Autobahn

We Are Driving On The Autobahn 1001 Albums Generator 29 (05/13/2025) German weirdos Kraftwerk are a band that largely found themselves at the forefront of the musical stylings of their time. Their first three albums are Krautrock (or “Kosmische Music”), which was a phenomenon in West Germany in the early 1970’s that saw local bands producing strange, repetitive, and experimental rock music. Often these bands would incorporate electronic elements to their sound, and no band did so more than Kraftwerk. However, their fourth album, Autobahn, hardly sounds like Krautrock at all and instead sees Kraftwerk shifting their sights towards a new horizon, thus far largely unexplored in popular music: progressive electronic music. Eschewing themselves of nearly all traditional rock instrumentation, on Autobahn Kraftwerk sheds themselves of the rock label entirely, opting instead for an ambient synth-led sound. It is worth noting that later in their careers, Kraftwerk would be the progenitor for the synthpop sound that dominated the 1980's. These boys just couldn't stay still. I suppose before we get to the music, I must express my displeasure at the album cover on Spotify. Some of you may be surprised; "it's not so bad", you say, "it may not be the most interesting art style, but it's inoffensive". If you really know your stuff, you may even say "Actually, the blue and white cover is an autobahn sign, which can be found on the side of the highways in Germany". Ah, you sweet summer child, I beg you to leave your Spotify prison and look at the original cover for this album. Painted by German artist Emil Schult, the original cover perfectly exemplifies the feeling the title track aims to exude, while the newer cover feels sterile by comparison. The original painting shows a first person view of a car speeding down the autobahn on a warm summer day, with the band crammed into the rear-view mirror. It is perfect. Autobahn is dominated by its title track, which is 22 minutes and takes up the entire first side of the vinyl. This song was simply written about the German boys' love of driving on Germany's beautiful autobahn. Amazingly, though the lyrics are so simple (largely just repeating the phrase "We are driving on the Autobahn"), there are three members of the band credited with writing them. In spite of its deceptive simplicity and repetitiveness, Autobahn is far from a waste of 22 minutes. Kraftwerk manage to fill this time with interesting textures and an ever-evolving piece of progressive electronic, pulling largely from their Krautrock roots, but through the lens of an electronic group. Surprisingly, this song was a hit, and not only that, but it was Kraftwerk's first release in the U.S. after getting play on some radio stations there. Kraftwerk then performed their first tour of both the U.S. and the U.K. largely on the back of this song's popularity. The B side varies in quality quite widely. Kometenmelodie 1 is a boring ambient piece that does not progress anywhere. While the textures are nice, this song simply does not earn its 7 minute run time the way the title track earns its 22 minute one. The only instruments present are a synth bass and a whistling synth that follows the bassline exactly, while a kick drum adds a soft heartbeat under the proceedings. Meanwhile, Kometenmelodie 2 is way poppier in a good way. It is the most upbeat song here and features a slidey synth line that has been stuck in my head since I heard it. Mitternacht is another really strange song. The shortest song on the album, all we have here is a repeated 5 note motif, played on a bass synth, with constant percussive sounds in the background and bursts of noise between each repetition of the motif. The final song, Morgenspaziergang, is very different, featuring both a flute and a piano as opposed to their electronic counterparts. The flute and piano have an almost classical sound to them strangely enough, while there are also some glitchy noises happening in the background during the first half. The second half of this song is really quite pretty. Autobahn was an interesting introduction to this band for me. The first album in their core discography, by their own admission, feels as good a place as any to get started. Luckily, the longest song here is the best one, which keeps this album, in spite of some useless meandering, at a 3/5. Favs: Autobahn Kometenmelodie 2 Morgenspaziergang Least Fav: Komentenmelodie 1

3/4

I wasn't expecting it to be so boring

The title track deserves its praise and I also really like Kometenmelodie 2, but the rest of it leaves me kind of dry. It's still good but I think they continue to improve on their later releases.

No niin, kuunneltu tämäkin. Ei kovasti iskenyt ja vain pitkästytti.

Title track is kind of cool? But not enough variance to justify its 22 min length. Adorable bit when the harmonies kick in at around 16 mins in though. Kometenmelodie 1 was okay. Prefer the energy and variance in Kometenmelodie 2 which really made me think of Jean-Michel Jarre. Love the spooks of Mitternacht. Morgenspaziergang is sweet.

Techno

German pre-techno

This has to be the band that was inspiration for “autobahn”. The fake band the nihilists were in from The Big Lebowski. Anyway this seemed ahead of its time - not even sure what you call this, electric eurotrash or what - it was more than just tones and sounds. Respect it, don’t love it but don’t hate it.

Loved moments at a time but couldn’t stay with entire songs (especially when they can be so long!). Can’t say I could recommend.

Stilbildande album. Från att ha spelat kraut på tidigare plattor så ändrades inriktningen och resultatet blev ett av världens mest kända alster.

Not for me.

synth-tastic

Кайф

This was something that very much deserved attention. I had it as just robot noise that started a genre, but its actually a stunning piece of minimalist electro. Ot ebbs and flows like a classical score and has a surprising warmth and humanity to it.

You know when you get stuck/lost on a video game level and the soundtrack just loops? Yeah… This album was the equivalent of a long drive on the autobahn for someone who doesn’t like driving.

3.5

One of the most influential electronic albums ever made. The title track is magnificient, hypnotic, and melodic - it's something I will never get tired of. Forget the 3-minute radio edit, just relax and enjoy the album version. The rest of the album are instrumental electronic tracks, and the album closing Morgenspaziergang is a nice electroacoustic song. Kraftwerk was decades ahead of their time and while this album may not be their best in their stellar catalogue, it is certainly their most influential and thus automatically deserves 5 stars.

Love it and peaceful

I like Kraftwerk but I feel like I still havent been able to fully appreciate an album in its entirety. Love the title track and closer.

Put me in a flow state, most albums can’t boast that they put me in a flow state, didn’t even notice it had finished, and yes that’s a good thing in my opinion

bleh

It’s cool this is from the 70s I guess?

yess kraftwerk excellent magnificent mangicifent

It reminds me of the nihilists Maude Lebowski was talking about.

You can tell how groundbreaking this was by the fact it was made in 1974. I love their quirky sense of humour. Not quite up there with Man-Machine which got a 5 from me. 3.5 rounding up to 4 because it’s worth more than a 3

4.5/5. Musical geniuses, so innovative.

It got a bit intriguing, but not to save itself from being so repetitive.

Klassiker

Fun fun fun on the Autobahn.

die sollen sich mal nicht wegen 2 sekunden percussion loop einscheißen

dieser helikopter richtung dortmund ist heftig

Very quirky, stonehead music. The type of thing you'd hear in a whacko dreamcast rhythm game, and that's a compliment!

The title tracks takes you on such a journey and then it returns back to its central theme and you remember where you came from. Incredible stuff. Favorite songs were Autobahn and Morgenspaziergang.

