Autobahn

Great "ambient" album, Kraftwerk really knew what they were doing

Sort of ambient, ethereal, experimental electro. 4.0

As someone less than half as old as this album, I can appreciate and see how it's been a trailblazer for artists that now create the music I now love, even if I don't find the tracks themselves music I'd choose to listen to. I see movie scenes playing alongside this album. You could convince me this is an OST. Favourite track: Autobahn, Kometenmelodie 2

La première track était trop longue, mais le reste était cool dans le genre électro minimaliste.

Quite pretty ambient music

I gotta say this was a banger by the end of the album.

Both highly influential and quite good listening. These guys were doing quite a bit with, by today's standards, limited technology.

Wir fahren fahren fahren auf der autobahn

Car make vroom sound

I did not enjoy most of this, but the one song that I did enjoy I liked quite a bit

Ganz gut, innit?

A lot of fun! A good album front to back.

This record works well as background music, but is also engaging enough to listen to actively.

I'm a big admirer of KW and this is not the best as side B does not match the brilliance of side A so it all sounds a bit uneven. Revolutionary stuff though and their first classic. 4.

I feel obliged to like any album that influenced Bowie's Berlin trilogy. I have always meant to listen to Kraftwerk someday, so I'm glad that 1001 albums gave me the push I needed to sit down and listen to an album. It was basically exactly what I expected - weird, ambient, and made me question what music even is. I think I enjoyed it? I really don't know. Fun fun fun on the Autobahn.

Kometenmelodie 2 is great. It's a decent album. Of course I'm going to love the synth and all that, some of it seems random and unintentional, like someone got a new toy and they're playing with it the whole time, but it's pretty solid.

This was a album starts out great with a whimsical song. Kometenmelodie 1 felt a bit listless, but not necessarily bad. Kometenmelodie 2 sounded like a song out of Terraria, which is one of my all time favorite video games. Mitternacht was not as much of a song as I would have liked, but at least it was short. Finishing the album with pianos and flutes was a fun juxtaposition to the rest of the album. Overall this album was really enjoyable. I was expecting the album to be super techno like their song Kernkraft. I was pleasantly surprised!

7 out of 5 on the lunchin scale. 4 out of 5 on the enjoyment scale I never thought Autobahn the song was ever going to end. The slow build up on Konmentomelodie2 was my favorite part of the album. I want to take drugs and listen to this album, but I am not sure what the correct drug would be

Damn I tried winning tickets to these guys at the Anthem recently to see their 3-D show. Haven't gotten too into them but know they had a profound effect on Daft Punk, Air (Moon Safari better be on this list), and others. Oh hell yeah this was a song I got into for that show. This shit is dope. Makes me want to go grab a schnitzel and drive 200 mph down 50. Kometenmelodie 1 is a pretty ambient soundscape that I could see being pretty ahead of its time in 74. Gabe aka skeleton-man tried to replicate this in the Office and failed. Go eat some powdered seahorses bro. Love that transition into Kometenmelodie 2. Sounds like a video game soundtrack from the 80's. Mitternacht is dark af. Definitely belongs in Blade Runner. Morgenspaziergang is way more elegant with what sounds like a recorder. Also translates to "Morning Walk" which makes it even more elegant to me.

4.5

Ambiance nord de l'Espagne

autoroute des vacances

Classic!

Ich wohne in Deutschland also natürlich, bin ich auf der Autobahn gefahren.

Superbly infectious hook. The main 20 minute piece is essential, the others considerably less so.

Well that was surprisingly delightful. My preconception of Kraftwerk was not on target.

I liked this one in high school! Really enjoyed, though not as much as The Man Machine

As per usual with a Kraftwerk album, from start to finish you are transported to their carefully crafted world of forward-thinking electronic sound. I imagine if I heard this back in 1973 I would’ve melted.

Thanks to this app, I have discovered that I like Krautrock. Kraftwerk aren't the best exponents (check out NEU! 75) but I like it.

Some about this 70s german synth music draws me in - like soviet sci-fi. And it is one of the great album covers

Una pieza clave para el desarrollo de la música electrónica. La pista homónima que abre el disco, con una duración de 22 minutos, explora diferentes texturas y posibilidades que la primera música 100% sintetizada nos podía entregar. La segunda parte del disco ahonda en el Krautrock. Un trabajo realmente influyente.

immediately catches you off guard with the theatric/movie-like noise dialogue weirdness. guitars kinda fun. keyboards very 70s. appreciate the noisecore! the weirdness of autobahn is cool.

Electronic music means a whole lot to me, and I really respect Kraftwerk for laying the foundation for the genre’s proliferation by way of this groundbreaking sonic highway of a record.

I'm a sucker for albums that integrate the music into the theme of the album, so the title track here is right in my wheelhouse. You really get the vibe of driving down the highway out of it. The rest of the album feels less essential but still cool with lots of interesting synth work.

aawww tooww baaawwnnnnnnn *breath in* aawww tooww baaawwwwnnnnnnn *breath in* AAWWW TOOWW BAAAAAWWWWNNNNNNN *breath in* 𝔸𝔸𝕎𝕎𝕎 𝕋𝕆𝕆𝕎𝕎 𝔹𝔸𝔸𝔸𝔸𝔸𝔸𝕎𝕎𝕎𝕎ℕℕℕℕℕℕℕ 3.75

Iconic seminal album, on one side. Side one alone makes it 4****

What a cool album! Really has some wild synths on this thing! I mean the first song??? Oh yeah fun fun fun on the Autobahn!! Have never heard of Kraftwerk before but this album was very solid!! Insane electronic music for being released in the 70’s! So so far ahead of its time and you can see the impact this had on new electronica.

The album that spawned a thousand imitators, and wholly unique for its time. Autobahn is driven, relentless, cold but weirdly beautiful.

Built like an actual journey, from urban to country, this is a fascinating album, intriguing and engaging, groundbreaking.

This album feels like being stuck in a time vortex, but like... in a good way. It's like the musical equivalent of taking a wrong turn and now you're suddenly in a random Bulgarian village (population: 383). The people yearn for more albums of German people making funny noises.

Wow! Legendary. What a powerful opener, I was engaged the entire time. And in 1974! This is crazy. The last piece is more along ambience, but electronic music in 1974 and it still rocks.

