Autobahn

Essentials of electronic music 3.5

Nothing memorable off the album. A unique sound but nothing stuck out.

Pretty chill

This was honestly a lot more background music-y than I expected. Still, I enjoyed it!

Plutôt pas mal mais je suis peut-être pas dans le ùood

Favorite track(s): Autobahn Heard before Previous rating: 7/10

No idea what this is, but it's slow and melts into the background, so it's nice.

Only listened to the first track. Interesting early electronic music. The vocal has been in my head, but overall probably wouldn't relisten to it.

Not necessarily my taste, but not mad about listening to it while working. Glad I took a roll of the dice!

I love Kraftwerk and I recognize the importance of this album, but I find it more interesting academically. If I want to hear some Kraftwerk, i'll generally reach for something a little more accessible and ready to listen to.

In 1966, fresh off the success of Pet Sounds, the Beach Boys went to live in West Germany while doppelgängers took their places. Ingesting copious amounts of heroin, Eurodisco, binge-watches of Worker and Parasite, and long, leisurely and insanely dangerous highway drives, they at long last produced their masterwork “Autobahn”, under an assumed name. Brian Wilson considered it his greatest work, while Mike Love called it “a piece of scheisse” and bitched the whole time about the food.

It was ok - bit different

Fine ambiance music, but not as good as other Kraftwerk.

Meh. High 2. Title track is not my vibe. Nice sounds but wouldn't revisit

pff idk, sikkert kul i ein film:) Va sikkert kulere på sin tid... Beste sang: Kometenmelodie 2

Liked this more than I thought I would. 3.8

3.5

3.5.

Respect the experimentation, but I still don't "get" this band.

Okay, a bit dated

It was aight. Little strange but also cool.

Right up my alley but was like fine to me

I always prefer JMJ and this shows why. Some nice motifs on the title track but half of it is a bit bleepy and boring.

I don't think I enjoyed this as much as the previous kraftwerk one, but I still liked it. It was catchy, the synths were nice. I could hear all sorts of things that were influenced by this. I could hear PSB and even some Laura marling style arpeggios in there. There was a lot of similarities to the synth parts pink Floyd were putting out around the same time. It was good.

Funny how much longer the first song was than the others on the album. Still sounds futuristic today.

Fantastic Album, actually really came around to it, reminds me of a lot of 70s morg music albums that tried to depict industrial and naturalist soundscapes, but you can hear the transition to a poppier sound. Huge knock for 20 minute track tho smh.

É realmente bem experimental. Parece uma música que eu ouviria, mas acabou sendo só uma música de fundo mesmo. Vou dar mais chances depois para esse álbum.

apesar de ser muito instrumental e repetitivo, ele não me irritou. inclusive, a primeira música é bem legal. consigo entender porque eles são tão pioneiros na música eletrônica.

3 star. Some of these got a sp00ky vibe to em

Вайб. Конечно трудно представить, каково было это слушать пятьдесят лет назад. Жалею, что ставил лучшим альбомом группы троечки. Лучшая песня - Autobahn.

Wow

I just really wasn’t feeling this album. I get the innovation and stuff. Applaud them for what they did for synthesizers and stuff. Just really not my style.

This is good, really good if you consider the time this came out. It definitely could have used a little something more, maybe some intensity or a more interesting direction for it to go in musically, but I can't really ask that much, considering.

The last song was very cute. The rest was decent.

как на это реагировать... интересно, концептуально, до такого еще додуматься надо было

Why do I feel like I've just been hypnotised on my way to work? I imagine this album would have blown my mind in 1973. Not so much in 2025. The repetitive, atmospheric soundscapes here are definitely pleasant enough to listen to for the most part, and there are some major highs on the lengthy title track “Autobahn”, but there’s also some very bizarre and jarring experimental moments that make for a disjointed listen. Got to give it credit for being an interesting listen and I'm sure pretty groundbreaking in the 70s.

Illalla kun kuuntelin olin valmis antamaan jopa nelosen tälle levylle, mutta tänään kun kuunteli uudestaan niin pakko tiputella tylsään kolmoseen. Ei oikeastaan mitään pahaa sanottavaa ja oikein toimiva Kraftwerk levy, mutta kun tietää että parempaakin on luvassa. Hieman nimikkobiisi jää toistamaan itseään vaikka rakentuukin hienosti alusta eteenpäin.