Without Kraftwerk, there would be no electronic music.

3/10

it's a fun and an interesting album to listen to, but i can't really say i enjoyed it a whole lot. it's kinda goofy, but kinda artsy. i can't tell if i actually think it's cool or if i really think i just ought to think it's cool. feels like i should either be a pretentious asshole about it or a stick in the mud. i don't feel like being either about it.

First track is twenty two mins. Half of the album. Samples, synth. Clockwork Orange sound. Seminal. From here, Gary Numan, Human League, Depeche Mode etc. 80s pop. Genesis for electronic music. Influential and groundbreaking.

Very unique.

Rating: 8.5/10 Fun fun fun on the autobahn! What a masterpiece of a song, the rest of the album is not as good but holds up still. Ridiculous this came out in 1974.

Couldn't listen to the whole thing.

Not bad. I haven't heard early Kraftwerk before. The title track is quite good.

не ожидал, но зашло. имба.

I like this kind of keyboard oriente music. Experimental and kinda Avant Garde. Not for everyone or for every moment but I like it a lot.

Не понравилось, слишком немелодично для меня

Epic

Fun and would be a nice soundtrack for a movie.

Beep boop goes the 70s space music. I would have enjoyed this one if each song was half the length.

I guess these guys are the godfathers of electronic music? I love it! It isn't particularly awesome by today's standards, but in retrospect it is groundbreaking and was probably mind-blowing when it was released. This is the first of a genre and paved the way for countless groups, so for that it will get a 5 from me.

Cool to see Kraftwerk on here. Best track is the title track; I like the driving nature of it (😏); the others are also cool and evoke different moods and ambiances.

I like Kratwerk a lot but this is not my favorite from them. Kudos to them anyway for being so innovative. Crazy that this came out in 1973.

Absolutely loved Autobahn and the Komitdowdjfbfien #2 (yeah I am fluent in German how did you know). Like I’m not going to listen to it all the time but it does slap. Fuck it it’s a 4

I could see this influencing daft punk. A 20 minute song was a little too much though.

Gotta love Autobahn, long but the songs is great and rolls like a long drive

Undoubtedly Kraftwerk didn’t deliberately set out to be the blueprint of all electronic pop to come when they made this album but blueprint and influence it became. Kometenmelodie 2 has clear echoes forwards into much of UK synth pop of the late seventies/ early eighties, while I can envision Bowie and Eno absorbing Mitternacht and coming up with sides 2 of Low and Heroes. And that’s without citing the 22 minutes of glorious Autobahn itself. What’s incredible is that on this re-listen it all still sounds fresh and modern. It has a deserved place on this 1001 list as it does on many others.

Fun fun fun* on the autobahn! (*OK so it's actually fahren but I like what they did there) I was always afraid I'd really like Kraftwerk if I got into them. This might be my favourite so far. I'm glad I've reached an age where I no longer care if it's uncool, or ironically uncool or even ironically cool. It just makes my ears happy and that's enough for me.

It was a journey. Needs patience.

Intro song 22 minutes! Not a huge fan of electronica, but maybe it’s cause I don’t know much about it. I think this is a good Segway to finally check out Daft Punk.

It is beautiful in some way and masterfully crafted, but unbearably boring due to its age.

Sonically interesting; I'm glad I listened to it once. Probably the longest song I've seen with that many listens to start out. I did not look up any translations, but they were probably unnecessary. I don't think I'd listen to it again, but I did enjoy my one listen.

I haven’t felt so much like I’m driving on an autobahn since Houmous & Chutney’s infamous ‘Driving The Autobahn’ tour of ‘78. 6 days, no breaks, just jamming on the Autobahn! 3.2

I dig it, pretty nice background electric music. Not much to say but Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn Autobahn

Fun fun fun of the Autobahn. Not bad, the first song was good, the rest got a bit weird.

Interesting early EDM. Kinda psychedelic . Not bad but I probably wont revisit this.

Better than I had in memory. Brilliant!

zwei bis drei

I know that many very famous artists found this album influential, which perhaps warrants its inclusion on a list like this, but it doesn't seem as pioneering as every positive review seems to claim (which might just be bias from an era where we now have instant access to most of the history of music). I think a lot of what has been described as "pioneering" was done years prior by people like Wendy Carlos and Mort Garson. I am sure there are more, lesser known, artists that should be included on this list, but Wendy's work in 1968 topped the charts and remained there for years, earning her the opportunity to work with Kubrick scoring his films, all prior to the release of Autobahn. Overall, I think artists that came before did it better, and I think artists in recent times have improved on what they were going for. Maybe it was something special in the moment, but I think this album can be left in the past.

Wikipedia says this album influenced Bowie, that checks out

I didn’t like it as much as “The Man Machine,” and the title track felt too long and monotonous, but overall it was still pretty good. 3.5?

An interesting album, really different from what I usually listen to. I liked the title song Autobahn the most.

20/03/25 There was nothing to this album, I could not get behind it.

I’m confused on how I feel on this. The first song 20 minutes of sound and vocals that came right out of a japenese Toyota ad😭 But once u get past that monstrosity it isn’t that bad. Track 2 and 3 aren’t anything special but the last 2 on this album is magnificent. These two songs just are on the opposite ends of the spectrum in the same genre one makes me uncomfortable, ethereal and almost sad and the other is calming, meditative and happy. This album was defiantly and I can’t say I will return to it but I’m glad it happened but as a critical review it has too be a 4.8/10 2.4/5

Listening to this album was a huge waste of time surpassed only by Kraftwerk's efforts to make it. Why isn't there a 0/5 option? 1/5

I can essentially repeat what I wrote last time these blokes came up: “standard old-school electronic tunes”. I was even less of a fan of this album. The autobahn song went on for way too long and irritated me. Overall a high 2, rounded up to a 3.

Not really my thing but innovative and complex. Kraftwerk can never disappoint

Most notable for the 22-minute self-title track, Autobahn is a tour de force for Kraftwerk. More than musicians, Kraftwerk proves themselves to be pioneers, industrialists, engineers, making strides in the field of electronic music well before it became the danceable club music as we know it today. Autobahn was not built for the club, but for the car. This album is Kraftwerk's love letter to the modern world, embracing the organized frenzy of life as we drive in synchronicity, clock in and out of work together, and buzz around like a hive of bees. It captures the spirit of human congruence in its beauty and anxiety, with wonderous and strange synthesizer sounds. All of this wrapped up with a nice bow on the closing track Morgenspaziergang, which subverts the album's electronic themes with a peaceful, new age song that feels more in line with nature than society. All of this to say, I am fond fond fond of the Autobahn.

Loved the experimental synths, but not going to listen to a 22 min song. Super interesting though and I can see how other artists got inspiration from this album.

Driving 130km/h into the future. Fun fun fun on the autobahn.