Sounds like the future in 2023 What must it have sounded like in 1974?

I became a fan of Kraftwerk about a year ago, but hadn't yet gotten to this album. Eventually I learned it was on this list so I just waited to get it. An opening 20 minute song, woof. Tracks longer than 5-6min annoy me to no end but I love Kraftwerk so...conundrum? This album was alright! I don't think I'd listen to it again as I prefer their later more "radio-friendly" stuff.

Początki niemieckiej muzyki elektronicznej, absolutna klasyka. Powtarzalność i powolne rozwijanie tępa bardzo dobre do słuchania podczas pracy. Highlight: Autobahn

Very nice! I've been looking forward to getting something from Kraftwerk, a name I've heard many times but with no music to associate. Very quirky electro-rock stuff, with at least some sense of humor - the title track, lyrically, is them just saying "we're driving, driving, driving on the Autobahn," and to us it just sounds like "fun, fun, fun at the Autobahn." That one long track, plus a few more experimental departures. Really great stuff, give us more like this. Favorite tracks: Autobahn, Mitternacht, Morgenspaziergang. Album art: The remastered cover is quite lacking, and the original is just a picture of cars on a road. Looks almost AI generated, but not in a way that's funky enough to be really interesting. Could've gone a lot more spacey or experimental here to match the vibes. I don't mind it though. 4/5

I'm not normally into electronic music, but I liked this a lot. It seemed to have more in common with progressive music, e.g. Pink Floyd, than with some of the later electronic music I've heard. The sounds are more organic sounding, there is a focus on melody and song structure versus just repetitious beats. Very nice! 4 stars.

Very good

7/10 solid music to wander around an airport to.

Hard to listen to modern EDM music and not respect the foundation that Kraftwerk laid down. Synths and dancehall beats are never going out of style. This is some of the first electronic music and it doesn't have all the polish sonically or structurally that would come later, so it's a little tough to listen to in stretches, but it's great to have on while you work or read. Good stuff! An extra star for being so far ahead of its time.

I want to be reincarnated as a square wave

Haha I like Kraftwerk. I just find their songs funny.

Excepcional disco electrónico cuando la música punchi punchi era algo de otro planeta

4.2 + "Autobahn" is a symphony that takes you on a fast-paced car ride exploring this iconic highway both as a space of sunny optimism as well as one of dark menace.

- REVOLUTIONARY! - ICONIC! - PIONEERING! - SEMINAL! - A BIT BORING! Sounds like it was more fun to make than it is to listen to. I’m sure it opened the doors for other electronica to follow but it’s not great on the ears. I found the flute at the end refreshing.

Notes - 4th album by electronic music band Kraftwerk - First half of the album is the 22 minute behemoth “autobahn” - Supposed to capture the feeling of driving on a long highway - Repeating melodies and baselines along with phaser-y synths to simulate cars driving by - Split into 4 or 5 sections - My personal favourite part starts at about 18 minutes in - This album was the first of theirs to incorporate vocals - Second half of the album is more atmospheric and textural Fav - Mitternacht - Really cool spooky sounds and noise Least fav - Kometenmelodie 1 - Really pretty but forgettable 4/5 - interesting! Could see myself listening to it again if the song autobahn wasn’t 22 minutes long

Есть такие альбомы, которые были записаны туеву хучу лет назад и являлись прорывными для того времени, но сейчас звучат посредственно и неинтересно. Данный альбом к ним не относится, ибо даже спустя почти что двадцать лет композиции здесь звучат свежо и интересно, особенно самый первый гигант на 20 с лишним минут. Да, я был слегка удивлён длиной трека, опять же, ввиду того, когда был написан этот альбом, но мне не привыкать, поэтому я не был разочарован. К тому же, он довольно хорошо спродюсирован, инструменты звучат очень органично и выстраивают очень приятный звук, нооо некоторым этот альбом может показаться затянутым, что, в принципе, я могу понять. Но в остальном этот альбом довольно хороший и интересный. (7.5)

"Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn". Pas le plus accessible de leurs albums, mais définitivement important. C'est quand même intéressant de savoir qu'au départ ils avaient enregistré le son des voitures sur l'autoroute pour la chanson et qu'au final, puisque la qualité était médiocre, ils ont dû reproduire l'effet des voitures avec les synthétiseurs. Je préfère l'album Man-Machine, mais cette écoute est essentielle. J'ajoute une étoile pour l'importance de l'album.

One of the things that listening to albums on this list has given me a better appreciation for is the history of electronic music. I think I would not have enjoyed this album nearly so much a year or two ago, but the significance of what Kraftwerk was doing in this period is much clearer to me now. I didn't like this album as much as Man-Machine, which leans a little more towards the pop music side of electronic music, but this album is really cool. It develops very slowly but methodically. The first song is the real treasure here, but the entire album is good. Absolutely iconic down to the cover art 4/5

This one was pretty cool and had to be awesome during the 70s

Enjoyed this, a lot more poppy than I expected. Definitely prefer their Neu! work but this stands up on its own. When it’s good, I loved it. A few drifty moments but when it hits form, it’s great. Prefer the man machine

The one 'official' Kraftwerk album I don't own. 'Autobahn' was on the radio a fair bit when I was a child. Which, if you grew up where I grew up, you would acknowledge as being rather odd. On a different note. Ignoring the uselessness of the term as a taxonomy, never quite figured out why Germans aren't (or don't seem to be – I've asked a few) pissed off by the term 'krautrock'.

whoa

Quite enjoyed it.

vroom vroom

Daft Punk succeed in what eludes so many electronic artists: Making music that stands the test of time even as it’s technology becomes obsolete

Kova!

Classic kraut-rock, awesome!

good listen, very ahead of it’s time

It's my 2nd time coming back to this album and it's much better now then at the very beginning of my music journey. Great synth work throughout the entire album.

Tirando a Mike Oldfied, sorprendente. 4

Awesome in a chilled esoteric way. Ahead of their time. Definitely a chilled out sunset album

This was like listening to the origin story of all the new wave bands I love.

Not quite as good as the other Kraftwerk I've listened to (Trans-Europa Express) but it's still Kraftwerk and it's still great.

