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Trans-Europe Express | 
 enlarge | Artist: Kraftwerk
Label: Universal
Category: Music
List Price: £9.99
Buy Used: £4.00
You Save: £5.99 (60%)
Used (4) from £4.00
Rating:  1 reviews
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
UPC: 762185144220
EAN: 0762185144220
ASIN: B000005JHV
Release Date: July 23, 1996
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Europe Endless | | • | Hall of Mirrors | | • | Showroom Dummies | | • | Trans-Europe Express | | • | Metal on Metal | | • | Franz Schubert | | • | Endless Endless |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
It's ironic that electronica's forefathers include two German bands whom, at least on the surface, were polar opposites. On the one hand, there was Can--shaggy, Stockhausen-trained advocates of trance improvisation--and on the other, Kraftwerk--clean-cut control freaks and masters of the pristine machine groove. Yet, even at their most robotic, Kraftwerk manage to locate the soul of the machine, as they demonstrate throughout 1977's Trans Europe Express. The mannequin manifesto "Showroom Dummies" alone is worth the price of admission. For a band so closely tied to technology, it's a testament to Ralf and Florain that their music continues to sound fresh amidst a sea of new talent and newer toys. --Bill Forman
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| Customer Reviews:
Just My Feeling May 21, 2001
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Although Autobahn was a left-field masterpiece, Trans-Europe Express is often cited as perhaps the archetypal (and most accessible) Kraftwerk album. Melodic themes are repeated often and occasionally interwoven over deliberate, chugging beats, sometimes with manipulated vocals; the effect is mechanical yet hypnotic. Thematically, the record feels like parts of two different concept albums: one a meditation on the disparities between reality and image ("Hall of Mirrors" and "Showroom Dummies" share recurring images of glass, reflection, illusion and confused identities, as well as whimsical melodies), and the other the glorification of Europe. There is an impressive composition paying homage to "Franz Schubert," but the real meat of this approach is contained in the opening love letter, "Europe Endless," and the epic title track which shares themes and lyrics with the following track, "Metal on Metal." The song "Trans-Europe Express" is similar in concept to "Autobahn," as it mimics the swaying motion and insistent drive of a cross-continent train trip. What ultimately holds the album together, though, is the music, which is more consistently memorable even than that on Autobahn. Overall, Trans-Europe Express offers the best blend of minimalism, mechanized rhythms, and crafted, catchy melodies in the group's catalog; henceforth, their music would take on more danceable qualities only hinted at here (although the title cut provided the basis for Afrika Bambaataa's enormously important dancefloor smash "Planet Rock").
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In Association with : 124 Beats Per Minute | |