Jahas, Kraftwerkkiä :D Nimikkobiisi Autobahn on todella psykedeelinen ja kokeellinen, kuvitteellinen automatkabiisi, joka kestää puolet albumin kokonaisuudesta. Ihan mielenkiintoinen konsepti, mutta jää ehkä hieman junnaamaan osittain, vaikka on saatu myös vaihtelua noinkin pitkään kappaleeseen. Vähän on hankala arvostella tällaista levyä, mutta yritetään. Molemmat Kometenmelodiet ovat ikäänkuin toistensa vastakohtia, ykkönen on todella minimalistinen ja tumma kappale, kun taas kakkonen on iloinen ja kirkkaita synia hyödyntävä. Seuraavat kaksi kappaletta ovat ilmeisesti päivän ajankohtaan sijoittuvat, Mitternacht keskiyöhön ja Morgenspaziergang aamupäivään. Levy on selkeästi siis kolmen erilaisen kokonaisuuden rakentuma, joissa kaikissa on erilainen teema. Annetaan tälle kolmonen, koska en yksinkertaisesti osaa päättää onko tämä enemmän paskaa ja liian taiteellista/kokeellista vai mielenkiintoista ja aikaansa nähden edistyksellistä hienoutta.

Semisti vaikee levy arvioitavaksi. Varmaan tavalla tai toisella suuntaa näyttävää matskua ainakin popimman elektromeiningin saralta. Ainakin tässä nyt viel ajellaan Voimalaitoksen viitoittamana aurinkoisella baanalla eikä oo kovinkaan synkeet meiningit. Ihan kivan kuulosta päristelyä. Ei kuitenkaan sillai resonoi, että jaksais tehosoittoon pistää. Eiköhän tätäkin länsiteutonia oo tarjolla tulevaisuudessakin tän listan osalta levyistä joita pitäis kauheesti kuunnella ennen kuin nirri on pois. Mietitään sitten niiden kohdalla lähteekö arvosana kirkastuun vai hiipumaan (jos ei oo ragequitattu ennen sitä).

Toimivaa taustamusiikkia. Ei herättänyt vahvoja tuntemuksia suuntaan tai toiseen, mutta varsinaisesti valittaakaan ei voi.

Ihan jeppis hassuttelua. Nimibiisi oli entuudestaan tuttu, mutta kuuntelemalla sieltä löytyi kyllä muitakin tuttuja melodioita, esimerkiksi levyn viimeinen biisi. Ihan mukavaa taustamusiikkia tosiaan.

# Playlist Track - Kometenmelodie 2 # Notes - The album is a pleasure and a joy, but it is DENSE. Very much so, at times. - Recommend to people who want to understand the history of electronic music, and the ones who are willing to give this the attention and time it requires of you. Not a great casual listen.

Słuchałam tego na autostradzie, więc trudno było nie docenić, ale mimo wszystko - 20 minut poświęcone na jeden kawałek?! Na Boga dlaczego? Szczególnie, że to prosty utwór, po pierwszych 5 minutach już nic nas nie zaskoczy. 6/10 i sama się dziwię, że aż tak dużo.

3.7

I know this band is considered a pioneer of the style and they have a huge cult following, I’m just having trouble connecting with the 100 electronic music - of any era. It’s me. Not them.

I liked all the non "Autobahn" tracks - but that one just didn't jive with me, too long / slow, and unfortunately that takes up the majority of this album.

Conceito espacial de uma trilha sonora digna de 2001 de um Kubrick feliz. Alguma coisa parecida com um Tron um pouco mais feliz. O título do álbum orna muito bem com a sensação de brincar em uma pista de autobahn

An interesting but not exceptional album from Kraftwerk, most notable for side one's 22-minute musical interpretation of a trip down the autobahn. This track is both groundbreaking and "fun fun fun" but after about 15 minutes it made me hope someone would come and take their keys away. (The version on *The Mix* does the job just as well in half the time of the original.) The remaining tracks are a mixed bag, with some muscular synthpop that points the way to later bands like OMD, but also with some spacey numbers (with flute here and there) that don't amount to much more than proto-new age music.

Good vibes

I understand its significance but I think it would be an incredible album experience on vinyl; much better than the Spotify crap.

That first track was way too long and will haunt my dreams.

Wow I hate the original cover for this, glad I’m used to the one for the remaster.

I liked it

Good

Autobahn is joyful and fun. The rest doesn’t do it for me.

a bit of a nothingburger of an album really

Genre-defining record. The title track at over 22 mins is kind of insane, but its minimal repetitiveness and varied melodic parts makes it hypnotic. This with all the other experimental tracks, you can hear how the sum of its parts helped create the next stage of Kraftwerk and their staying power.