Oh delicious Germans and their electronic synth proclivities. This is uber creative with ambient sounds and some orchestral accompanying the quirky, catchy and enjoyable. Still sounds and feels fresh.

Très très très avant-gardiste, avec des sons très révolutionnaire. Pour 74, ça a extrêmement bien vieilli. Soit, il ya quelques sons encore un peu vieillot, mais il y a des trucs de 2010 qui ont tellement plus vieilli que Autobahn. Je m’attendais pas à 20 minutes en ouverture, mais ça passait comme du beurre. Ensuite les tracks se sont très bien suivi. Il ya juste Mitternacht qui tombe un peu sous le charme, mais le reste est excellent. Je recommande lol.

Autobahn was all new music for me, but I was happy to see Kraftwerk come up as this day's reocommendation. I think I have a soft spot for Kraftwerk. I enjoyed listening to the album. Some of the tracks feel a little more experimental, with some portions of the track feeling less "musical" than others. I never felt like skipping anything. I'd give this album a second listen.

Much more experimental and proggy than I was expecting. Quite challenging in places. Lots of flutes and recorders in the mix too!

The first side is super weird and super long and clearly made, as my friend David says, by the German foosball players on Community. I'm not convinced that Side B is the same band. I really, really like Side B. Best track: Kometonmelodie 1

I’ve never listened to Kraftwerk before! So German! 4 stars because it came the day after Phaedra.

What a weird and wonderful experience. I knew of Kraftwerk in terms of their historical significance but never had interest in exploring what felt like the Stone Age of synth electronica, and a 20 min starting track length further disinterested me. I imagined it was a lot of exploring and messing about with unknown new sounds, which, well( is what they’re doing. What I was shocked by however was the beauty, warmth and emotion they manage to pull from those early analogue synths; especially in that first epic odyssey of a track. Decidedly not for everyone, but I am really glad that this project took me to this album.

My fellow 1,001 Albums colleague mgravelle59 and I recently saw Kraftwerk live in Toronto and it was a fantastic show. To think that these funky septuagenarians put out this album almost 50 yrs ago is mind boggling. To a new listener this album may sound quite primitive and simplistic but back in 1974 no one was doing anything like this. This album was a radical change from their earlier experimental electronic and Krautrock sound as it incorporated synthesizer beats that were eminently danceable and which would go on to influence disco, hip-hop, prog, glam, synth-pop, electronic, EDM, techno and trance. There's a reason why many critics say that Kraftwerk ranks up there with the Beatles as one of the most important music groups of all time. This album is very good, but its just notch below their very best which comes later (Man-Machine, Trans-Europe Express and Computer World).

I see the historic meaning of this album/band, Had hard time listening it all 'cause of very different music taste. :D

This was the first time I actually liked listening to Kraftwerk. Favorite songs: Autobahn, Morgenspaziergang

Great record.

Got completely lost in this.

great album, but not quite Nagelbett

This isn't my favourite Kraftwerk album, but damn I'd listen to those 1970s synths making any old noise. The sound is kind of clinical but warm at the same time? (Like receiving great news in a doctor's office.) I like the hypnotic title track and the whole concept of the album, but the shorter tracks on side B have some great moments of ambience. This was their first album in the recognisable Kraftwerk electro/pop style, and I suspect it's on the list mainly for historical importance. But it is still a great record. 4*

I love Kraftwerk, but some of this isn’t their best, some of it is.

I am fairly sure that I saw Kraftwerk's debut on british tv on tomorrow's world in the early 70s, so was always intrigued by them and Autobahn in particular. I never got that into Kraftwerk but have really enjoyed listening to this album, particularly the monumental title track. Even at 22 minutes it is a joy to listen to. The remaining tracks are well worth a listen and I particularly liked the contrasting moods between Mitternacht and Morgenspaziergang. one thing that intrigues me is how different Kraftwerk really are to other exponents of 'kraut rock' such as Tangerine Dream and the extent to which their far greater popularity is down to image as much as the music?

Super groundbreaking, of course, and it is a deeply hypnotic driving album. The B side is near perfect IMO, but the title track on the A side does get a little repetitive, and the vocals absolute do not sit well in the mix when they crop up.

Fun fun fun on the autobahn! I know these are not the lyrics, I know exactly what they're saying, but that's not the point. The point is that this is a creative, relaxing, album of electronic music that I can always go back to (and I do). Now, let us drive, drive, drive, on the Autobahn.

This still sounds incredible.

Wild, I listened to it running which worked well, I think I would find it kinda boring in other contexts, but whilst running it felt like interesting a varied

Enjoyed this one for the most part. Autobahn was easily the best track with the quality factor going down and annoyance factor going up to the end of the album

As always, weird and intriguing. I had no idea the band had been around since 1969 having only heard them in the 1980’s

It was good. I read up on the group and was intimidated - sounded a bit too experimental. After listening , I really like the beats/music more than I thought I would.

Bits of this sound incredibly futuristic now - I'm not surprised it didn't catch on at first in 1974. Great album.

It's interesting hearing Kraftwerk before they completely turned to robots, musically speaking. The more acoustic instruments (i.e. flute, violin, guitar) was actually a nice bit of fresh air compared to the rest of their discography I've listened to so far. The 22 minute title track is a fun trip itself through the Autobahn itself and a underground level from a video game, and I like Kometenmelodie 2 as well since it's sunshine beaming out of the dark tunnel that was Kometenmelodie 1.

p318. 1974. 4 stars. In terms of influence, this is absolutely massive. Giorgio Moroder, Vangelis, Gary Newman and all of the 80's electro/synth bands owe this a huge debt, as well as John Carpenter and anyone working on sci-fi soundtracks in the 1980s. Aural cinema :) If you don't like atmospheric synths then you're going to hate this - but everyone should listen to this once in their lives.

This album reflects a transitory period where Kraftwerk was blending electronic influences and coming out of their Krautrock origins. This album is atmospheric and melodic. Though it is not as fully realized as their later work. It documents early experimentation and for that reason alone it belongs in this list.

"Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn!" Album je instrumentalno-ambientalno-progresivno elektronički/futuristički-repetativno-minimalistički u neku ruku i hladan, a opet ima tih dijelova na gdje ima taj neki warm feeling, tipa zadnja stvar. Sviđa mi se, i je, prva stvar je najbolja, ali nemojte zzzzzz na B stranu albuma. Samo da kažem da više preferiram original cover art, ovo je samo znak što je u tom cover artu. Svejedno je dobar ovaj, imam majicu takve boje sa bijelim slovima, piše: "23. Memorijalni turnir Seoce 2018." Tako da ako bi imao ovaj cover art na majici, bila bi druga najbolja majica sa ovom bojom.

Original

Not Krap.

Solid electronic album

The title song is 22+ minutes of Germans being weird and I loved every minute of it.

zey ar zee fazers ov electronic music

Sintetiza a importância da eletrônica na música. Audição com maturidade.

Great in its day. Sounds a bit dated now.

fuhn fuhn fuhn

Muy interesante, pero muy estraño (lo usual, pues, jaja). Me gusta que cierren con "Morgenspaziergang" porque se siente correcto: después del alboroto, una calma, una caminata matutina. 8/10

A bridge between the analog dreamy Kraftwerk and their electronic phase, not their best but still a classic

Really good with some surprisingly pretty songs.

The first of a string of top class albums by Kraftwerk. Certainly not their best work, but it's bright and atmospheric, surmounting Kraftwerk as one of the leaders of the krautrock movement. The star track is obviously the titular piece, which was a massive hit everywhere in the world, but the other songs match the hype exceedingly well, tending to reflect a wide range of emotions, from the optimism of Kometenmelodie 2, the discovery of a hidden land of Morgenspaziergang, and the cautious sense of adventure into the unknown of Mitternacht, that isolates Kraftwerk from the rest of the genre. Definitely one of the more intriguing and non-repetitive krautrock albums out there, and one I'll use to expose people into the genre.

I'm not the biggest fan of electronic pop music, but I did enjoy this album! First song, autobahn, I could listen to for hours! So soothing and love the lyrics "fan fan fan.. Autobahn!"

Cool. Not as catchy as other Kraftwerk stuff but a bonus star for its innovation at the time.

A great glimpse into into the early rise of electronic music. A good album to put on while stuck in a German highway. Favorites: Autobahn, Mitternacht

Очень круто. Ок. Компьютер.

Pretty great. Some optimistic songs. Some dark menacing songs. Very filmic. The birth of electronic music.

Live laugh love, get weird, get dark, get light, get bionic

great instrumental German electronica

autobahn is kraftwerk's crowning moment

Didn't think I would like it be it was white noise which I enjoy for some reason

Notice that the artwork looks so exceedingly modern? Smashing album by the way, ambitious in scope and, despite the majority of sounds being generated by electronic means, it has a warmth to the sound - and even a touch of humour. German is the perfect language for this kind of electro-futurism. I miss cold mornings in Berlin.

I think that it's almost impossible to fuck up an electronic album.

Lovely music for me to listen to

Fun album!

This was not what I was expecting given Kraftwerk's later work. It's ... symphonic. Sure, it's repetitive but it's also layered, textured, and nuanced. Sure, it's electronic but in a way that somehow feels natural and not overly synthetic and robotic. Autobahn (the title track) in particular, truly feels like driving on an interstate highway at night. They nailed it. I'm impressed.

Need to listen to more of this for sure.

Synthesizer greatest, wie kent het niet? Heerlijke melodieuze muziek. Album is wel vreemd met een liedje van 22 minuten en dan nog een paar kleine tracks. Zou het eerder maxi single noemen. Ik persoonlijk houdt wel van extended versies van liedjes en al helemaal van elektronische muziek. Heel leuk hoe je de auto's voorbij hoort komen of de wolf hoort huilen 's nachts . Deel "2" van de "Kometenmelodie" is ook wel heel goed zeg. De vrolijke panfluit in de ochtend kan ik ook waarderen. De rest mwoa. Geweldig hoe men in de jaren '70 al electronische muziek kon maken. De muziek was de tijd ver vooruit, maar zijn tegenwoordig wel een beetje langdradig en saai. ****

Pioneering ambient work that clearly opened doors for many other synth and pop artists.

FUN FUN FUN AUF DE AUTOBAHN

A me i Kraftwerk mi sono sempre piaciuti. Conoscevo già Autobahn e lo trovo geniale. Non si tratta di un ascolto semplice e magari non tutti lo apprezzerebbero, ma a me questa atmosfera elettronica di altri tempi mi ipnotizza.

<3

Quality album. One of the first bands I saw live.

Really enjoyed that and can't believe I haven't listened to Kraftwerk more as I'm such a fan of electronica. Could have done without the singing though

Innovative, great material

23 min song was amazing, but the songs with flutes were terrible - however, really glad I took the time to listen to it all. Very impressive - for the time and for now (but mainly for that 23 min song, fantastic)

Autobahn is a masterpiece. Some of the tracks are even more experimental in nature and didn't quite jibe with those.

Yeaa kraftwerk początki elektroniki, techno trochę. super odkrycie. tour de france super piosenka nie z tego albumu akurat. Puszczę kiedyś na jakiejś imprezie na pewno

Fon fon fon

Very long tracks. Engaging

false

It's almost impossible to listen to this now and appreciate how ahead of its time it was. Some of the instruments used here were brand new, expensive and not widely used. Plus they made their own synths too!

Really enjoyed it. First time I’ve listened to it all the way through, and was interesting to notice the influences it’s brought to other artists over the years. Weird vibes at the end, almost went a bit chronicles of Narnia. Overall 8/10

Cool and poised and wry, like the most well-dressed cyborg reading haikus

.

ahora no le dedique el estudio suficiente a la banda pero me imagino es alemana y estuvo chidito el trip que se agarra con ciertas canciones especialmente la ultima que tiene un toque asiático saludos a toda la banda! buen matecitos de churritos

Groundbreaking

I think I’ll be able to give this one a five once I’m more familiar with it. One listen wasn’t enough. Autobahn was definitely the highlight of the album

An important document in music history. I recognize the massive influence this album had in electronic music and synth-pop.

Thoroughly enjoyable early electronic music!

Fun fun fun on the autobahn

So I have listened to this a bunch. My German teacher loved this album. And would play it during tests. It brings back good memories.