Decent robot sounds

Very quirky band. The sounds they could pull off were pretty cool on this one, especially the cars passing by.

Kraftwerk - Autobahn Album Review Autobahn is one of those albums where the title track completely defines the experience—and thankfully, it’s an absolute masterpiece. The 22-minute opener is a hypnotic, futuristic journey that feels like cruising down an endless highway, with its pulsing synths, shimmering melodies, and that instantly recognizable vocoder hook. It’s immersive, atmospheric, and way ahead of its time, proving why Kraftwerk became such a foundational force in electronic music. Kometenmelodie 2 also stands out, carrying a similar sense of forward momentum with its bright, melodic drive, but Kometenmelodie 1 feels a little too dated, more like a transitional piece than something that fully holds up. The rest of the album is solid, if not as groundbreaking. Tracks like Mitternacht and Morgenspaziergang have an eerie, almost cinematic quality, but they don’t quite reach the heights of the title track. That said, when the defining song is as brilliant as Autobahn, it elevates the entire album by association. Since it takes up nearly half the runtime, it’s hard not to let it carry the whole record on its back—which is why, despite some weaker moments, Autobahn still deserves a 4/5

Another electronic album. Listened to while driving, which I think added to the score. Overall it's okay. 3/5 Might listen to again (while driving).

Mega godt??? Jeg anede ikke at jeg var Kraftwerk fan men de er 2 for 2 topscorer herfra

Elsker A-siden og var positivt overrasket over numrene på B-siden. Foretrækker toge fremfor motorveje, så Trans-Europa Express (1977) er en bedre plade, obvs.

The autobahn track is just so awesome. Nearly 23 minutes of drone-y electric instruments, which tells a story of the neverending autobahn.. The rest of the songs are good as well, but they get nearly as good as Autobahn.

Still a lovely album. A friend of mine gifted this to me way back and it quickly became one of my favorite study soundtracks when I was in college. Easy to listen to, easy to enjoy. Every track is distinct here. All of them contribute. Everything is in its right place. I dig it.

I had this on in the background while working on some projects, and it felt perfect for that.

Mein Lieblingsalbum von Kraftwerk. Von Auto-, Fahr-,und Computersoundgeräuschen und -melodien bieten die deutschen KlingKlangZauberer alles, was man in diesem Genre nur wünschen kann. Dieses Album ist eine wohltuende Musikrevolution und beeinflußte viele Musiker und Produzenten. Auch mich

I won't say this is the worst thing a group of Germans did, but it's a pretty solid second

It felt like an electronic musical journey

Being assigned two Kraftwerk albums in a week is a joy. Ideas are still being worked out here and aside from “Autobahn” experiments run without conclude. I like this, but the bangers to come show destination surpass journey. Still, such a happy record.

The title track is fun but the rest is tilted more towards their early experimental sound and does not hold my full attention. Sounds lovely in the background though

An iconic and memorable masterpiece.

Weird. Odd. Eclectic. A bit silly.

Didn’t vibe with it at all

Вайб конечно имеется, но это явно не моё

-_-

It's influential, I get it, but it's not an amazing listen to modern ears.

A very influential album for a lot of artists but I always end up tuning out quickly.

Jotain kivaa tässä oli mutta ehkä mä kuitenkin tykkään muista yhtyeen levyistä enemmän. Nimikkoraita on hyvän mittainen, siitä plussaa! 4/5

Heti tekee mieli kruisailla krauttiautolla baanaa pitkin! 4/5

Great album. This music is unique which makes it difficult to judge this album like other ones. There is something hypnotic and soothing about the repetition which makes it really good background music. Unfortunately, that's also the downside of this music's uniqueness.

uhhhhh

Oh dear - not a fan. Won't be back.

Very influential album, I can definitely hear how this influenced Bowie works such as Low and Heroes. The title track flew by a lot faster than I thought it would, it is very trancelike and has some really good production. Low 4.

if I ever go to the autobahn I’m blasting this

A real masterpiece which is referenced by so many bands as their influencial album.

good for homework doing

Decent, but not really special in any way

Easy 5 on influence/importance. It’s not a 5 for me on personal enjoyment. Love the title track but back half is weaker than their later albums for me. Just legendary stuff Rating: 4.3

3.6 I much preferred this to Trans European Express which I got last week, which is good, as I lamented there not liking it when I wanted to. Here I did like it. Its still dated for sure, but definitely the more immersive and cohesive album. And importantly, a seminal release. This is only a few years after the Beatles released Let It Be - impressive stuff.

Been listening to a lot of drone-y ambient stuff recently, so was nice to get to revisit this album. The title track clearly towers over the rest, but it's a fantastic track.

Eh.

I found this to be quite enjoyable and inventive but will never listen to this again

Very good music for getting your flow state.

Évoquant pour nous maintenant les jeux vidéo et le cinéma de genre, Kraftwerk crée des ambiances ludiques qui piquent notre curiosité et maintiennent notre attention. Un peu cérébral pour moi, mais j’apprécie la recherche

Autobahn is one of the most annoying songs I've heard in a long time. Why is it 15 minutes long? The rest were slightly better but still not good.

Eh

10/10

ok background music 3/5

I always get jazzed when Kraftwerk comes up. Can't not be happy vibing to these tunes.

This is my kind of electronica, not the tiresome dance kind. Nicely spacey and the title track is fun. Still not quite a 4 though!

Jævlig bra, går aldri lei

Meget solid. Tut tut

this album is 50 years old. how ??? the production isn't as impressive than on "Radioactive", their next album. but pretty really good

A great blueprint for electronic music. Their work would continue to get more interesting but this is a landmark album. Despite being such an important album, to me, it didn't necessarily feel exciting to listen to. Interesting, but not really attention grabbing.

Not my wave.

No song should ever be 22 minutes long. This album was horrible overall, but the few moments that got my foot tapping saved this from being a 1.

This was. so fun Yay!

Somehow I thought Kraftwerk were a noise/industrial band. I was not expecting this almost poppy type of electronica. I wanted the industrial which made it hard for me to get into it.

good listn. not my usual, but a fun consume

The godfathers of Synth rock. The 22 minute title track is the pinnacle of their career, or so I'm told. But it's a great album that lays the groundwork for the 80s synth pop/rock to come. As an album I prefer The Man-Machine and Trans Europe Express. 4.5 stars

I enjoyed this as background music while driving. 4/5

I loved the title track as a kid and I still get a lot of enjoyment out of it. I appreciate the other tracks but I prefer artists like Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michele Jarre for the more experimental electronic pieces. A fun trip down memory lane for me.

