and - to me at least - very pleasing. You have to crank the sound up on a good sound system when you know you won't be disturbed. Listen. Sometimes less is more. I'm sorely tempted to award 5 stars to this album but there are other albums that I would take first to that desert island, so I'll settle for 4 stars (excellent addition to any progressive music collection). Nevertheless, it's a classic.

'Autobahn' was released in 1974 and was 'Kraftwerk's' fourth album. While the first three records moved on a common ground of avantgarde-electronic music, 'Autobahn' would not only take a differebt direction , but introduced a musical revolution that still shows it's effects today.

In the beginning of 1974 the group decided to buy a 'Mini-Moog'( a more affordable version of his big brother), but at this time still a big investement. Now the 'Moog' was either used for athmospheric music like the one of 'Tangerine Dream' or early 'Popol Vuh' or for Pop-music like 'Popcorn', the infamous 'Hot Butter' hit in 1972. (or in the case of Wendy Carlos classical adaptions) .

'Kraftwerk' were more interested in the 'pop'-potential of synthesized music and in particular the fonction of the sequenzer allowing to create rhythmic and /or melodic patterns. Remember, in this time the music industry still smiled at this 'electronic gadget' and the non-music produced by it, but 'Kraftwerk' already saw the concept of de-humanized robot music-, music played by machines, quite an avant-garde concept in the time of keyboard wizzards playing scales at increasing speed up and down the keyboard.

Side One contains the long title track 'Autobahn'. The theme of the endlessly enfolding motorway fitted quite nicely with the monoton rhythmic pattern. The German artist Emil Schult, long time friend of 'Kraftwerk', designed the cover, a naive painting of a typical German highway with a VW beetle, the average man's car on the right lane and a Mercedes, a rich man's car on the left lane and the sun glowing in the corner, an ironic comment on the after war Germany.

The long track had a quite traditional verse chorus song form stretched out to 22 minutes interwoven with car noises.The vocals followed the same irony as the cover, an simple catch phrase "Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n auf der Autobahn" (We drive, drive, drive on the motorway), sounding strangely like 'fun, fun, fun auf der Autobahn.(and getting them the nick name of the German Beach Boys inthe States) The simple song structure made it easy to reduce the long track to a single( one of the reasons for the huge success of the record in the states, BTW the first single with German lyrics to show up in the charts reaching number 25,(the LP stayed number 5 for 22 weeks!!) , with big airplay on FM and AM radios, and showing that the Americans were much more sensible to 'Kraftwerk's pop-potential, while 'Kraftwerk' had difficulties to change their image in Germany.

Side two is a continuation of the first 3 records. 'Kometenmelodie 1 and 2' both build around a simple melody line K1, a slow version and K2 an uptempo 'dance tune'. 'Mitternacht' is a short athmospheric track à la 'Tangerine Dream ' and 'Morgenspaziergang' a tongue in cheek illustration of a 'mornig walk in the sunshine'.

'Autobahn' was going to be a blueprint for every kind of intelligent dance music to come and influenced namely Bowie, Eno , Front 242 , the whole Chicago-Hous- scene up to Techno and other forms of pop music.

A masterpiece and one of the most important records of the 70's.

Someone gave me a copy of this album many years ago when I was a kid. They had purchased it thinking it was more of a Beach Boys 'Little Deuce Coupe' or something like that, but they were disappointed that it turned out to be this cold, minimalist Kraut kind of thing instead. I had the same impression and, except for a few listens while somewhat stoned where I thought the sounds of cars 'moving' through my headphones was kind of interesting, this album largely gathered dust on my shelf for many years. Some things just don't transfer well across cultures. I was, after all, living in mid-western America in the early 70's, the Cold War was still going full force, and there was a broad spectrum of more friendly psychedelic, symphonic prog, and even modern blues-influenced music to listen to. The repetitive synthetic tones of a couple of robotic technophiles just didn't do anything for me spiritually or emotionally, and for me at the time, music just needed to evoke some emotion - and borderline catatonia didn't count. Sorry if that offends any Kraftwerk fans, it's just my opinion.