★★★½

dois em sequencia que começam com uma musica de 20 min que doideira enfim, é bem experimental, mas dá pra ver o synthpop chegando. importante pra banda e pro desenvolvimento do gênero né. mas achei mei chato vo mentir nao

I'm glad an album like this exists and I will play it next time I drive for the full effect. 3.75

This was fun.

Kometenmelodie 2

A great idea. Actually sounds like a car journey for large parts. I like the flute and guitar mixing with the synthesizers. Does it hold my attention for the duration? No.

I did enjoy the electric instruments and the sound. Mello but just too repetitive at times. Sometimes it worked sometimes it drove me mad

Kraftwerks' debut album. The title track still holds up, but it's quite noticeable that they still were experimenting and finding their style. Kometenmelodie parts 1 + 2 are still fine, but Mitternacht and Morgenspaziergang range from tedious to slightly annoying. No matter - this is still a classic album. 3/5

Pioneers in the electronic world. The intro to autobahn features a car starting up- the sound of it illustrates the decade it came from, a clunky familiar sound of an old combustion engine (probably a VW Beatle!?) - the early 70's, then consider the music you are listening to.....from that very decade, so to steal a cliché - they were well ahead of their time!

It is likely to be an influential classic, but i won't listen to it again

Autobahn - I know it's supposed to be cars... but it's trains Kometenmelodie 1 - I'm too simple to get it Kometenmelodie 2 - Optimistic Mitternacht - Christmas music for a tidepool cave-dweller Morgenspaziergang - A cute little alien is trying to communicate with me. I am listening... He is also dancing.

70s German electronica. Electronic pop with synths and drums. Their first international hit. Rhythm of moving car. Spacey, floaty synths. Very minimalistic.

Couple of good tracks and this has stood the test of time but it isn’t their best album.

I imagine it was influential and it was a decent listen but there's nothing here to make me return

Exactly what I thought driving the Autobahn would be like.

Not the peak of electronic music nor of Kraftwerk for just listening, but it's exciting as an early endeavor into something new, and it *is* still pretty and unique, at the least It does put things into perspective that this existed before Born To Run, Why Can't We Be Friends, and such... Yesteryear, the Dark Side of the Moon... Tomorrow, der Autobahn

You know its not my favorite but it eas nice to break up the sound that this thing has been giving me with something different.

Less than 5 minutes into the first (and longest- 20 minutes!) song of the album, Autobahn, you are already on a beautiful sound journey, I loved the different sounds and textures. The flute particularly gives an optimistic view and makes you feel like you are about to embark on a journey, which makes sense as the album title translates to the German highways. Then, it has areas of darkness, with synths that make it feel creepy. Highlight was Kometenmelodie 2 for something more optimistic. On first listen, it was giving electronic German Pink Floyd vibes, a great album to transport your mind and soul… Particularly interested in how this album was cited as a reference of David Bowie’s work, and was interested to learn about the ‘kraut rock’ genre of this band.

Cool album that I’m sure seemed futuristic for its time, and kind of still does. Are they saying they’re “fond of the autobahn”?

Interesting electronica. Not my wheelhouse, but an expansion of listening.

A strange little robot dream of a road trip. There’s something kind of soothing about how repetitive it is, but also a little maddening. I imagine this is what R2-D2 hums to himself in the back of an X-Wing. This was laying concrete for entire genres to drive on later. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions: - Autobahn - Kometenmelodie 1 - Kometenmelodie 2

Ambient robots? Not sure how to classify Kraftwerk. Artsy maybe? It doesn’t suck but didn’t scratch any itches.

I'm probably never gonna be in the mood for it so let's go 3.

Weird but I really enjoyed it

This album is a little too minimalist for me. It has some fun sound bytes, but isn't one I would really want to actively listen to again. 2.5/5

3.3 stars rounded down. Sounds relaxing but not as great as later Kraftwerk albums.

This album is a bit different I don't know exactly how I feel about it. Maybe a few more listens and I would get fully into it.

Day 1! Gave this one a chance, and then looked at other reviews to see what I was missing. Agree with most of the sentiment that I can see the innovation and it is impressive that this sound was definitely ahead of its time, but I just found myself pretty bored. Awkward album to get for day one! 3 stars

One of my favourite bands, but I don’t think this is their best album.

Kraftwerk are one of a kind. This was an inventive album and a touchstone for the burgeoning electronic music world. But they would do far interesting things in the coming years. 3/5 #96

Weird and wild! Those Germans are some odd dudes. Comically entertaining once again. But definitely not gonna dig around to listen to this ever again. This is a one and done. 🤣

This was just fine as background music. I'm not sure I would listen to it in any other capacity.