I like the other 2 albums I've heard from them more, but there's a certain charm to 70s ambient music.

what in the world was that

Pretty fun electronic album here

Oof, gangsta rap followed by an electronica album. Couldn't tell one song from the other or was this just one song? Don't know, don't care and won't take the additional time to figure it out. 1

3.5 Another album from our German electronic pioneer friends. I thought Trans-Europe Express was okay-to-decent, and I expected worse out of this given the first track is 22 minutes - over half the album’s total runtime. But… I actually really liked Autobahn? I think, for quite possibly the first time in this list, I have to say, the longest song on the album (one 340% longer than the second-longest track) is by far the best. Despite not being the kind of thing I’m normally into, there’s something about the track that I found really damn catchy, to the point that I never really found myself minding the long-ass runtime. Hell, after I finished the album, I even found myself singing “Aut-aut-aut-aut-autobahn” to myself. As far as electronic music goes, I would have to say that it's gotta be up there with some of the best - which is pretty crazy considering I think this was also like the first electronic song ever. As for the rest of this album… meh. The middle three tracks are, at best, mildly enjoyable, and at worst, inoffensive, but overall, very forgettable, and that last track, Morgenspaziergang (which I guess means “Morning Walk”), is pretty damn annoying between the beeping and that flute, something I know will tank this album’s rating in my dad’s book. I don’t know what kind of morning walks these guys are taking, but I certainly don’t want to be on those. I almost gave this three, but when I thought about it, with the title track’s runtime, I actually really liked half of this album, so I think that bumps it up .5 stars in my book. It also was apparently a big inspiration for Bowie’s experimental/industrial era in the ‘70s, a period that gave us some of his best work, “Heroes” among them, so if nothing else, that cements this as at least a 3.5 in my eyes.

The first good electronic band. Great music. Paved theway for all bands that followed.

faaa faa faa.. ich bin autobaan. kuinka taitavasti kraftin pojat käyttää toistoa ja melodiaa saavuttaakseen tavoitteensa, viehättävää. täynnä mielenkiintoa ja todella mielenkiintoista musiikkia. faaa faa faa.. ich bin autobaan. Onko se poppia? Tai rokkia? Ei tietenkään. Rautaa vai roskaa? faaa faa faa.. ich bin autobaan. No.. notota... noooh, sanotaan että. onhan tämän pakko olla varmaan rautaa.. Hypnoottinen.. ralf hütteri ja florian snjeideri löivät ulos pallohallista tällä! faaa faa faa.. ich bin autobaan. grefor schlierenzauyer schwarzenegger morgenstern schumacher kometenmelodie 2

Vika biisi vanhoillinenn opettava video sakansa lapsille ja saksan tulevaisuudelle... PISTÄÄ VITUTTATAMAAN TOMMOSET CHILDRENS HÖMPÖTYKSET...AIKUISET TÄÄLLÄ KUUNTELEE...

According to my parents, 2-year-old me already LOVED Kraftwerk (And Der Plan and many more German synth/electronica. I fell asleep to it. The love has never gone.

Tf

Unfortunately this is a 1 for me, even if we've had worse albums. There's just nothing that I'll listen to again (I hope).

Apparently they are touring in 2025, celebrating the 50 year anniversary of this album. With the right visuals this could be engaging, otherwise a background soundscape/mood scape music. Kometenmelodie 2 ist mein Lieblingsleid.

Not quite as good as Man Machine: less energy, more mellow, which is a bit unusual in electronica. Listenable, just not as stimulating as I would have liked.

Not horrible, but didn't do anything for me.

Again, not for me but I’m sure someone loves it.

its odd to have Kraftwerk's legacy exist in the popular consciousness as dorky, intellectual music because they honestly don't really require much thought or tolerance for weirdness to enjoy. their melodies are simple, digestible, not too chaotic or similar to the classical music that so much electronica of the time sought to emulate. they called themselves industrial folk music, and honestly, if there's anything that feels like someone doing a fun guitar jam circle, it's probably "Autobahn" -- just replace the guitar with a cool modular synthesizer. i do feel like the back half can get a bit annoying, but at times it serves as the perfect comedown for a record that spends over half its runtime barreling down the highway as fast as it can go. plus, "Morgenspaizergang" is a really pretty way to end the whole thing.

Ok background music, but don’t speak German, so giving a 2. Not sure why this is on the list.

I’m not fluent in German which it being in German did not make me angry instead the long songs were a bit painful to listen to.

I mean it sounded nice I guess but goodness gracious a 22 minute song right off the rip? That's a bit much fellas. Also I felt like the album didn't really do much just kinda meandered along with random sounds, a lot of which were just repeated over and over again. I wouldn't cry if someone put this on or scream (like I would if someone put on Bob Dylan or Public Image Ltd.), but I wouldn't notice it either.

opening with a long, monotonous, overly synth track made me nervous of what would follow, but it was ok. weird & strange, but ok. definitely not boring-felt like it belongs in some odd scifi movie soundtrack

Det är ändå något vackert över denna skiva. Det är en behaglig lyssning i princip genom hela. Det är vissa partier som är lite off. Men på det stora hela är det bra! Som en symfoni.

Några inslag hade man kunnat klara sig utan, men på det stora hela en rätt cool och stämningsfull skiva. Pluspoäng såklart att den kom 1974.

I saw "electronica" and thought "oh, great." But it wasn't bad.

I bloody love Kraftwerk. It seems ages since I’ve been generated an album that I know well, and this is one that I have the vinyl for. It’s so atmospheric. The actual music itself feels quite minimalistic at times, but it allows every part to shine through with clarity. It’s certainly not for everyone, being five tracks long and 43 minutes, but this is right up there for me. If I had to choose, I’d probably pick The Man Machine over this, but I genuinely do very much enjoy both.

Never been much of a fan, and this was too long and monotonous.

Legendary. Hard to listen to objectively as I know it well and love it and, even though it was released several years before I was born, it somehow still captures an age of believe and possibility and progression. Unlike whatever *this* is right now.

I know the band, don't know any one song or album but I've heard for years they deserve a spot in the R&R HOF so I was ready to give this one a try. 5 songs, 42 minutes. Catchy chorus on the opener but it's 22 mins long and I lost some interest at the 13 min mark! This was likely very cutting edge and hugely different than what American musicians were producing in 1974. I can hear the sounds that would become popular 5-6 years later and kickoff the MTV generation. They paint pretty landscapes with their keyboards. Track 3 illustrates that well. But I'd have a hard time putting this on my Top 1001 without some historical context on what makes it special. I enjoyed it overall.

