Reviews (page 7 of 9)
La première track était trop longue, mais le reste était cool dans le genre électro minimaliste.
Quite pretty ambient music
Ongetwijfeld baanbrekend geweest, maar nu dikke vette mosterd na de maaltijd.
Helemaal uitgeluisterd, maar dat was het dan ook.
Nooit de lol van ingezien.
Have to be on MDMA to like this. I'm sorry I wasn't. Can I borrow some?
It's Autobahn.
Cheers to Kraftwerk for innovations 50 years ago that helped launch all kinds of new sounds and possibilities. Unfortunately, so much has happened since then that Autobahn now feels dated and simplistic, and not at all like something we must listen to before we die. I don't need to listen to Kraftwerk to appreciate their contributions half a century ago.
I figured I wouldn’t like this and guess what I was right
Ok
I liked the cover image... Yes, that's it. Still giving two stars, since it fades into the background nicely.
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.
All over the place kind of had a feeling like midsommar in the end somehow? 2.5/5-meh
Soundtrack to the movie where a kid blows out his birthday candles and wishes for his database to come to life
I gotta say this was a banger by the end of the album.
Both highly influential and quite good listening. These guys were doing quite a bit with, by today's standards, limited technology.
NOT MY VIBE
Some of you get it. Some of you should try smoking a joint once in a while. A masterpiece.
Pioneers if computer noise but that's about it noise.
This album would have been better if I was stoned, but since I listened to it straight it was ok.
1/5. Just nonsense. Unsure why this group became so popular. It really is a waste of time.
Not a huge fan. It's very early-digital-experimental. That stuff's not my favorite to begin with. I gotta be honest, I'm not really sure what world this ends up on a 1,000 all times album list that isn't "The dumbest 1,000 albums of all time".
A bit too experimental. Or not the type of out-there-ness I particularly like.
Wir fahren fahren fahren auf der autobahn
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
Beautiful soundscape, a bit slow and repetitive but that's likely because it's not really meant for active listening, also the last track has the most animal crossing 1 am flute of all time.
I get the significance. Just overall boring
Really didn't like this. Then I kinda did.
Great album!
Car make vroom sound
Revolutionary
I did not enjoy most of this, but the one song that I did enjoy I liked quite a bit
This was a snooze fest.
i see why this is a top 1001 album
Ganz gut, innit?
A lot of fun! A good album front to back.
Outstanding. My only complaint is that I wasn’t around in 1974 to have my mind blown even more than it is 49 years later.
wow. just incredible, i’d fully believe this was released recently. just shockingly ahead of its time, and an amazing album regardless.
It starts with morning (on autobahn), drives in nightime (the sessions of Autobahn track) then stops & chills at midnight (Comet Melody 1 &2, Mitternacht) and wakes up to walk on the dawn as the sun rising (Morning Walk). This album begins a new phase for the band, as they totally emphasizes on synthesizer through pop sensibilities onward & influence on almost every electronic-pop vibe that came later. Fav Track: Autobahn
This record works well as background music, but is also engaging enough to listen to actively.
I preferred the previous Kraftwerk album.
I'm a big admirer of KW and this is not the best as side B does not match the brilliance of side A so it all sounds a bit uneven. Revolutionary stuff though and their first classic. 4.
I get its impact. Just needs more work
It was definitely noises in a specific order
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!
Kraftwerk is German for power plant. Autobahn is German for apathetic. 🏭🏭
Just some guys cruising down the highway. Maybe the real friends were the musical genres we defined along the way.
The greatest homage to roads since John Denver.
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.
I feel obliged to like any album that influenced Bowie's Berlin trilogy. I have always meant to listen to Kraftwerk someday, so I'm glad that 1001 albums gave me the push I needed to sit down and listen to an album. It was basically exactly what I expected - weird, ambient, and made me question what music even is. I think I enjoyed it? I really don't know. Fun fun fun on the Autobahn.
Great to have this come on after their progeny, The Prodigy. Undefeated by their successors, they infuse so much sentimentality into the kind of soundfront that goes on to be associated so much with dehumanization, industriousness, etc
3.5
I know Kraftwerk are revered innovators of their genre, but I just don’t fucking like it. I can say that this is not for me, with confidence, because I’ll just never get into it. I do not want. Very cool album artwork though.