When i was 11-12 years old... a song came on the radio... it sounded like nothing else in the US top forty or on Rock radio... to my American ear, i heard "fun fun fun on the Autobahn"... lol... my dad, who had been stationed in Germany at the tail end of WWII, said he had actually been on the Autobahn... which is a highway in Germany, where, basically, there is no speed limit... i think... but, whatever... the song was a HYPNOTIC groove... that was THREE minutes of joy on the readio... but 22 minutes long on this album!!! which is a good thing... it's a great song... and like a long "TRIP" down the Autobahn... which must be nice, if it's anything like this song... the instrumentation, now passe, was totally different than anything that was blasting from my speakers before... "Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n auf der Autobahn"... we drive drive drive down the autobahn... was what they were singing... the rest of the German lyrics just describe the road and that they turn on the radio and listen while they drive... lol... exactly like you were doing back then... genius... anyway... think of this record as a single more than an album... side one... 22 minutes of "Autobahn"... side two... the "B" side... and if you are INTO electronic music and its origins... you give this FIVE STARS... if you are not, side two... is VERY B... lol... and you ONLY Play side one... therefore... a rating of three stars... Five stars for side one... deducted two stars for side two...

3.5

"Autobahn" is the fourth studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk. Electronic pop, electroacoustic and kosmische are the Wiki-listed genres. Right. Originally, the band consisted of the duo of Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter both vocalists and helm the electronics. Klaus Röder (guitar, flute) and Wolfgang Flür (percussion) were added as members. The music was a transition from their experimental krautrock to electronic pop consisting of mostly synthesizers and drum machines. Initially, the album had mixed reviews but retrospective reviews cite its significance and influence on future music and artists. Commercially, it reached #4 in the UK and #5 in the US. The entire first side, nearly 23 minutes, is the self-titled "Autobahn." The song was inspired by the group's joy of driving the German Autobahn. Car doors, an engine starting, horns and we're off. An electronic drone and electronic sounds mimicking vocals. A synth bass melody leads to the main synth melody keys. Vocals eventually come in "Wir fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n Auf Der Autobahn." Tinny drums and a flute. The song then goes on for another 12 minutes basically repeating itself. "Kometenmelodie1" continues the instrumental tone with six minutes of low electronic hums, wind blowing noises and ominous synth keys. Bam! "Kometenmelodie2" wakes you up with high-pitched layered synth keys. The music builds too with volume. Although minimal and repetitive, this song works. The first half of "Mitternacht" had a church vibe with organ keys and animal noises. It finished with water drips and more ominous synth keys. After some electronic noise noodling the album closer "Morgenspaziergang" settles in with some lovely flute and piano. Minimal lyrics and various electronic noise define this album. Oh, and there's a flute. I do enjoy the first ten minutes of "Autobahn," but have to admit I lose focus after that. The second side of this album was hit and miss for me. There's no doubt that can hear its influence in the future electronic music world. Kraftwerk's next four albums are all very good to excellent. I think I'd mark listening to this as going back to hear an historically significant album but I'd really recommend any one of their next four albums.

Nice.

Better than average and more listenable than most of this genre.

Tror fortsatt dette er en Harald Eia-sketsj.

Nice as a soundtrack.

Cool album. It’s like being transported to the autobahn Favorite track - Autobahn 6/10

I didn't hate this and I didn't love it. Honestly I'm still not 100% how I feel about this, but I feel like it did enough to get to 3 stars.

I really like Kraftwerk and appreciate how influential they have been to so many electronic acts to follow. I hadn’t heard this one before, and really dug the vibe. Eating it a 3 because I don’t see myself listening to it again, but looking forward to Tour de France (if it’s on the list). This album is another great example of why I’m doing this project…I never would have gotten around to listening to it otherwise!

Didn't listen to this fully due to time constraints. Leaving as a three

Fun example of early electric music... Not as weird as things can get.

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

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.

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.

3.5

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

Fun fun fun on the Autobahn.

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.

Couldn't listen to the whole thing.

Fun and would be a nice soundtrack for a movie.

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.

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

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

zwei bis drei

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.

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

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.

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

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).

It felt like an electronic musical journey

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.

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.

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

Eh.

ok background music 3/5

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

Interesting concept album. Mostly instrumental.

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!!!

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

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

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.

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.

Enjoyed some of it but it was quite forgettable

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Sehr cool

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.

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.

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.

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.

Not their best buy palatable

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.

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

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

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.

This is uber German. And yeah, I liked it. Pretty peaceful except for that last track. It’s just too open concept for me to really appreciate.

