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Minimum - Maximum | 
 enlarge | Artist: Kraftwerk
Label: EMI
Category: Music
List Price: £17.99
Buy New: £8.39
You Save: £9.60 (53%)
New (43) Used (5) Collectible (1) from £5.75
Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 31943
Format: Live
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 5.1 x 0.4
MPN: 60611
UPC: 724356061125
EAN: 0724356061125
ASIN: B0009H9NE8
Release Date: June 6, 2005
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW PRODUCT Factory Sealed - Ships via Airmail from the USA - Average 5 to 14 workdays delivery time - Excellent customer service - Buy with confidence!
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | The Man-Machine - Warszawa, Sala Kongresowa | | • | Planet Of The Visions - Ljubljana, Krizanke | | • | Tour de France Etape 1 - Riga, Olimpiska Hall | | • | Chrono - Riga, Olimpiska Hall | | • | Tour De France Etape 2 - Riga, Olimpiska Hall | | • | Vitamin - Moskwa, Lushniki | | • | Tour De France - Paris, Le Grand Rex | | • | Autobahn - Berlin, Tempodrom | | • | The Model - London, Brixton Academy | | • | Neon Lights - London, Royal Festival Hall |
Disc 2
| • | Radioactivity - Warszawa, Sala Kongresowa | | • | Trans-Europe Express - Budapest, Sportarena | | • | Metal On Metal - Budapest, Sportarena | | • | Numbers - San Francisco, The Warfield | | • | Computer World - Moskwa, Lushniki | | • | Home Computer - Warszawa, Sala Kongresowa | | • | Pocket Calculator - Moskwa, Lushniki | | • | Dentaku - Tokyo, Shibuya Ax | | • | The Robots - Moskwa, Lushniki | | • | Elektro Kardiogramm - Tallinn, Exhibition Hall | | • | Aerodynamik - Riga, Olimpiska Hall | | • | Music Non Stop - Moskwa, Lushnik |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
The Godfathers of Glitch and the Kings of Kling-Klang come out of seclusion with a double live CD culled from various concerts on their 2004 tour. Minimum-Maximum is essentially a greatest-hits album with an audience applauding and occasionally shouting. Without them, of course, you'd never know the album was live, since Kraftwerk is the band that put the programming in pop music. Not much has changed with them since the 1980s. They're still wired to the same sonic circuitry as on Electric Cafe in 1986, sculpting glistening electro-soundscapes that pulse but never quite groove. And they still sing in that flat, German-accented English and French with Speak and Spell electro-voices. But rather than sound dated, this has a timeless charm, especially since Kraftwerk are among the few Kraut rock groups with a sense of humor. With only two studio albums in the last 20 years, you have to give them credit for not caving in to current electronica and techno trends--Kraftwerk remain resolutely electronic. Even their samples sound synthesized. But also give them credit for some of the most relentlessly glistening electronic music ever crafted, and a sound that remains surprisingly pure. All the hits are here, from "Autobahn" to "Tour de France," but nicely buffed to a high chrome finish. --John Diliberto
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 Best live album, ever June 30, 2007
Mr. M. A. Reed (Somewhere, GB)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Possibly the best live album ever. "James Brown At The Apollo"? "Live After Death"? Rubbish. This is possibly the best live album ever.
Four german techno pensioners hacking out a set that's, in the majority, twenty five years old? Kling Klang. That's the sound of cash registers ringing away. But for an act made of notorious perfectionists and procrastinators (with one album of new studio material in the past 19 years), "Minimum Maximum" is practically a rush-release. Living in a state of practical isolation, the rest of the world moves on whilst Kraftwerk follow their own, dogged vision. In the age where everyone and their dog releases an obligatory live DVD and every show is probably already downloadable, the idea of Kraftwerk, who eschew every industry trend, releasing a concert record is almost unheard of. But "Minimum Maximum" is about the furthest thing from an obligatory contract filler of old men performing young songs in ways you've already heard.
The 22 song set, ranging from 73's "Autobahn" to 2003's "Tour De France", offers probably the best overview of their career anyone could ask for. The virtual greatest hits includes almost every single of their career, and unifes previously disparate themes of their albums together to create an intruiging, rounded whole. From the opening "Man Machine" to the final, largely improvised "Music Non Stop", "Minimum Maximum" not only sounds fantastic, but offers the definitive versions of these songs. A quarter century of shows since most of these songs were written have honed the material into taut, precise sculptures, revealing previously unknown depths and textures.
Thematically, "Minimum Maximum" unites the themes of previous albums into a coherent whole. To get a bit prog rock, the set starts with the hallmark KW concept of a Man/Machine that evolves through travel by air, rail, cycle and nuclear power to the synergy of a ComputerWorld. By the end, KW, now dressed in flourescent wire farme graphics and weird sunglasses, have become some kind of hybrid. Their music no longer performed, but produced through the manipulation of digital signals on laptops, where every last vestige of an analog signal is elimnated, barring the occasional, dry vocal from band ringleader Ralf Hutter. To further enhance the thematic richness, each song is chosen for it's location of performance : "Numbers" from Silicon Valley, "Computer World" from Moscow (where Tetris was written) "Autobahn" from Berlin, as if to reinforce the global village in which we live.