Title track is pretty cool as it morphs over time. Middle third (?) is favorite section, but I like the vocal parts of the first section (bahn bahn bahn, ist das Autobahn). Side B is less impressive to me. Ordinarily I enjoy ambient electronic, but this was more just beeps and boops than it was coherent songs. Overall, cool stuff.

Pretty nice background music

Ah ze Germans ya very fond of ze autobahn.

Fun at the autobahn

This was a musical journey. It was weird to start, but by the end it was really good.

Always a good one to listen too

I wish there was an aready listened function. Album is class, though.

I have heard other songs by this group before. I liked the songs on this album. That being said, for the time this was probably a great album. Now this kind of blends in.

This album was super weird. Not sure if I have many thoughts about it. I can see its appeal when you come from a technological advancement standpoint but in the current day it left a bit to be desired in my opinion. For the first song I was expecting it go into a Yes-like frenzy of sounds but it never did, instead it kept teasing me with a pseudo chorus about a road made for fast cars. The other, shorter songs were quite nicer but not something I'd listen to regularly. I think my favourite was the third track "Kometenmelodie 2". I realize this mostly an electronic ambient work of music but I honestly expected a bit more lol. However not bad overall, just not my cup of tea. I'll probably enjoy it more on future listen minus the title track. 7/10

I enjoyed the first Kraftwerk album I got, but each subsequent one has been a bit less interesting. It’s weird - it sort of sounds like background music, but I feel it needs more active listening than I want to give it.

Very cool synthetic pop aspects combined with 3d audio elements, weird vibes but I like despite its oldness

Solid German electronic music

A formative and important album that I’ll probably never listen to again. The last track was nice though.

Enjoyed to some extent.

Review: This was an interesting album. Extremely revolutionary considering this was in 1974. My main problem with this album is the lack of words. Not that I hate instrumental music I just find it to much harder to connect with artists messages just through noise. I did still however love some of the songs on this album. Autobahn and Kometenmelodie 2 stood out the most for me. The electric sound was captivating and I loved that I could feel the music flowing around me. There also some tracks like Mitternacht that just kind of felt like they threw some sounds together and called it a day.

I can get behind this

Jump on the Autobahn when you listen to this one.

Would have been mind blowing in 1974 - not as mind blowing now, but still worth a listen.

Pleasant. Nothing particularly exciting or offensive. Listened a couple times while working and it just made for a nice texture in the air.

I wanted to like this but ultimately didn’t quite land in the way I hoped. Can certainly appreciate it but think it might not have found me in the most patient mood for this type of music. No doubt influential and deserving of its place on the list though.

It's good, but not their best

1st track is a banger but it falls off pretty hard for me. Can't get to a 4 star like many other albums they have.

WIR FAHR'N FAHR'N FAHR'N AUF DER AUTOBAHN!?!?

I should say first that this was not as bad as I thought it would be. The tunes are mostly inoffensive, just super-simple. I recognize that this band is extremely influential, and that they were very creative for their time. As a result of that influence & creativity & inoffensive simple songs, this gets a 3. Additional Kraftwerk albums are not likely to fair as well.

I didn't enjoy Autobahn as much as the other two Kraftwerk albums i did on this project. This is one of the earliest electronic records and you can absolutely tell here as this album definitely felt like synth-mania. My main issue with this album is that the first three songs end up outstaying their welcome, especially that title track which went on for 22 minutes. And in general, those songs in particular just lacked the cool atmospheric vibe that this band's later records had. The last two tracks though were pretty good and had a very atmospheric vibe to them that i expect from Kraftwerk and had cool ideas with them. If it were just the first 3 songs, this album would have only been worthy of a 2 star rating but the last 2 songs were able to bump it up a half. Best Song: Mitternacht Worst Song: Kometenmelodie 1 Side note: Last Kraftwerk album, you know what that means: 1. The Man Machine 2. Trans Europe Express 3. Autobahn

6.5/10

Minus one for back to back Kraftwerk

Oh goody more than one album on this list that’s an ode to good old fashioned German engineering. Oh and for the record the closer on this is one of the worst things I’ve ever heard in my life

wir fahren fahren fahren auf der autobahn

Титульний трек супер класика і кайф, але решта альбома не дотягує все ж. Тому 3.5

Uraauurtavaa soundimaailmaa kyllä, ei ehkä sitä ominta juttua kuitenkaan.

I like electronic music and I also enjoy soundscapes. So I was very much looking forward to this album. It is also the album that most people recognise when they think of Kraftwerk. This album feels much more serious than "The Man Machine" and the heavy weighting on the track "Autobahn" provides less of a showcase for the different sounds and themes that Kraftwerk can make. So I was a little disappointed overall. The album is still good and is a very good example of an electronic concept album. I feel like it was just not what I was hoping for. (3.000)

2,5

2,5

i like kraftwerks ethos and influence in experimental electronic music but i dont love listening to them i honestly find their music kind of boring sometimes. i will say that the title track here is really good probably one of my favourite kraftwerk songs but the rest of it just feels like filler 7/10 Favourite: Autobahn Least Favourite: Mitternacht

Just the right amount of experimental to feel edgy but not enough to drive you away. Pun intended hehe

Great album. Electronic pioneers

Not bad

3/5

5/10

Autobahn track does get a bit tedious, other tracks probably more interesting to be fair

6.5/10 Groundbreaking for sure. But the ideas on here don't really come together well. Later Kraftwerk albums have better songs. Highlights: Kometenmelodie 2 Autobahn

Amusing, quirky. I can take it in small doses snd can see how this might rate being one of 1000 albums one should be aware of

Interesting but not my particular cup of tea

It's an interesting album that left a long reaching impact, but I don't think I'm high enough to truly appreciate it.

I will likely never listen to this again, but it was interesting and a good one off I feel. Can definitely see how this might influence artists in the coming years. 3/5

It was fine. 2.5/5

wow, it's like i was right there, on the autobahn

Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n auf der Autobahn This song takes up more than half of the album's runtime, but that's okay, because it's the only track the album needed in the first place.

Okay. Certainty a different listening experience but catchy musical arrangements.

Agréablement surpris, ni trop expérimental, ni trop boum boum, ça peut, éventuellement, s'écouter

Just boring and repetitive. It's inoffensive as background noise, but it's really just not very interesting.