Good one but just not what i need

irpiacciono i synth (i suoni di sto album sono synth vero? Boh) ma dopo un po' mi distraggo

3.5

Autobahn ist ein Meilenstein und auch heute noch hörenswert. 50 Jahre nach der Entstehung! Zeigt, welchen Weg die Musik in dieser Zeit genommen hat. Der Rest der Platte ist erstaunlich, dass man damals so etwas veröffentlichte, wohl einfach weil Synthesizer etwas neues faszinierendes waren.

As the name suggests, probably decent when listening to it whilst driving

When the first song ended I thought I had been in a trance and that was the entire album. The age of this for this sound is kind of wild. I feel there must be a ton of nuance and skill in how this was made back then. I'm glad I listened, don't know if I'll come back but I enjoyed it and don't regret the time. Only got one listen so it could have more I missed.

I was listening to this suffering from a pretty bad headache, I felt like I was going insane. It was interesting and I might even go back to it someday if I would like to be in a trance, but it would not be a regular listen.

Love me some Kraftwerk. This one isn’t as strong as Man Machine or Trans Europe Express, but it’s still good. The centerpiece is the title track and at 21 minutes it’s half the album. This song is a lot of fun, it helps that I’m a sucker for vocoders. The rest of the album is solid but not amazing.

oh jaaaaa

Yea pretty good

I get that it’s experiencing the Autibahn in an album, like a long road trip complete with highway hypnosis. I just don’t know if that’s fun. Respect the artistry and the minimalist album cover.

it wasn't my favorite Kraftwerk. Kind of felt more like background music than I expected. But still good background music to have on.

I've never heard a synthesizer used in so many different ways. Just in the title track alone, the synthesizer is clearly mimicking the sounds you'd hear on the highway (or "der Autobahn") such as vehicles cruising by, the tuning of the radio in your car, and even other industrial sounds. The remaining tracks range from unnerving to happy and serene. It's hard to believe that this was released in 1974. This was my first exposure to Kraftwerk, and it's pretty evident that they were pioneers of electronic music. I'm sure their reach extends even beyond that though, as you hear Kraftwerk's influence in much of 80s synth-pop and even early hip-hop samples. The influence is recognizable, but the title track carries this album and I don't see myself coming back to this.

Every Kraftwerk song I've heard has been splendid but I'm a bum and keep forgetting to listen to more that just The Man Machine. While I didn't enjoy this one as much as TMM, I think it was still a good time. It just had higher expectations.

Fahren fahren fahren bliep bliep Ouwe meuk zeg, maar wel cool voor die tijd

Very forgettable but not bad

The 22+ minute title track about the joys of riding the Autobahn is a little silly but it ended up being the highlight for me. There are some beautiful instrumental stretches on that track. The other songs are ambient-leaning electronica for the most part. Each piece has a different mood. I like listening to Kraftwerk albums from this list because they’re clearly an influential band and they’re also just an interesting, unique band in their own right. They’ve been hit or miss for me though, with this album falling somewhere in the middle. Interesting and enjoyable but probably not something I’ll put on again.

"fun fun fun in te autobahn" "fun fun fun in te autobahn" This was a fun listen. I know of Kraftwerk from a distance and I know that they are the true pioneers of electronic music. On this list there's a good amount of bands from this time period that have used electronic sounds in their music as it was a new thing at the time. I know this because I've written about early electronic music exploration about a hundred times so far and my fingers just seem to go to the same letters, words, and phrases whenever I put on a new record from this list and hear the first few synthetic sounds. Kraftwerk have a cool sound though. It's at times droney, at times light, at times chill, at times upbeat. There's something more to them beyond being a band that has their sound and then bolted on synths to be trendy. These songs do suffer from the phenomenon that I think tends to occur often when bands get experimental with new sounds and timbres and paradigms- the basic musical building blocks of harmony and melody get kind of left behind and they end up pretty basic or rudimentary. It's almost like there's a code between musicians or a shared understanding of a see-saw effect that has to happen when getting experimental: if one facet gets wild and out there, the other facet has to get simple. I would love if this album gave me both experimental electronic sounds and also some interesting harmony+melody. It doesn't even have to be "weird" experimental; it could even be super pop catchy melodies. Or jazz harmonies and chord progressions. They do however prove me wrong on "Kometenmelodie 2", which sounds like it could be a Beach Boys track, but that's it. Give me more of that! Amazing album cover. I love the simplicity in everything. It is pretty funny though to have a very German band have an album about the Autobahn. Kind of feels like a US based band singing about the bald eagle- which usually makes me cringe.

Nerds! Peels out at 200 km/h in 3 seconds on the Autobahn honking an analog synth-horn at everybody in the passing lane. Take that you Musikante stuck in the 70's.