Pleasantly surprised. The first track was what I had expected from Kraftwerk—monotone chanting, synthesizer. But the rest was lovely accompaniment for the walk home.

fahren fahren fahren til her vater takes her volkswagen wegnimmt

I like Kraftwerk. I like Autobahn. It’s a vibe. It literally (and figuratively) paved the way for conceptual electronic music. It’s a very cool concept. It’s great background mood music, and an essential 12-hour drive album. But saying your favorite Kraftwerk album is Autobahn is like saying The Alphabet is your favorite David Lynch film. There’s a ton of value in arthouse– and I mean literally pieces you would showcase in a gallery or a museum– but arthouse is inherently dissimilar to mass market art. In my opinion, Autobahn is arthouse music. It is concept-forward, experimental by its very nature, and while it can be consumed in full, you can also pass by and catch a minute or two and read some panel text about it and completely understand the point enough to form a valid opinion about it as art, and move on to the next piece. I also think that everything Kraftwerk does here is done better on Trans Europa Express, an album that also fits the supposed confines of this list better by being more of a mass market album. And while I get that Autobahn is foundational to the genre of electronic music, I don’t think that foundation sounds so revolutionary by today’s standards that it requires everyone to seek it out, especially when later Kraftwerk proves the same point while actually being entertaining. My old rule for a 4-star used to be that I would buy a physical copy and actively play it. I think that rule shifted about 250 albums ago, if I’m being honest, but if it hasn’t, Autobahn is still an exception. I would buy a physical copy, and if I was in a very specific mood, I could imagine myself putting this on and vibing out. But it’s far from the best album I’ve ever heard, and it’s not even my top 3 favorite Kraftwerk. Good, important, intriguing art, and art I’d consume, but not music that fits a day-to-day definition. That’s totally cool, but I’d just say later Kraftwerk is more essential.

To juz mnie wynudzilo wieki temu, wpada w ucho, ale jest zbyt prymitywne i plaskie.

I get that it's iconic. But good lord is It boring.

Enjoyed this quite a bit. I love me some Kraftwerk, although I haven't listened to them for a while, and never anything but Computer World. While Computer World is a ton of fun, this one felt less cheesy. The last track, Morgenspaziergang, had some sounds I definitely would not associated with Kraftwerk - namely, piano and flute.

this was cool af…it made me want to go drive around in a car on a long open stretch of road on a sunny day. i could literally cruiseeee the vistas…

interesting and cool but I don’t really like the vocal parts. but it helped me focus and get through one of the hardest work days ever lol

Strange but notable soundbites.

Not as good as The Man-Machine, Autobahn does a great job of feeling like you're flying down the German speedway. At 22 minutes, it's a bit oong to listen to when sitting at a desk, but I'm sure it feels great when on the road. The buzzing sound to simulate speeding cars works very well. Kometenmelodie 2 is also a nice synth pop song.

I liked this WAY better than the first Kraftwerk album we listened to, especially the last track.

This was fun to hear on the radio in 1974, but outside of the main riff 24 minutes of the title track is a bit much. Some interesting stuff on side two, but never need to hear this again.

I didn’t love the title track, but the rest was enjoyable

First time. Pretty good early techno/new wave. I enjoyed.

I liked the last song (Morgen….)

Interesting concept album. Mostly instrumental.

When I got this album I groaned because I really didn't want to sit though another repetitious early electronic album from Kraftwerk (Trans-Europe Express was not for me, and Man-Machine had some highs and lows). But honestly, Autobahn is clearly head and shoulders above the rest. The instrumentals and electronics are constantly changing and shifting, with a minimal use of vocals (which significantly decreases the repeatitious fatigue heard on other albums). Kometenmelodie 1&2 are perfect follow ups to the gargantuan track Autobahn, with #2 resulting in a moment of catharsis from 30 mins of buildup. Mitternacht is a great short little industrial transition to the fancifal and gentle closer that is Morgenspaziergang. I have no complaints, this album is very impressive. 5/5

wtf is this. we just calling anything music now?

Don’t want to rate it a 1 because it wasn’t terrible, just not sure why it was on the list.

Even driving down the highway while listening to this one couldn’t save it for me. Also, ‘krautrock’ is a new favorite term.

This album is not unpleasant to listen to. It's just super boring. I don't know how to rate this because it's not as bad or offensive as some other 1 star albums (looking at you Kollaps), but if someone were to put this on I would just ask "Why?".

Songs were a bit too long for me.

They're like electronic pioneers and suff, still i can't listen to this seriously in 2024

Nihilists. These men are cowards.

254/1001 🌕🌗🌑🌑🌑

Now is the time to confess something that's heavily burdened me for a while now: I regret giving "The Man Machine" only 3 stars, it deserved more!!!

did not listen all the way through, thought it was an interesting concept it just wasn't for me.

Weird vibes. Not my favorite album but I didn't hate it either. Just felt like one 20 minute song.

The quintessential Kraftwerk album. I listened to this three times today. An absolute classic.

Proper tale of two halves. Autobahn on the aside is an absolute classic - although I prefer shorter versions to the slightly bloated 22 min version which I think looses its way a bit. The flip side is all very pleasant but very inconsequential and noodles along and feels its age.

A bit long winded

It was cool but I didn't get into it.

listened to again it's interesting but a bit too rambling for me

Still sounds ahead of its time.

#433. The first part of the first song is pretty interesting, but the album drags after that. Not really much going on for most of it. Too bad, really. I loved The Man-Machine, but this one doesn't really do it for me. 2/5: boring Song added to playlist: Autobahn I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link

Quite possibly the greatest driving album ever. Komentenmelodie 2 has great tension and release. Morenspaziergang is just a beautiful way to end it.

super cool, absolute MONSTER of an opening track

I was unaware that there was a 20+ minute version of Autobahn. Unlike the first 20 minute track on Timeless by Goldie, however, I found this one to be varied enough to keep me entertained. The rest of the album is also pretty fun; a nice ambient electronic album that still sounds fresh after 50 years. I don’t think this is my favorite Kraftwerk album, but it’s a nice album to have on in the background, and I appreciate the innovation. I’d give it 3.5 if I could.

# Album Name: Autobahn # Artist: Kraftwerk # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: I'd imagine back in the day that some of these sounds were cutting edge or new. But honestly, i did not enjoy this one. Autobahn was long AF. There were some decent sounds but the lyrics and overall tracks were poor. This was not for me. # Top Tunes: None # Would I listen to it again? No

3/5

Pretty split on this album. Disliked the lyrics and vocals on title track but enjoyed the second half of the album just fine. I would have preferred an entirely instrumental album compared to what we have here.

Galið að þetta sé 50 ára gömul plata. Algjörlega brautryðjandi dæmi. Auðvitað ekki hægt að bera þetta saman við nútíma raftónlist, en hún er samt mjög nútímaleg á köflum. Skemmtilegar melódíur og frábær experimentalismi hjá þeim.

Þvílíkir snillingar og frumkvöðlar. Langt á undan sinni samtíð. Elska Autobahn, mætti ekki vera mínútu styttra. Skín í gegn hversu miklir snillingar þetta eru. Hlustaði alveg út í eitt og rúllaði Tour de France í leiðinni. Ef atmóið er rétt er ekkert betra en Kraftwerk.