I was stoked when Kraftwerk came up. I knew the singe Autobahn of course as well as about ten other tracks. I love those songs and am well aware of the huge impact this band has had on synthpop and electronic music in general. So, the album starts with a 22 minute version of Autobahn, which was way longer than it should be. The car noises were clever though. The rest of the album was underwhelming too. Very little in memorable tunes and it left me with no desire to listen to the record ever again. Still, three stars for the sheer impact of the band and this album

This is my third (and I believe) and last Kraftwerk album and I am still not 100% sure how I feel about them as a band. I enjoy a lot of the music I've heard, while I also could take or leave the other music that I heard. I knew the song Autobahn from somewhere and I can't place it. I wish I could say this album has ultimately changed my mind about Kraftwerk but it has not. I like Autobahn, but it is a very long track, and the second half of the album are nothing but instrumentals. My favorite tracks: Autobahn Kometenmelodie 2

Beep booo

bro I feel like im in a car factory cult

Not something I’d listen to again, but I had a fun time!

My favorite Kraftwerk to date! The title track is an absolute joy! They get into some more experimental and psychedelic stuff for the remainder of the album -- some of which you could mistake for early Pink Floyd if it wasn't so electronic and, well, German lol. It's fine, but definitely falls a bit flat after vibing to "Fun fun fun at the Autobahn" (misheard lyrics i know) for 22 minutes. Standouts: Autobahn • Kometenmelodie 2

Wanted this to be a 4 very badly but so much of it is taken up by Autobahn, which I didn't like much, I couldn't bump it up that high just because I thought the last two tracks were amazing.

Autobahn was sehr gut. Innovative and influential stuff. No longer futuristic sounding.

Despite ( or maybe because haha..) being a Krautrock fan, never really got into Kraftwerk. This reminds me of Kelvinos trip to SF pretty much 11 years to the month, where I played this and Trans-Europa endlessly. I ended up not being really into it though, and that's still the case. Enjoyed Kometenmelodie 2 the most - could really hear the influence on Sterolab on those MiniMoogs(?)

I was really not enjoying the opening track and kept thinking about my junior school and the soundtracks to the public information and educational films that we would watch on a TV set that they would roll in to the hall on a trolley once or twice a term. It was sounding like Jean-Michel Jarre was having a bad day to be frank. As the album progress though, I got more into it, even if admittedly, the track with the pipes came as welcome relief from all the repetitive synth. In summary, this is a very much a worthy inclusion on this list, possibly a landmark album, but not really my thing.

Tää oli ok soundillisesti, erikoinen äänimaailma. Nimi biisi oli hyvä ja suosikkini.

Kraftwerk was interesting. I knew the name, and their reputation as a largely influential band on 70s/80s electronic music proceeds them. Not much comes to mind other than I enjoyed the beats and sound, but it was largely an instrumental album, but makes it harder for me to get into it.

This album felt like I was standing on the side of the Autobahn and not driving on it because it blew right by me.

It’s like, cool, but not fun to listen to

Nice ambient sounds, a wee bit dull in parts though.

This is my second Kraftwerk album, and, as before, I'm surprised to say that I enjoyed their music. I'm not a fan of New Wave, but I can understand (and appreciate) Kraftwerk's influence on a whole slew of 80s bands with bad haircuts who danced to music emanating from synthesizers and drum machines. As when listening to Trans Europe Express, which came after Autobahn, I experienced a sort of hesitancy when it came to evaluating Kraftwerk's music: Is the band producing something original and groundbreaking? Or is it pretentious electronic drivel? Did Kraftwerk know the difference? Did they even care?

La idea, novedosa y conceptual, me encanta. Debo igual reconocer que no es ni cerca un álbum que me entretenga o me genere algo. Es más bien una pieza de valor histórico lo que me atrae que lo que me llega al oído. Más allá de todo, los banco a ellos y a la propuesta. 6/10

How many Kraftwerk albums does one need to hear? I'll probably just give this one a 3, like I did the other one. Not bad music for having my morning coffee and biscuits and doing the NYTimes wordle and spelling bee ;) I'm glad Kraftwerk created this music, in Germany, in the 70s -- and, I suppose, that its influence rippled slowly out across space and time, man. And that we can occasionally (very occasionally?) still enjoy it, now.

Clearly innovative and influential, but not something I would revisit

The originators of electronic music. 2.75/5

Was worried but I didn't hate this. Nothing I would add to my faves list but I found it very soothing and pleasant. True to a 3/5 for me

This was OK. I get that it was ahead of its time, but it's still boring at times. 2.5/5.0: Mixed

Surprised by how much I'm...not into this. I love electronic music and Kraftwerk has always been cited by artists I love as an influence. This is just okay. I can get into repetition but the title track didn't do it for me. The other tracks fared a little better, with more expansive soundscapes. When I go on Apple Music they have three other Kraftwerk albums as the "essential albums" and not this one, so I guess I have higher hopes for those.

That was a ride on the Autobahn I wasn't prepared for.

Very kraftwerk.

FUN FUN FUN ON THE AUTOBAHN Good for the time but age has dampened the technological mastery it was in the 70s.

Autobahn - 3 Kometenmelodie 1 - 2 Kometenmelodie 2 - 3 Mitternacht - 3 Morgenspaziergang - 2

Innovative, influential, and goofy as hell.

Much like Trans-Europe Express, this album just does not have the punch and catchyness that The Man Machine did. I will say, I do think I like this more than Trans-Europe Express though, since it's got more variety in it, and it doesn't sound as dated to my ears. But The Man Machine is still their best album by a mile for me. That one feels like the most influential of the bunch, with it's sounds popping up in modern sci-fi properties today.

This was fine. About halfway through the first song I was starting to getting bored of it though.

3,5

so so

Appreciate the electro-pioneering ambient cosmic-grooves, though only stretches of each track really lock in and feel good. When it hits, you want it to last and last, which, of course, it tends to do.

I know Kraftwerk is legendary. They sound like they’re from another planet. I’m glad I finally listened to one of their albums. To be honest, I probably don’t need to listen to this one again.

too funky

Highly overrated.

Very offbeat. Love the exploratory synth.

Electronic, quirky

3/5? No idea, bizarre album

Interesante

Electronic wallpaper

A highway in Germany.

Maybe going off to a stroll, not driving into a driveway kind of album. Still, its a pretty experience.