Another album that I appreciate more than I like. They are the godfadders of techno and electronica but when it comes down to it, most of the album is just a collection of sci-fi noises played repeatedly for far too long. 6/10

The pseudonymous track is good, like it quite a bit. The other tracks are interesting and pretty good. Overall not my style but enjoyed the tunes.

Just not my thing. Enjoyable but I'd never have a time I'd listen.

elektronic, 1974 -> 3

Important pioneer of modern electronic music.

50 years is a long time. Seems like it would have been pretty revolutionary back in the day. I like stuff on the more experimental side, such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor and such, but that experimental side has to have some kind of melody and such to resonate with my own tastes. Not saying this album is bad - it isn't - it's just not for me. But i can understand how huge this would have been back in the day. Nice to see that it's still polarizing.

One of the first albums I got on this list was The Man Machine, and I gave it a 3, but it was very meh. I actually liked this album a lot more, probably about a 3.5, but not enough to round up to a 4. If I could go back and re-rate The Man Machine, I’d probably give it a 2. But alas, this is also getting a 3. But it was much better.

A bit too high-frequency with the beeps and boops. I say that as a chiptune fan.

I'm mean look not everyone is going to like this, but no one can deny the impact Kraftwerk had on music. 3

Chill and melodic. Would be even more chill without the German, but whatever. The weirder, the better. What's also weird is how some white dudes from Germany who created their instruments and sounds spawned some classic hip-hop by young black men who were doing the same thing over in Americ, and used Kraftwerk samples to create a new sound that has become the dominant force in global music.

The title track was great but fell off from there

"Britain has some of the safest roads in Europe. But this isn't Britain... This is der Autobahn!" Cutting edge electronica. Unlike anything ever in 1974 and it still stands up half a century later. The earliest of the Kraftwerk records on the list. Autobahn (1974), to Trans Europe Express (1977), to The Man Machine (1978) show an evolution from the pure ambient and meandering atmosphere on show here to the more poppy Man Machine, with TEE being the half way point. The 22 minute opening track captures a sense of motion. Crash, bang, wallop - what an innovative artist. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: Autobahn Date listened: 10/04/24

Mi piacciono i synth (i suoni di sto album sono synth vero? Boh) ma dopo un po’ mi distraggo

Curious and experimental, if a little 'all-fart-no-poo"

Time and place. Need to listen later not the time or place.

Let me take my cute pixelated car for a jaunt at a reasonable speed STRAIGHT INTO DRACULA’S DUNGEON.

Deutsch und monoton wie eine Fahrt auf der Autobahn. Passt.

Respek

Not yet werk, but still werk

Honestly, more fun than I expected (though I don't know what I expected exactly). For some reason it's wild to me it's from 1974. I would add this to the collection as a piece of history more than something I would listen to regularly -- but I would listen to it.

War zu seiner Zeit ein Meilenstein. Aber ist nicht meine Musik.

Pues quitando la absurdez de canción de Autobahn, el resto me ha gustado. Electronic popelectroacoustickosmische.

I liked the first song the most but the rest was decent

Kraftwerk seemed like a vaguely recognisable name which all I knew about them was that they were a group from somewhere in Germany and that was about it. So I went into this album with an open mind ready to embrace whatever technical sounds I might face. First thing, I somehow got the impression already this would be a largely instrumental album which I didn’t have a problem with as long as it was interesting. The first track, also being the title track, “Autobahn” helped with this being a 23 minute electronic fusion piece, starting with some synth filled, space like texture with some guitar and wind instruments mixed in. It gave a pleasant feeling to the song where I could only imagine driving at sunrise which sort of suited the pace of that portion of the song. The rest of the song being a bit more space-like synth based, leaning into a more focused electronic sound. “Kometenmelodie 1” seemed to carry on from “Autobahn” into a very focused synth piece which I found a bit dull to be honest, especially at 6 minutes long you’d hope for a bit more than just a couple of synths. “Kometenmelodie 2” on the other hand was a lot more exciting bring back some vibrancy to the album. I found “Mitternacht” equally as dull as the track 2 songs prior as it seemed very atmosphere based but not much going on. Finally, we finish with “Morgenspaziergang” which is a really nice wind instrument and piano fill which suitably closes the album. I found this album really interesting, I’m guessing each song is stages of driving on the Autobahn or perhaps the focus of the album is the first song about driving on the Autobahn and the rest is an additional story if you can call it that. Either way, an intriguing listen, probably something I won’t return to, maybe the last song perhaps, but not something I disliked.

Unique.

One of those albums that sounds simple now, but probably inspired lots of music that we now consider common/normal.