How is it that this record is 50 years old and yet still sounds like what I imagine people in the future should listen to? Autobahn conjures up images of a bright, shiny utopia, the sort sung about by Donald Fagen in I.G.Y. and although the future we’re currently living in is much more dystopian than Kraftwerk imagined, their sound is still so essential that it’s not difficult to imagine that in another 50 years, with a bit of luck, we might be living in a future where the optimism of Autobahn’s sound has come to fruition

Enjoyed some of it but it was quite forgettable

I respect what this album did for music, but I'd be lying if I said I loved it.

peak kraftwerk i don't know many electronic albums both as exhilarating and as pleasant as this one, especially not from the 70s best song: kometenmelodie 2 worst song: n/a

I can see why this is here. For its time, this was groundbreaking. An entire album composed exclusively of electronic sounds in 1974 was, I assume, unheard of. That must’ve been absolutely mind blowing to folks at the time. That, or they had my reaction. I didn’t really care for this. Maybe it’s because it’s hard to listen to this and remember its place in history. Maybe it’s because it just doesn’t hit like it would’ve in 1974. Maybe it’s because it just wasn’t that interesting to me. I appreciate what it tried to do. I actually thought the track that tried to mimic bird noises was super cool. But the novelty of it all wears off quickly these days and you’re left with an album that, for everything that it is, is ultimately an experiment. And that’s cool, but as an album it falls a little short because it’s held back by the fact that it’s an experiment. Two stars. Standout Tracks: Kometenmelodie 2

Very chill albu with beautiful soundscapes. It does sound like your cruising on the german autobahn, across green fields and under a clear blue sky. There are other tracks here which, while nice, can't stop this album from being all about the title track. Key tracks: Autobahn

Ok not as bad as I thought it would be, but Autobahn didn’t need to be over 20 minutes

Listened in the gym and kind of vibed to this. There was also a Guardian long read about it this week, so can’t rule out that making me think it was better than it was. I know, I need to get out of my guardian-reading metropolitan elite London bubble. Simpsons: of course

Had to give this a second listen, as it was interesting enough that I thought maybe I should try it it in a different context. It worked really well as background music whilst doing some studying. I particularly enjoyed Morgenspaziergang, I thought the sound perfectly captured the song title and I would definitely listen to this on my next morgenspaziergang.

I listened to this while driving it made me feel like I was in the future.  But the main song went on for far too long, they should have stuck to the radio edit.  Probably won't come back to this album. 

I feel like this was probably something in 1974 but in 2025 I'm left totally unphased

Liked this more than I was expecting. Flutes were nice. 22 minute song is still frowned upon though. Low 3.

Some of this was a bit shit but some of it was super fun. Also rating this in Frankfurt(just the airport so idek if you can count it) and autobahn is the highways system in Germany and I think that’s a fun coincidence.

6/10 - It was fine. It was long and I am just not in the mood. The first 4 songs were default kraftwerk stuff the last one was a bit different.

Guess these guys got some cool points for finding out about synths before everyone else? Still doesn’t make the music good. Do like the album cover tho

Did not stand the test of time

I always like Kraftwerk more than I think I will.

Autobahn is genre defining genius. I love Kraftwerk and I’m very happy to have gotten to this. Kraftwerk are electronic music pioneers, and hearing music like this that was made in 1974 blows my mind. This sounds modern despite being the fact that it’s 50 years old, happy anniversary by the way! I think that shows how ahead of their time and influential Kraftwerk were. The title track of Autobahn is an odyssey into electronic soundscapes and atmospheres. It really is such an amazing track. It’s really hypnotic with its arpeggios and synth work. The chorus is in the song is memorable as well and is still stuck in my mind, haha. Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n, auf der Autobahn! While listening to this, I was afraid that the behemoth title track would overshadow the other tracks here. I’m very happy to say it doesn’t! The electronic atmospheres and soundscapes are carried over from the title track. Kometenmelodie 1 is a moody electronic ambient song, and Kometenmelodie 2 is a fun dance song! Mitternacht is an interesting experimental track, a little bit like Kometenmelodie 1 but more moody. I dig it! The flute, piano, and guitar were really unexpected on Morgenspaziergang, haha. I still really like it and I thought it was a fitting end to the album. Autobahn is a revolutionary and influential album in music, Kraftwerk really hit it out of the ballpark here. Even if you don’t like this sort of stuff, you still have to appreciate what Kraftwerk were doing here and what they contributed. I highly recommend this one if you like electronic stuff. Rest in peace Florian Schneider. 🫡

not feelin' these guys. Tried a bunch.

Not my favorite flavor of prog. Can’t believe a whole subgenre was named after these guys

Not a big fan of this album. Granted, I only listened to it with one airpod in. I liked Trans Europe Express more. Just not really interesting or fun. Similar problems to that album as well where it becomes too repetitive. Also similarly, I would like to listen to it again to get more out of it. Standouts: Kometenmelodie 2 and Morgenspaziergang.

Not at all what I was expecting. Not bad - kind of positive sounding and less electronica. Still, not good.

Eihän Kraftwerk voi muuta kuin ilahduttaa. Levy lähenee kyllä jo klassista musiikkia aamusoittoineen.

Kuulostaa bändiltä opettelemassa soittamaan. Parin hyvän idean lisäksi herättää riittävästi kysymyksiä ollakseen matala kakkonen.

This isn't my favorite Kraftwerk album, but it's an interesting one. Very ahead of its time.

One of my great discoveries in this project is how much I love Kraftwerk. It’s like they’ve burrowed into my brain and harvested sounds that I’ll enjoy. 4.5/5

No one parallels the playful discovery of electronic instruments like Kraftwerk

Same as every other Kraftwerk album: 1. Wow it's ahead of it's time 2. There are a few cool sounds in here 3. Who the hell is listening to an entire album of this for interest and/or enjoyment

Kraftwerk is awesome. I've only been listening to them for about a decade but I really like the albums I've heard. Thoroughly enjoyable for me.

November 11, 2024 HL: title track, "Kometenmelodie 1", "Morgenspaziergang" I rly like these minimalist album covers on the remasters, including this one Already familiar with the title track (love the simulated car horns), let's see what the rest brings.... Alright, before industrial and synth-pop became their own genres, we have the second half of this album. Very spacey, sometimes pretty. I'm glad I didn't expect this to top Die Mensch Machine & Trans Europe Express; it's a little jankier and more inconsistent. Nevertheless, it’s a vital link to countless future genres (and future Kraftwerk), and a heck of an album to commute to.

Must have been there I guess. Techno stylings with synthesized melodies. Simplistic to say the least, honing in on that video game sound and recording some water drops.

Find this boring? Guess what? You're boring!

Fav: Kometenmelodie 2 Least Fav: Mitternacht Quite mesmerising

Don't love kraftwerk

had my first listen to it ever. the first track is long as hell but works

I’m glad to have now listened to multiple Kraftwerk records. There’s more to them than I knew. This was my favourite. The first and last songs are really great. For guys on mid-70s synths, this is so much greater than the sum of its parts.