Quite enjoyed that, they did manage to capture a nightly german autobahn drive. 3/5

I get why people like this and consider it a masterpiece. It's just something I don't really feel the need to listen to again. But I can't imagine there was much of anything like this in 1974. Ahead of it's time? I believe that claim, for sure. Electronica is my least favorite genre on here according to my stats. I don't hate this album and I'd much prefer it to that Fatboy Slim shit I had to listen to a couple weeks ago.

Not a huge fan of 20 minute songs, but these weren’t at all bad to listen to.

I heard this one before, but it's a good chance to revisit it. The title track is interesting. Kind of difficult to describe. While I find it interesting, and it definitely takes you on this journey, I sadly don't find it very fun. It's enjoyable as an experience in a way, but not the beauty of the music is what does it for me. Musicly, I think side B of the record is actually better. Kometenmelodie 1 is kind of a ambient track with great textures and atmosphere. Kometenmelodie 2 has great driving rithem and beautiful glisandos under the main melody. Song 4 which translates to MIDNIGHT sounds like a frightening midnight indeed. Last track is morning walk. It's a chicky little tune. Quit a nice way to end the project. It's a very ambitious, and revolutionary album. Personally, I find it laking something. I'll give it a (high!, .8) 3

Good but maybe a tad bit too boring. 3/5

Undeniably influential and forward-thinking for its time, but not really for me. I think that Kraftwerk has better songs coming up in their discography, though I really enjoyed the flute on Morgenspaziergang and the start of the title track

I liked this album but I’m rating it a 3 because of my experience at the Munich airport which was dirty and the food wasn’t very good

I've always heard Kraftwerk mentioned as a defining artist and influential to so many. The opener was cool, I don't mind a long song as long as it's fairly dynamic. I certainly got the vibe of driving down the autobahn. I found the rest of the album harder to get into. I liked Komentenmelodie 2 though. I respect it, and will probably seek out more Kraftwerk but I'm not all the way there yet

I’ve heard the name Kraftwerk for decades. I’m not sure I’ve ever listened to their music. I know they are German and they’re the fathers of electronic music, which scares me. After just listening to the Boards of Canada, electronic music isn’t high on my list of enjoyment right now, but these guys are supposed to be good, I think. Hmm, five tracks, 42 minutes long, and the first track is Autobahn and is 22 minutes long. Ooooh, it starts out with some robot repeating Autobahn about five times. This song is already better than anything on the last album I listened to, mainly because it actually sounds like a song. I will say, it’s hilarious to hear these Germans chant the lyrics with a heavy German accent. The music has synths in it, but I can also hear what sounds like guitars and a flute. They may also be synths, I don’t know. I feel like I’ve heard this song before. It’s essentially an instrumental except for what sounds like 4 Germans chanting, “The fun, fun, fun, of the Autobahn.” Then later, they chant something in German. There isn’t much to the song, but it gives me the nostalgic feels of the 80’s. This album came out in 1974, which seems crazy, but it took the ad geeks at least a decade to start using music like this in commercials or TV shows. I enjoyed track 1. It was worlds better than the Boards of Canada. However, I think time will suck some of the amazement or wonder out of my listening to this album because I’m so far removed from its release. Electronic bands today are making better music than could be made in 1974 with that technology. Track 2 is Kometenmelodie 1, and I already dig it. It sounds very foreboding. This song kind of reminds me of what Eddie Van Halen was trying to do with synths on the Fair Warning album, which came out in 1981. Track 3 is, of course, Kometenmelodie 2. This song has more of a beat to it. It’s more of a dance track than the first one. It reminds me of a David Bowie song, but I can’t put my brain on the title. This song has more of an old-school 50s rock and roll swing to it, if electronic music can indeed swing. Yes! I got it! This song reminds me of Modern Love by Bowie. It has the same feel, though it sounds like it is the elevator music version of Modern Love. Track 4, Mitternacht, sounds like it might be played in a haunted funeral home, at least the first 30 seconds do. Mitternacht means midnight in German. Yes, this is a spooky song. Hmmm, this song has a lot of what sounds like electronic drops of water leaking from the basement pipe of a killer’s lair. It was an atmosphere, but not much of a song. I can see it being used in a Halloween movie. Final track, Morgenspaziergang, and it sounds like ASMR. It’s like more electronic drops of water falling into a digital puddle. There’s some flute playing, giving it a very Asian feel to the song. And just like that, it’s over. For today’s standards, there’s nothing ground-breaking here. This was Kraftwerk’s fourth album, and they did in fact add a guitarist who could also play the flute, as well as a percussionist. According to our good friends at Wikipedia, this album completed a shift from their earlier experimental krautrock to a more electronic pop, which was more synth and drum-based. It was alright for me. It’s not something I’m adding to my rotation. I can see how they could have influenced all of electronic music, but I’m a rocker at heart. If you want to hear where electronic music came from, then check this out, otherwise, you can skip it.

Good album. But more background than some of their better work.

Very interesting. The melodies repeted a lot, but it felt seldom repetitive. My favorite's probably Autobanh. Pretty good but not something I'd listen to again. 5.1/10

As a lover of long songs, "Autobahn" surprisingly didn't do it for me (at all—I struggled to finish that one), but there's a lot of beauty hidden in this otherwise bite-size album that still compels me to give it a 3.

The Germans certainly have different ideas about many things, and certainly Kraftwerk is one of them. When I first encountered them a few years ago, I was perplexed by the sound and dismissed it as strange, and I really did not understand it one bit. Recently, when I opened myself up to music as well as with my girlfriend's sister, who is a fan of Kraftwerk, I began to understand it. This will never be my type of music, but it is certainly interesting and pivotal to influencing many parts of the electronic scene. For the album itself, it is very futuristic in its approach and has aged well in that respect, even if music wouldn't be made like this today. It achieves its goal of sounding like driving on the highway.

Another band that I respect more than I enjoy. I think there's 3 Kraftwerk albums on the list and I'm pretty sure I've heard them all, but I can't remember if this was one of my favorites or least favorites. I know that probably shouldn't really matter with how I rate the album..... I think I like the other albums better because they're less ambient, so let's just go with a 3. It's influential, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to be reaching for the other albums first.