The music of the future, in this case, turns 50 in 2024. No group was ever more beholden to novelty and gimmick, yet their newness became our everyday, our wallpaper. The most influential band still considered the exclusive territory of the insurmountably elitist and the insurmountably geeky, and definitely not a domain where women tend to wander. Kommen Sie bitte und listen to Kraftwerk! Round here at Chez NoRadio, we pray thrice a day towards Düsseldorf, the home city of Kraftwerk and the location of their studio Kling Klang. If you have dug practically any music made from 1978 onwards, you should be following the same ritual. Kraftwerk are one of the few bands who can genuinely rival Elvis and the Beatles as music’s most influential acts, despite their relative lack of presence in the charts (a few minor hits, and one UK number one in 1982 with The Model (which was supposed to be the B-side, fact fans and pop pickers!)). Five seconds of listening will reveal why. Kraftwerk are the most important electronic act. No group demonstrated more decisively the aesthetic capabilities and rewards of the strictly electronic. This stern-faced, impeccably dressed unit of men-machines proved a decisive influence on post-punk, synth-pop, hip-hop, the entirety of dance music, and pretty much every form of music that has involved a current. But this is not the occasion to explain why. I shall save that for their next album on the list, Trans-Europe Express. You see, Autobahn, despite being the first album in what we fans consider the classic quintet of Kraftwerk albums (this, Radioactivity, Trans-Europe Express, The Man Machine and Computer World, if you’re curious (and you should be)), is ultimately a transitional work, Kraftwerk getting their hair cut and seeing beyond their fringe. Kraftwerk started with two German music students called Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider (the most unsettling-looking man who stood upon the earth) became involved with the West German experimental music scene, a scene that would beget what British music journalists came to call Krautrock (yes, not the most pleasant of names, but that was Britain in the 70s: The Black and White Minstrel Show ran on British telly until 1978). Hütter and Schneider started as an organist and flautist respectively in a band called Organisation, but in 1970 they obtained a few synthesisers and started their own band, Kraftwerk (the German for power station, or power plant to American ears). Kraftwerk recorded three albums with a series of revolving musicians; these albums have never been officially reissued, and in honesty they are considered interesting curios, and not really essential. But in 1974 came Autobahn. With Autobahn, the germinating ideas on their previous work blossomed, and the band finally determined what direction they were driving in. Two factors proved key. Firstly, percussionist Wolfgang Flür had joined as a permanent member, followed in 1975 by fellow percussionist Karl Bartos. Thus, the holy quartet of Kraftwerk had come together, and the stability of a consistent fourpiece enabled them to explore the ranges of their artistic vision. So, secondly, they made a 22-minute electronic song about the West German motorway. This, the title track, harked back to the programme music of late 19th-century composers in depicting a narrative musically, yet the topic of driving down the autobahn was contemporary and the instruments were still being invented by the band. Along with this, Kraftwerk were motoring away from the headfuckery conjured by other Krautrock bands such as Can, Neu! And Faust (brilliant headfuckery though it was), and thus rediscovered the undiluted magic of the melody. To whit, they discovered pop, albeit a pop of such purity, concentration and vision, with machines seemingly from Doctor Who, that its existence had to provoke a revolution. But as I said, Autobahn is still a transitional work, wonderful though it be. Later albums would see a further refinement and evolution of the Kraftwerk Weltanschauung, so comparing Autobahn to them necessarily reveals the ragged tendrils of Autobahn’s more overtly Krautrock roots (and the last appearance of Schneider’s flute). This is not a criticism, but an observation. Still, as beautiful as I find Autobahn, the Kraftwerk I ultimately love most is the four men becoming four robots. But that is a quibble. Autobahn always delights, not least because of a crucial, yet oft-forgotten aspect of Kraftwerk: they were funny. Though one may wallow in the gorgeous melodies of the second side, it’s the Teutonic impishness of a 22-minute song about driving along the Autobahn that truly lingers. More proof? “Wir fahr’n, fahr’n, fahr’n, auf der Autobahn.” Fahr’n, Fahr’n, Fahr’n? Didn’t the Beach Boys have a song that went, “Fun, Fun, Fun”? NoRadio, signing off.
(Note to self: don’t read the reviews of records you love that people leave here. It’s just going to make you unnecessarily upset.) I’m not going to waste a lot of words here: This is an all-time classic record, incredibly influential and important. A pretty good case can be made that the music world would be a much different place than it is now, had it never been released. If you dislike it…fine, go listen to Rumours for the 800th time.