Several years later when bands like Gary Numan, Devo, and even Flock of Seagulls came along with their pure electronica sound, I tried to get into this album once again, but no luck. It still bored me to tears. No doubt these and many other synthetic bands, along with a whole generation of basement musicians with their Commodores and Midi players, were influenced by Kraftwerk. So too were some of the electronic dance bands of the later 70's and early 80's, I suppose -Throbbing Gristle, Art of Noise, Thomas Dolby, and the like, so Kraftwerk gets credit as one of the pioneers of the genre, but this album isn't even the best work they ever did. The Kraftwerk 1 and 2 albums were less well-known in the States, and I never even heard them until the mid-80's when there was a bit of a renewed interest in the band after their Computer World release (which is still a bit more well-known here than Autobahn), but these albums were certainly more interesting to listen to, if for no other reason than they offered a bit more variety with the added percussion at least.

Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream, and even more cabaret-oriented groups like Human League and New Order really perfected the techno sound in the 80's by interjecting at least a sense of bored melodies and heroin-like stoicism in their music. While most of that was depressing, at least it had some emotional spark, which was more than I was ever able to get out of Autobahn.

The 20-plus minute cover tune was undoubtedly an ambitious and creative concept in the early 70's when computer-driven sequencing machines and programmable keyboards weren't available that would basically allow any lives-with-his-Mom techno nerd to become a recording 'musician'. Kraftwerk at least had the distinction of making their music largely one note at a time, and with actual orchestrated arrangements, so they get a nod for that. There's even a hint of violin and a small amount of guitar, particularly on the minor tracks on the reverse of the album (Kometenmelodie #1 and #2, and the rather odd Mitternacht - I really have no idea what that one is about). I believe there's even a flute that works its way into the background from time to time (unless that's synthetic too), but overall the only real variety that's detectable is the short dead space of the needle pops between songs.

The final track, Morgenspaziergang, is supposed to represent some kind of bizarro- world stroll through a meadow or something, kind of a Robot Frank meets Central Park, I guess. Again, this was probably a novel concept thirty-plus years ago, but unfortunately it doesn't wear well with time.

Today of course these sounds can be generated by anyone with a cheap PC and some sound effects shareware program, or frankly even ripped off of a Sims game CD. True, these won't have the aura of early authenticity of the Autobahn album, but the sound can be had elsewhere. Unfortunately for bands like Kraftwerk, they may have been ahead of their time with their circuit board-inspired sound thirty years ago, but the significance of their accomplishment has been lost over time with the tidal wave of technological advancements in electronic music since then.

This is certainly a critical album for Kraftwerk and techno fans, but it wasn't even considered a pivotal release when it came out in 1974. Some bands that were ahead of their time years ago have now become elder statesmen for genres that are considered more mainstream today. I'm afraid that in Kraftwerk's case, the techno sound that has evolved over the past thirty years simply serves to underscore the fact that their sound was perhaps early, but certainly not timeless. Two stars seems like the right mark for this one.

peace

Autobahn, great album title dont you think?

This is one of the most popular Kraftwerk`s works, in fact, my mother knew this album before me, (thats weird) i dont understand why yet, but anyway. Kraftwerk is maybe one of the pioneers of Progressive Electronic music, that point gives them automatically a bit of respect, and in fact this is nother band from Germany, it is a country which has made great electronic bands suchs as Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel.