Weirrdddd. I liked autobahn a lot but I thought the rest was just beige electronic music. Vocals kinda sound like bladee lol. Sucker for long songs so I'll give it a 3 Fav Songs: Autobahn

Cult.

Very innovative for it's time. It's hard to believe that this album was made 50 years ago. Its a really good listen

Not me fave Krafty but still good

2.5

I will give it a 4th star because it was so incredibly innovative.

Lol met het keyboard. Eens kijken waar al die leuke knopjes voor dienen. Drawbars, touch-response-percussion, koraalvibrato... en daar wat maf doorheen zingen. Iemand moest toch alle hoeken van zo'n apparaat onderzoeken en er toch nog een enigzins commercieel verkoopbare plaat uit persen. Zolang je het maar niet al te serieus neemt, is het wel geinig. De titeltrack is best onderhoudend, daarna zakt het wat in, met die kometen. Mitternacht lijkt daarentegen zowaar de inspiratie zijn geweest voor de spannende muziekjes van Clannad voor die tv-serie van Robin Hood in de jaren tachtig. Een maffe plaat kortom, je blijft je afvragen wat je ermee moet, maar wel goed gedaan.

Eerder schreef ik al dat een bevriende DJ altijd Kraftwerk draaide in zijn sets. Dit album kwam daar nooit in voor. Want waar Kraftwerk op een album dat we eerder kregen het minimale groot maakte, creëren ze nu vooral met de titeltrack een hele beleving. Op een heel andere manier theatraal dan we anders in deze lijst tegenkomen. Natuurlijk, het nummer duurt veel te lang. En soms horen we overduidelijk een zolderkamersample. Maar het is toch een kunststuk. Je blijft ondanks dat deze digitale muziek nog weinig kracht heeft toch actief luisteren. Leuk! De rest van het album creëert ook wel beleving, maar het is allemaal maar een schijntje van het nummer waar dit album eigenlijk om draait. En dat is jammer. Luisteren we het hele album, komen we echt niet boven een 3.

Leuk dat je het geluid van een snelweg kan nabootsen, maar als ik dat wil horen, dan kan ik beter langs de snelweg gaan staan. Ik ervaar dit dan ook meer als een verzameling geluidjes, dan als muziek. Het zal allemaal best wel dat Kraftwerk iconisch is en alles, maar ik vind er maar bar weinig aan. Saaiheid troef. En het duurt laaaaaaaaang. De autobahn van Almere naar Emmeloord is minder slaapverwekkend dan dit album. En dan luister ik dus liever naar Fransie in zijn cabrio van Brabant naar Bordeaux.

Groupe connu par le morceau Radioactivity, un peu plus récent et qui passait souvent à la radio après sa sortie. Les 20 mn du morceau Autobahn passent plutôt bien, même si j'aurais préféré une approche complètement instrumentale (le chant n'apporte pas grand chose). L'introduction d'instruments plus standards est intéressante. Mais sur la "distance" certaines parties sont un peu moins réussies. Parmi les morceaux suivants j'ai apprécié 'Kometenmelodie 2', mais pas trop les autres. Donc la découverte est intéressante, mais je ne pense pas intégrer ce disque à ma collection. Dans ce style et à la même époque je préfère les albums de Tangerine Dream, ils me font plus voyager ! =>3/5

A literal journey into electronic music, hypnotic and relaxing, and like most car journeys, I end up falling asleep halfway to the eventual destination.

#46 What is this? First song is almost 23 minutes long! Actually quite nice as background music while working, but a bit boring and guess I won't really listen to it again.

good album, enjoyed the electronic sounds!

I had been listening to this for a while, thinking I must nearly be on another track, but no, I still had 16 minutes left of track 1. They really got what they were going for, I felt like I was on endless, dreary motorway, getting somewhere without joy

Autobahn is half of it so it gets an above average half

Funky, very dj/synth/weird. Like when Ross plays the keyboard

titillagið eitt og sér er fimma. hitt þarf yfirlegu, 4,5.

Sehr cool

This album is definitely from before Kraftwerk went in a more pop direction. It has a more repetitive and minimalist approach that really sucks you in and takes you on an imaginary journey. The beats are subtle, more there to complement the ambient soundscape of the album than to drive the rhythm.

20 minute synth loop song? Brave, maybe not good enough to justify repeat listens por moi. The Man-Machine is a good album tho

A piece of the electronica genre's fossil record. Good on these artists for innovating in the 1970s. I'm glad to know who Kraftwerk are and have been exposed to their music. I'm not going to listen to this again.

This is without doubt one of the greatest records ever produced. It influenced every modern pop music that one can imagine. Evenerything that is only slightly electronic can be traced back to this record.

Wanted to like this alot more. Not really even fot for background noise

I know Kraftwerk is iconic in the world of Electronica, but I hadn’t listened to them much other than single tracks on playlists. It’s amazing that this album is from 1974, and it’s their fourth, it really is ahead of the times for the genre. Not really in my wheelhouse, but an extra star for innovation.

The album consists of several instrumentals except the title track with is largely instrumental with some lyrics. A sample: Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n, auf der Autobahn Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n, auf der Autobahn Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n, auf der Autobahn Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n, auf der Autobahn for 22 minutes hahaha. Well, except the instrumental parts. Very industrial. Very German. I like it. I can see why it is thought of as the foundation and influencer of synth pop.

Decent album, not the biggest rap fan but i think this type of rap is more palatable for me than some of the stuff I hear nowadays

Autobahn was cool. The rest was weird.

I really dug this one. We had Kraftwerk on back-to-back days so it was a lot of bleeps and boops and stuff but overall this is a nice chill listen - simple and quirky and weird, but interesting and a bit fun and there is plenty to get from just the historical perspective of where electronic music came from.

Day275. - i’m glad they finally got into the rock n roll hall of fame they influenced so many including the rubinoos

FirstMate Oct 07 20242.50 stars A fairly simple album, with a first track that towers over the rest of the album via its length and stature, but admittedly flies by, especially compared to the remaining four tracks. I, personally, find the highlight to be Kometenmelodie 2, as it is filled with so much unexpected energy and drive that it instantly caught my attention as the music of the future. I can hear all of electronic music in that one song, and I can say that more than any other one piece I've heard by Kraftwerk, it's truly magnificent. The rest of the album suffers from this, in all honesty, as the album feels lesser from then on, and I've little in the way of positive words for the final two tracks, It's certainly revolutionary, Kraftwerk deserves that title, but it just doesn't scratch itches as a whole album that other electronic acts don't achieve later on in the pantheon of music.

The first track is iconic! Kraftwerk's stuff holds up great today when we have a ton of electronic music, but in 1974 it stood out even more. It has slow progression but isn't boring, it's very sleek and makes for chill dance music too.