In the early Eighties, there were synth gurus like Keith Emerson, Tony Banks and maybe Jean-Michelle Jarre. And there were synth gods. Kraftwerk showed the world that another world was possible. It took ten years to make it into the mainstream when full electronic bands like Depeche Mode or Heaven 17 broke through. But it all started here, on the German fuxxing Autobahn.

3.25

I was into the first 22 minute track - was a listening experience. Rest of the record wasn’t as enjoyable.

it was groundbreaking and inspired a lot of electronic music, but not hugely listenable.

Bring back Nigel Spackman

This album is decent but not my favorite type of music. I don't see myself coming back to it much but I didn't dislike it either, just not something I gravitate towards. Standout Tracks: Autobahn, Kometenmelodie 2, Morgenspaziergang

Repetitive. Influential and somewhat groundbreaking but crikey, some of these songs did drone on a bit. I get the quirky thing from 1974, but my word, was a bit tough at the end. Nice sounds, not my bag really.

I actually really liked it. It's enjoyable and good working/background music. But it's not that special.

Beep beep beep beep de de de. One song sounds like droplets of water? I don't think I get this, but I end up getting into a groove listening to the first (23-minute) song. The rest is not for me.

Kraftwerk.

Pues quitando la absurdez de canción de Autobahn, el resto me ha gustado. Electronic popelectroacoustickosmische.

Probably not the best jumping on point for newbie Kraftwerk listeners. I’d start with ‘Trans-Europe Express’ which is the beginning of their golden age and go in chronological order from there. Having said that, I have a soft spot for ‘Autobahn’, especially the title track, which lays the template for what was to come thematically and musically and takes up all of Side A. Side B I don’t like as much. The four ambient pieces are kind of interesting but kind of boring at the same time. Overall result is an album that while still generally good, is not as cohesive or satisfying as Kraftwerk’s very best.

Early 70’s electronica. It’s ok background music, but not my thing I look for in music when I want to listen. 3/5 for its significance in the evolution of electronica.

Nice background music, but not something I would feel compelled to revisit often. Kooky synth-mad Germans.

Video game music, background atmospheric soundtrack of some large, sparse area.

Soundtrack to the movie where a kid blows out his birthday candles and wishes for his database to come to life

This album would have been better if I was stoned, but since I listened to it straight it was ok.

I just cant take this album seriously. I mean, doesnt it seem like its some kind of doctor demento joke? Its not terrible, but its just silly. 3/5

Really didn't like this. Then I kinda did.

I preferred the previous Kraftwerk album.

I get its impact. Just needs more work

I was thinking, while listening to this, if one of our Canadian bands pulled the same move, and just started writing music about the TransCanada Highway or the 401. But I guess like the Barenaked Ladies and likely the Tragically Hip have already

This was okay. I can see why it was a seminal work, but it has aged very poorly.

Kraftwerk were really innovators of not only electronic music, but music technology as a whole. They do a good job of mixing ambience and rhythmic features in their songs. Far out!

Experience with Kraftwerk has been mixed so far, with one of their other albums garnering 4 stars from my side and another a measly 1. This one is somewhere in the middle at 2.5. I'll round it up, because it's not hard to see the strong influences Kraftwerk had on some of the 80's and early 90's synth-pop that I do enjoy. But by itself, I don't really see this album as worth listening, even though it doesn't sound bad as such.

3.5

The first track is quite epic. Not my favourite genre so I'll be very generous and give it a three. Back to the urban streets for me

I've spent many a road-trip relaxed while listening to this twenty-minute repetitive proto-robo-music classic. What a wonderful work! It's a damn shame the rest of the album sucks so much.

Really cool sounding album that seems to be ahead of its time, but it is very empty. Just great noise, but no substance

not for today

Some good some bad.

Fun but a little repetitive. Would be easy to play with them I think :)

Another that's like 3.8/3.9 for me but not quite a 4. Really like it though

Before today, I'd heard of Kraftwerk, but never listened to any of their stuff before. I despise electronica music, so I never had a reason to listen before today. We will see how this goes. These guys were pioneers of electronica as well as industrial (you can hear their influence when you listen to bands like Rammstein). This is weird, but impressive given what they did with the lack of technology in 1974. Electronica today is just some talentless moron standing behind a Macbook pushing buttons. These guys fooled around with synthesizers and other electronics to get the noises they wanted, then cut and spliced tape to make it flow so fluidly. That's a fuck ton of work. Props to them for that. Overall, I still hate electronica, but can recognize the talent on this record. I will probably never listen again, but it is interesting to hear the beginnings of a new genre. Favourite songs: Autobahn (even though it was 22 minutes long, it was a song. The rest of the record was just noise) Least favourite song: Kometenmelodie 1 3/5

Autobahn is pretty good. The rest is just background music.