Well ,here because it is electronic music ( and maybe some Krautrock sound), we can listen looots of synthesizers, great electronic sound, always changing, a nice landscape in every song, and of course this music is always progressing, some nices changes to different moods, and musically is a nice album, maybe when we hear a strong synth, behind it, there are piano notes, which make it more special, but talking about voice, i dont like the voices here, maybe because im not a huge fan of German language, and of course i dont understand anything, but for me the voice is not good, the first song "Autobahn" is a 23 minute song, a like it because it has some nice changes, but i think it could be sometimes repetitive and boring, as usual as progressive electronic is, great soundscapes , a very creative album, i enjoy it , but only sometimes, it is not an album that i play continuous, only when i had the whim, i take it to my stereo. "Kometenmelodie" parts 1 and 2 are great songs, shorter than Autobahn, but still good. "Mitternacht" is the shortest of them all, and i think its is unusual to see a 4 minute song for a Prog Electronic band, the last song is "Morgernspaziergang", the whole album is good, sometimes strange and a bit boring, with robotical and space sounds, if youre fan of this kind of music, im sure you will enjoy this album.

I want to clarify something, i think, well, im sure that this album is Essential , Essential = 5 stars, i think that because all prog fan and collector must have this album in their collection, but im convinced that this is NOT a masterpiece of progressive music masterpiece of progressive music = 5 stars. So, because of that, im giving it 4 stars.

I will do my best to be objective, which is difficult as: 1. Electronic is not my cup of tea. 2. This album was experienced very early in my life and not overplayed, thus gets big familiarity credit.

Autobahn is one of the earliest canned beat albums I know of. It is void of musical complexity in any sense of the word. Yet it is enjoyable. The 20+ minute title track is, as the name might imply, the musical equivalent of a Sunday drive. The sounds are presented with almost a childlike innocence as Kraftwerk attempt to portamento their Moog to make it sound like a car driving by at a high rate of speed. Much of the rest of the album recalls the early days of the New Age music movement with highly transient sounds. The closer "Morgenspaziergang" is a warm melody for an ethreal cap to the album.

I give 3 stars to Autobahn for nostalgia sake, even though I am not predisposed to any enjoyment of electronic (especially modern). I should expect that many fans of the genre would rate it even stronger for said nostalgia.

As I have said in an earlier ''Kraftwerk'' review, I first discovered ''Radio Activity'' and then dug backwards into their catalogue; but not further than ''Autobahn'' in those remote days (1975).

The music that is featured here is much more accessible than on their previous recordings (but this was not difficult). Their style is very much set in place, and the band is now ready for world recognition.

IMO, it is also their best album so far. Electronic music at its best, this album develops some fine melodies and it sounds much more organized that their first two albums which were quite an experimental affair. The repetitive side of their music is brought to its extreme during the side long (on the vinyl) title track, but the synth work does bring some variety in here (yes!). I obviously think that it is more fun than great but I have liked this track pretty much back then.

I wouldn't speak of gem, marvel or jewel but this album is quite a decent one. Even if you aren't a deep lover of this sort of minimalist work (which is my case in general), one has to admit that ''Kraftwerk'' put some good stuff together in this album.

To some extent, I would say that this work is quite important in terms of influence for such an album as ''Low'' from Bowie (which will see the light three years later - I'm talking about ''Low'' of course). This feeling is fully palpable during both of ''Kometenmelodie''. This is an obvious source of inspiration of the great B-side from ''Low''. Part two is probably the finest music available on ''Autobahn''. A real good melody with some more ''warmth'' than usual.

Some dark and scary mood for ''Mitternacht'' (midnight) is a fine break. Only some repetitive keys note which provide a gloomy atmosphere. Not joyful music of course, but I quite appreciate this short number (which is not the case of the closing ''Morgenspazierga'').

In all, ''Autobahn'' is a good album. I would probably have rated with seven out of ten if it was possible (but this option doesn't seem to be available on PA, which is a PITA). Since I can't really raise this effort to four stars, three is the final score.

Autobahn is the fourth Kraftwerk album and the one that brought to the band, lead by Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider, international attention. The album is a staple of electronic music and it is, at the same time, progressive and accessible, though it contains a 22-minute song. I consider that with this album, Kraftwerk finally found their sound, because, though their previous albums are very good, they were stuck in an Early Tangerine Dream sound, with less success. The strength of this album is the perfect marriage of minimalist sequencers and beautiful synthesizer and guitar melodies. We have to keep in mind also that the analog electronic instruments were more advanced and accessible by this time, so, luckily, they had to rely less on strange combinations of instruments and noises in their songs.