Excellent

I was ready to exit off of this Autobahn after the first two minutes. Unfortunately I had to endure 8 more minutes for the track 1 journey to be over only to find that track 2 was 10 more minutes of the Autobahn that Kraftwerk apparently wasn't able to wrap up in the prior 10 minutes. I guess you can't hear "Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn" too many times. I'd like to think that Germany has better to offer than this but the author of this project didn't find it in this album.

Without any wider context, this album just seemed like decent background noise to me.

3.5 stars. Cruising electronic pop. Sets a good atmosphere. Title track is the standout.

Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive. Excellent. Excellent. Excellent.

Goofy German electronica

Rainbow road

Definitely not going to be for everyone - some people will be looking for the ausfahrt - but I really enjoyed this one. I'm fond of early electronic music but I'm only familiar with a little of it, so it's nice to be guided to this. I've also got fond memories of Autobahn travel, so it's a winning combo. There's basically two parts here: the heart of the album is "Autobahn," a 22-minute tribute to the German highway system; then there's 4 other tracks. "Autobahn" is a wonderful listen; it's really successful at what it's trying to evoke. I like the way it moves through different "sound scenes" while continuously returning to its main theme. Among the B-side tracks, the highlight is definitely "Kometenmelodie 2," a beautiful song that could end up being one of my favorite electronic instrumental pieces ever. To me it conveys a really optimistic, forward-looking mood. None of the others come near "Kometenmelodie 2." I don't think they're unpleasant overall, just not as memorable and at parts some of them dip into sounds that are slightly grating. "Mitternacht" evokes being shackled in a dungeon next to a leaky pipe. Regardless, if you add "Autobahn" and "Kometenmelodie 2" together you have over 28 minutes of excellence so I think I'm comfortable rating this a 5.

I can't be the only one who thinks this whole album would be better if it was performed with steel drums instead of synths.

Not their best buy palatable

Thoughts before listening: I know this is Kraftwerk's most celebrated album, but I feel like they are a bit much for me. At least on the first album I heard, it was too electronic sounding for my tastes. I know that part of the charm with Kraftwerk is that its humans manually making music to sound robotic, but it still just didn't resonate with me. I'd expect the same here. Review: Well, I think "bahn bahn bahn its the Autobahn" (not the actual lyrics) is going to be stuck in my head all day. I mean this is fine for background music while I answer all my emails this morning, but its really not something I'm ever going to sit down and listen to. Maybe if I can find the radio version of the title track I'll add it to the playlist, but otherwise I have no interest in the 20-minute version. I'm giving this 2-stars despite knowing how influential it is.

Kraftwerk.. I never get the urge to listen them but the times I do I enjoy it. I think for innovative and history aspect the most. This a 3.5 for me but a extra bump for the year it was released.

This was a surprise for me. I went in expecting to very much dislike this record but maybe I’ve entered a different phase of my appreciation of early German electronic music. Yes, the compositions are quite long but I found I didn’t bore of them as expected.

I think I liked Trans-Europe Express better. Still a good listen.

Autobahn (song) is so good that I always forget how long it is. First time I heard it was in Germany when a tour guide played the whole thing for us while we were driving on the Autobahn. I liked it more than everyone else on the bus. The rest of the album isn't as good as the first song.

ну совсем что-то амбианс автомагистрали не для меня

ENOUGH WITH THE GODDAMN ELECTRONICA

My second Kraftwerk album with this project. I liked this more than The Man-Machine, which I rated 3. This one will also get a 3, but it's really 3.5. The first 22 minute track was my favorite. It's such a fun listen with headphones; I love the sensory experience of the zooming from one ear to the other, mimicking the cars on the highway. Parts of it sounded a lot like Oblivion by Grimes. It's nice to recognize a modern example of their influence. I would not dispute anyone's 5 star rating - this sounds phenomenal for an album that came out in 1974. It's just not something I would regularly listen to (but I did listen 3 times already so maybe that's yet to be seen).

It seems that this week I’ll be spending my time revisiting old friends. Kraftwerk is notable to me because they are one of the very few electronic artists that I’ve had good things to say about. Unfortunately though, much like with Beck, I enjoyed the album I heard in the past far more than the one I heard today. I really admire how ingrained German culture is into their music. This album’s title is Autobahn. Which means highway in German. It’s only notable because the Autobahn system generally doesn’t have speed limits. And the main lyrical motif of the song is just the band saying, “We are driving on the Autobahn” over and over. It’s very lighthearted. The subject matter of the song, and the album as a whole, might lead you to believe this is fast-paced, action packed electronic album. But it is actually far from it. It’s way more an ambient and progressive electronic record. The titular opening song is a beast that breaks past the 20 minute mark, and takes up about half of the runtime. And it is a pretty great song. Easily the most complete feeling piece of music for sure. But it causes this record to suffer from the same issue that 2112 by Rush does. Most people probably don’t remember this for anything else, because it’s sort of hard to ignore the massive opening track. I mean, it’s even the only song that has lyrics. Everything else after just sort of clumps together and becomes very forgettable. I think context is important for this group. You can make the argument that this sounds dated and a product of its time. But imagine being 20-something years old in 1974, and hearing this for the first time. It would probably blow your fucking mind. This sounded like the future. It’s like The Jetsons equivalent of music. There is a good chance they assumed all music would eventually sound like this. Even if 60% of this is mostly lackluster, this guys are still easily the most forward thinking and influential electronic act ever. And they would go on to have far more notable and entertaining albums in the future. Rating: 5/10

Svo mikil snilld. 50 ára gömul plata. Kraftwerk voru sannarlega frumkvöðlar á sínu sviði.

If it was just the first song it’d be 5/5

Italians sing about love Albanians sing about war Germans sing about autobahn...

i dont like kraftwerk please stop

Kraftwerk had been on my list for a long time so I was very happy to know that today would be the day to try one of their albums. I know they must have sounded very innovative at the time with that sound, but I don't think this record has aged so well. My main criticism of this album is that it doesn't grab you. You can test things, bring innovative sounds, recording techniques never seen before, but it's no use if you can't connect with those who listen. I didn't research it but I believe this is a work from the very beginning of Kraftwerk's career and although I criticize it, I give full credit to the band for these innovative experimentalisms and I hope to see more of this on the next albums but of course, I hope it is more attractive. I'll leave 3 stars.

i feel fond of kraftwerk and i don’t know why because i don’t actually like the music and they’re harbingers of the transhuman apocalypse, but there we are

Great music to have on in ear buds while working at a computer on repetitive tasks. Enjoyed it from start to finish.

I respect it for what it is and what Kraftwerk did, but I don't love listening to this album, not to say that it doesn't have it's moments.

Weird but not unpleasant.

Have this on wax (a bootleg Spanish picture disc). It is a beautiful album. Or at least, 20 minutes of the greatest proto-electronica that sounds like the Beach Boys collaborating with Giorgio Moroder to sing about the joys of motorways. And then a few perfectly acceptable tracks on the flipside.