Still wild to my ears to hear Kraftwerk's music nearly 50 years after it was recorded and released and take in how it kind of sounds futuristic yet also from an earlier time. I don't know much about Steampunk, just have a vague awareness of the ethos, but maybe Kraftwerk's music fits into that category? Either way, it's enjoyable to listen to and I appreciate how different they were from popular music of the time.

Repetitive but with some meaning. There's a time and place for this, for sure.

It's good, but not my favorite from Kraftwerk

So again context matters. I don't know the history of electronica (or really care, to be honest) but this was a big deal. Kraftwerk came into their own here and so did that sound overall. But outside the opening track odyssey, I found it a bit meh. Even it went on a bit long. So yeah, cool side one, yawn side two. The album's significance gives it a bump from a middling 2 to a midrange 3.

Now is zee time on Sprockets ven ve dance! Why, oh, why did I need to hear 3 Kraftwerk albums before I die? I would have been fine with just The Man Machine, my favorite of the three. I just don't need more Kraftwerk in my life. On this one, the title track was ok, but went for too long. Then a few noodling tracks. I know this album is groundbreaking, but it's just too much.

3.5

Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n, auf der Autobahn Autobahn and Kometenmelodie 2 are the only real songs. The other two are mainly just random noises. 7/10

I didn't need to listen to this, and it didn't need to be made. I didn't enjoy or hate it.

A very solid 3 though.

So different from the other Kraftwerk albums I’ve had. A lot more ambient and experimental on here, which I don’t think suits my taste quite as well as something like The Man Machine. 6/10

Probably will not listen to again in my free time but I did kind of enjoy the experience, I really don’t understand the fascination with the autobahn tho

Very pleasant. Wish there was more to it.

Not taking anything away from their legacy and influence but just not necessarily a genre for me and having 20 minutes tracks don't make it more approachable either

Groundbreaking. Like the next couple albums better.

Is it Fun Fun Fun On Ze Autobahn for 20+ minutes? I don't think so, but its so ground breaking its hard to believe.

Motorway your way

Will not be surprised to see some low numbers in the reviews here. However, the amount of artists that list Kraftwerk as an influence is quite remarkable. I do enjoy this album, but by the end you can’t help but think “well that’s enough robot music for today”. I wonder if an extended version of the song Autobahn will come out someday.

I rewrote this entire review after my morning listen. Some of this was kind of uncomfortable on first listen. I revisited in the evening and it is charming. I feel like the first track is the meat and potatoes of the album and the rest is just bonus DLC. As you know, it is cheesy. This is travel music! It's experimental and so the structure is off-putting. A lot of bleeps, bloops, warbles, and voice mods. Mitternacht goes to a dark dark place (it's a drag and probably kills the inertia) before the final track that is more uplifting. Put this on during a long drive or when gaming and say it's not lit! Wouldn't it be great to sing Autobahn in a 23 minute session of earnest karaoke? I adjusted this from a 2 to a 3!!!

I can see the roots of electronic music in here, but it comes off almost cheesy in a way and feels heavily dated. I respect the creation but this isn’t for me either.

The blueprint for electronic music for years to come. Sitting and listening can be a bit of a slog. But background for work or my own cyberpunk life soundtrack, top notch

Pretty ok, the first song is a bit long but other than that i quite enjoyed having it on while doing something something else

That's three Kraftwerk albums now, but I'm still mildly charmed by their gentle soundscapes. How strange it all must've sounded back then, eh?! Is this road-based record better than their rail-based record? I'm not sure. But they both get you where you need to be.

Music for airports at the end of the universe.

Famously influential. Interesting enough. But it still sounds a bit dated to my ear

3/5. First half of the album is really great and the true highlight of the album. The other songs are good but feel more like experiments of sound instead of songs. I get ambience but not quite the same here.

Definitely has a consistent and interesting vibe. Though i understand it is seminal record in its field, and was very unique for its time, i'm not sure it does a lot behind being innovative for its time. Easy to listen to, but there's nothing that just stands out as worthy or repeat listens.

yes, it´s iconic, but also boring

Fahren fahren fahren auf der Autobahn .. usw .. usw

mmm?

my notes didnt save but it was so funny turning on this album and hearing the #autobahn song decent atmospheric album 3.5

already listened to it; I feel this is one of Kraftwerk's projects that was a letdown for me. no cohesiveness, no catchiness, and just an inane jumble of sounds that don't mesh together at all.