The title track is long, and goes through many changes, but the most important aspects are the sequencer rhythm and the bright synthesizer melodies. The song has even a chorus, something unusual in early electronic music. They try to emulate the sensation of being in a Highway in one part of the song, with clever use of synthesizer and stereo effects, which is interesting. The mood of the song is cold and futuristic, a perfect background for a cyberpunk sci-fi and, by accident, I was playing a Computer Game with this theme by the time I've bought this album, so listening to this song reminds me the game and playing the game reminds me this album. Maybe its a personal reason for me to value so high this song, while many people find the cold and minimalistic approach of the song boring. Anyway, IMO, this is by far the greatest Kraftwerk's artistic achievement.

The other songs of the album are instrumentals with different moods. Kometenmelodie 1 is very spacy, with a somber bass synthesizer riff and some spacey synthesizer melody. Kometenmelodie 2 is linked with the predecessor and has a very light tone, but it is still spacey. The sequencer riff is catchy and upbeat and the main synthesizer melody is very beautiful and bright. The progression of the sequencer riff is very good, given the difficulties of working with sequences back in early seventies.

Mitternacht and Morgenspaziergang follow the same pattern of the Kometenmelodies. Mitternacht (midnight) tries to represent dark, with synthesizer sounds emulating nature night sounds as howls, nightingale's chirping, etc, over a very haunting bass synthesizer riff. On the other hand, Morningspaziergang (morning walk) represents the light mood of the early morning, emulating birds chanting, with light keyboards sounds and flute synthesizers dominating the song, putting the listener in a relaxed and upbeat mood.

In the end, Kraftwerk could blend top notch electronic music in an accessible way, with great melodies and creating beautiful soundscapes representing moods and situations of common things of life. They managed to find an original style outside the Tangerine Dream (and related) way of doing electronic prog and did it really well, reaching the band's artistic peak. Recommended to prog fans.

Autobahn is the fourth full-length studio album by German experimental electronic pop/ rock act Kraftwerk. Kraftwerk started their career as a krautrock group but slowly started to incorporate more and more electronic elements into their sound. Autobahn is the first album in their electronic phase.

The music is still experimental and if you know their first three albums it´s obvious that Kraftwerk still have elements of the more ambient krautrock style featured on Autobahn. The 22:30 minute long title track which filled the whole of Side 1 of the original LP is clearly the most exciting song on the album for me. It´s also the track which mostly reminds me of the later electronic pop/ rock that Kraftwerk is mostly know for ( even though it has some organic instruments like the flute). I like the little memorable and simple themes as well as the repetitive electronic rythm ( Well...electronic might be the wrong word, but that´s how it sounds). Side 2 of the Original LP holds 4 songs which even after repeated listens doesn´t do much for me. They are too ambient and I don´t find them very memorable.

I was really happy when I heard the Autobahn track on the album even though it becomes a bit too repetitive in places, but the songs on Side 2 drag the album down for me. A 2.5 - 3 star rating is warranted. I only give the last half star because the quality level, when it comes to production and innovative ideas, is so high. This is barely a 3.

Autobahn is a difficult album to judge. I remember both me and big brother were rather disappointed with it and frankly, I didn't check out any kraut again until I had become a fan of the bands that were inspired by it. Our main issue with Autobahn was the lifelessness of it. Of course the 23 minute nihilism of Autobahn was fun the first time but it wears thin rather quickly.

Another issue I first had was the lack of melody. I was raised on symphonic prog so this sparse minimalism was a bit too much (or too less?) to take back then. I can appreciate it a lot more now but compared to the following albums, this still remains not much more then a transitory album between their early kraut (Morgenspazierung, Mitternacht) and the techno direction they would take later one.

The first 5 minutes of Autobahn and the Kometenmelodie2 are the only tracks that reveal where Kraftwerk was heading for. For me the album is a historical document but not much more then that.