It's only half the story mind you. The visual presentation for which Kraftwerk are renowned for is absent, which means the record must stand solely on the merits of the music, which it does admirably. The dry humour of their work (evidenced most obviously for an encore which sees the band replaced by dancing robots), only sneaks in the corners around the songs : the comical sound effects added to "Numbers", or the parodic approximation of a synthesiser bass solo in "Music Non Stop", offer the merest hints of the humour that has seen the band perform air guitar solos using calculators, or add cloth caps to robots, or seen them impersonating Dracula during their performances.
Stripped away from the visual richness of their show, "Minimum Maximum" stands alone as a record of musical delights, superlative production, and definitive performances. The best live album ever? Probably.
 Not an original concept, but still worth a listen April 10, 2007
David Ellis (Glasgow)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
If it weren't for the crowd noise, you could be duped into believing that this was a greatest hits album, with some strange omissions. Computer Love and Electric Cafe seem the most obvious. The track listing will always be hotly debated amongst die-hard fans!
What makes this better than a Greatest Hits however is the simple fact that the songs have been updated and sound fresh when compared with some of the original mixes. For a band that hasn't given much output in the last 16 years, you don't so much feel that this is just another filler album.
So to the music itself.
There is something rather amusing in listening to the beeps and buzzes of computer world with a German accent declaring
'I program my own computer; beam myself into the future', but then at the same time, you are distracted from a band who, while clearly have a sense of humour about themselves, have created rich, insightful melodies that even today are inescapable. Think of Coldplay (Talk)!
There aren't really any filler tracks. Personally, to me the stand out is Radioactivity. I was never a huge fan of the original song, but there is a real depth to the music (the result of vast improvements in technology since the 70s and 80s). It is probably fair to say that most of the tracks in general benefit from this approach.
There is enough here to keep most listeners occupied for a while, including those who want a good introduction to the music of the Duesseldorf foursome
Quality control maintained. February 10, 2007
T. J. Stickland (UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
After finding Youtube videos of Aerodynamik live I just had to buy Minimum Maximum. I bought the DVD too, but prefer the CD. It sounds better.
I can't fault this. It's clever, funny and moving. It's art.
From studying the DVD it looks like they mainly fiddle around with effects when playing "live" apart from Ralf Hutter who sings and clearly plays some of the keyboard lines along with Florian Schneider.
I'm not complaining though; they've further smoothed out the mix on some of the tunes, like Pocket Calculator, whilst they've gone back to simpler arrangements on other tunes, like Radioactivity.
They do seem to have stuck to the big tunes and I wish they'd explored something a bit rarer for a few tracks. Like Showroom Dummies, Spacelab or Europe Endless, say.
A bit of continuous mix blending of a few tracks might have been interesting too.
Then again it's the single minded approach that makes Kraftwerk what they are.
If you like Krafwerk you'll like this.
5 stars is not enough! February 4, 2006
kiss the sky (Didcot OXON. UK)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I have always liked Kraftwerk, but would not concider myself a real fan, infact I only have a few bits on tape.
I bought this double CD, not really knowing what to expect, just hoping it would stand up to all the hype. It doesn't though...it is FAR FAR BETTER!
Amazing, brilliant, perfect polished Kraftwerk, at their very very best.It starts with a brilliant version of The man-machine, which is quite funky....yes, you can [nearly] dance to this!!! With all the hits there including Autobahn/Tour de france/The model/The robots etc, it has something for everyone. It ends with a mind blowing version of Music non stop, which leaves you just wanting more more more. I love Radioactivity and Trans europe express, but would find it very hard to say which are my favourite tracks. Minimum Maximum has not one bad track. Well worth the money, a CD I will play again and again. If only I could give this more than 5 stars. Buy it, you will LOVE it! Simple.
The Mix 2? October 3, 2005
Coincidence Vs Fate (Warwickshire)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
Like someone else mentioned in their review, this album is really The Mix 2 in all but name. If you're expecting a "live" album then you'll probably be disappointed or pleased depending on your view of live albums. Personally, I don't like live albums from even my favourite bands - I prefer to listen to recorded material. As Kraftwerk take Kling Klang on the road anyway, courtesy of four laptops, this isn't really a live album as such, apart from Ralf's vocals.All the classics are there, including some new favourites of mine such Vitamin and Electrocardiogram. The tracks aren't really different to The Mix apart from the addition of a few cheers at the end of each track. Please don't get the impression that I'm "dissing" the album, I'm not, I think it's great, I'm just warning those who are expecting a bonafide live album to prepare themselves for a shock. No one out there is like Krafwerk and no one ever will be. Buy it.
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