Ich verstehe schon, dass das prägend war. Es hat auch einige spannende Elemente, überzeugt mich aber in Gänze auch nicht wirklich. Also: Ganz okay.

Der Titeltrack ist ein guter Beginn, danach verliert es sich teilweise etwas und hat seine Längen - quasi wie eine Autobahn-Fahrt.

Gehört für mich noch nicht zu den ganz großen Kraftwerk-Klassikern, Einfluss hin oder her. Man merkt, dass sie ihren Sound noch nicht ganz gefunden haben. Das Albumkonzept, was sie später perfektionieren werden, wird hier nach dem Titeltrack (der - wenn man mal ganz ehrlich ist - auch nicht genug Ideen für 22 Minuten bereithält) über den Haufen geworfen. Alles danach sind ein paar nette Soundkollagen, die aber leider sehr stark in ihrer Zeit verhaftet sind. Hat mich aber teilweise dann doch ganz unterhalten.

Ich mag klingen wie der letzte Hater aber nach Autobahn hat keiner der Songs mit mir was gemacht außer mich zu langweilen. Für die Pionier Rolle aber einen Bonus Punkt

It's very German. And Spots autoplayed a Neu track afterwards and I thought 'damn, you can see the influences from Kraftwerk on Neu'

This album is essentially the blueprint for electronic music; it was way ahead of its time and had a massive influence on today’s scene. Even though it has aged well, I still wouldn't recommend it to a friend—it feels too dated and honestly doesn't offer much of interest by today's standards. There’s much better out there now... though certainly much worse, too. For its huge influence and avant-garde spirit, I’m giving it a very well-deserved 3 stars.

City and travel related sound interpretations

Opened the doors for ambient/electronic music! A classic but I did skip most of the tracks.

You have to appreciate these mad kraut innovators for what they were doing. Building synths and drum machines, among the first to do it, experimenting, playing with the industrial and computerized sounds of our Information Age, melding it with sounds of our machines and sounds evocative of nature. As an album listening experience, it’s not exactly a banger, but I appreciate them.

Rating: 7/10 Short Review: A very unconventional album. I think this is the first album where a 22-minute track is the most popular... and that's kind of fierce. This record is definitely a patient one, it makes you wait a lot. It pays off nicely sometimes, other times it feels like a bit of waste. Though, I don't really think it's one of those albums you just throw on, it's more of an experience.

I really wanted to like this more than I actually did. It was pretty fine and fun but not as cool as I had hoped.

I can definitely see how this influenced many later electronic artists. It was fun, chill, a bit repetitive (fun fun fun on the Autobahn), but overall it was pleasant and groundbreaking for coming out in the 70s.

I like it that this Kraftwerk album is in many ways *very* different than the other one I've listened to in this collection ("The Man Machine"), yet pretty recognizably Kraftwerk too. The title track seems like the main and almost only attraction, and I'm glad I listened to it with headphones, as that's probably the only way to really get the simulation-of-driving-along-the-autbahn-through-various-regions-of-Germany experience (although it definitely helped to read about the album to understand that there were distinct and identifiable regions at different points in the 22-minute track). It also made me realize that the single-version of "Autobahn" (and the only version I'd ever heard before this album) is basically a completely different song, since it's not a journey at all. The other tracks on the second side of the album are less distinctive or interesting, but also more experimental/ambient, which I admire. I think I enjoy "The Man Machine" more, but I can see why this earlier album helped get Kraftwerk on the music map.

Rlly nice instrumentals, Autobahn was best

Not one of my favourite Kraftwerk albums, but an interesting one nonetheless.

Feels like listening to the future

Still better than the first Kraftwerk album presented to me. Also, still not really my thing.

Elektronická klasika, najzaujímavejšia skladba je aj tak autobahn...

Not bad but I didn't like it.

Was completely fine.

This album is incredibly robust and beautifully produced. However, I am not sure how often I'm going to find myself coming back to this album. I did enjoy my listen though.

Fawn fawn fawn on ta Autobahn. Fawn fawn fawn on ta Autobahn. Fawn fawn fawn on ta Autobahn.

Not a bad album, but pretty much like every other Kraftwerk album on this project: it seems like a study in electronic music that someone might study rather than an example of music that people listen to for enjoyment. We have Kraftwerk to thank for setting the foundation of electronic music, but their actual use of it at this point in the project has landed a bit dry for me. Yet another middle-of-the-road 3, to Kraftwerk, from me.

It's weird enough to be outside the mainstream, but not enough to be a real hipster cut. They found their lane, I guess. It's not unpleasant, but there's nothing here to bring me back again.

Meh

I’m not a big fan of minimalism, but Autobahn was a nice listen. I did not enjoy anything on Side 2. I don’t have any gripe against Kraftwerk, I just think Terry Riley, Brian Eno, Laurie Anderson and Caroline Shaw are much more interesting.

Now is the time on Sprockets we dance! Your story has become tiresome.

Okay, the Autobahn song made me giggle every time the lyrics came on. "Fun, fun fun, on the Autobahn!" haha. The random noises at the end, including some wind instrument were unexpected. That is the word- this whole album was unexpected.

Enjoy Kraftwerk but a 20 minute track is much harder to digest and even though it was cool some of the quality is lost in its length. Overall 3.5/5

I liked the other Kraftwerk album better

Definitely weird

Ok, I can maybe get a grasp of how exciting this must have been upon release, and I understand the cultural impact it had too. One of my uncles was (and still very much is) a huge fan of them, however, I found it a bit generic. Maybe it’s because so much has come after it that sounds like it? I don’t know. I didn’t hate it, just didn’t blow my socks off.

Some parts just felt to dragged out and slow, although other sections that were slow were still interesting. Just didn't all click for me.

This didn’t engage me enough and whilst it all sounded lush and for its time was pretty progressive it felt a bit flat to my ears.

Pleasant as background music, but boring for close listening due to long songs and slow development. Favorite song: Morgenspaziergang.

When I was young I read about how important this album was. I found a second hand copy of the vinyl and can see how it was a prototype for a lot of electronica music. It’s good background music but not totally my cup of tea.

Hard to believe this is over 50 years old - doesn’t sound it. A little repetitive in parts for me but can hear it’s influence on electronic music.

Twee and so much more relaxing than the name suggests.