Kometenmelodie 2 is great. It's a decent album. Of course I'm going to love the synth and all that, some of it seems random and unintentional, like someone got a new toy and they're playing with it the whole time, but it's pretty solid.
Album art is dope. Seminal German electronic? Don't mind if I do. Welp, I've listened to this three times now in the background of work. I'm not exactly sure what I expected, but this was not it. A full side of the album is the namesake piece "Autobahn," which sort of rambles on through a layered synths and drums for nearly 23 minutes. Not a whole lot to sink into here for me. Kometenmelodie 1 is a moody ambient piece with a mixture of drums, static, and synth bass. This gives way to much more structured and poppy part 2, which to me is the most compelling song on the album. Mitternacht is another experimental ambient electonic song that sounds as if it was recorded to support a sci-fi scene taking place deep beneath the earth in a cave or sewer system. The album closes with Morgenspaziergang (say that 3 times fast) which is the lightest and most folksy of the record. The song is almost whimsical in nature. At the end of the day, I'm somewhat baffled. This album must have been revolutionarily experimental at the time. Even by today's standards, it is all over the place; not in a good way in my opinion. I'm a very soft 2 on this one.
This was a album starts out great with a whimsical song. Kometenmelodie 1 felt a bit listless, but not necessarily bad. Kometenmelodie 2 sounded like a song out of Terraria, which is one of my all time favorite video games. Mitternacht was not as much of a song as I would have liked, but at least it was short. Finishing the album with pianos and flutes was a fun juxtaposition to the rest of the album. Overall this album was really enjoyable. I was expecting the album to be super techno like their song Kernkraft. I was pleasantly surprised!
7 out of 5 on the lunchin scale. 4 out of 5 on the enjoyment scale I never thought Autobahn the song was ever going to end. The slow build up on Konmentomelodie2 was my favorite part of the album. I want to take drugs and listen to this album, but I am not sure what the correct drug would be
Damn I tried winning tickets to these guys at the Anthem recently to see their 3-D show. Haven't gotten too into them but know they had a profound effect on Daft Punk, Air (Moon Safari better be on this list), and others. Oh hell yeah this was a song I got into for that show. This shit is dope. Makes me want to go grab a schnitzel and drive 200 mph down 50. Kometenmelodie 1 is a pretty ambient soundscape that I could see being pretty ahead of its time in 74. Gabe aka skeleton-man tried to replicate this in the Office and failed. Go eat some powdered seahorses bro. Love that transition into Kometenmelodie 2. Sounds like a video game soundtrack from the 80's. Mitternacht is dark af. Definitely belongs in Blade Runner. Morgenspaziergang is way more elegant with what sounds like a recorder. Also translates to "Morning Walk" which makes it even more elegant to me.
4.5
Kraftwerk is divisive. I get it. Autobahn is divisive. ALL THEIR WORK IS DIVISIVE. But we live in a post-Kraftwerk world. Someone had to do it first. Many Someones had to do it first. Kraftwerk is on that vanguard: making what they wanted to make. Making the world of music in their image, or at the very least, carving out a small divot in the zeitgeist that others could expand upon.
Ambiance nord de l'Espagne
autoroute des vacances
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 can appreciate the kraft and the werk but I don't know if I enjoy listening to 22 minute electronic songs from the 70s.
Classic!
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.
YES YES YES YES WE LOVE THE GERMANS
Quite literally the worst thing to listen to while in the office. For the entire 42 minutes I was terrified one of the PMs sitting next to me could hear “Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n, auf der Autobahn” on repeat through my headset. Still not convinced they couldn’t. None of them have looked at me the same since that day.
C Autobahn - 2 Kometenmelodie 1 - 3 Kometenmelodie 2 - 3 Mitternacht - 2 Morgenspaziergang - 2 Ze Juden (me) don't say Danke Schoen to this music.
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
This album is weird for the sake of being weird. The first 23 minute long track is strange enough, but eventually you just feel like this album is the soundtrack to an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba.
I’m not an electronic music guy, but without Kraftwerk EDM would not be the same today. For that alone this deserves an easy 5 stars.
It's unnoteworthy. I didn't skip any songs but I didn't really enjoy it
Ich wohne in Deutschland also natürlich, bin ich auf der Autobahn gefahren.
Superbly infectious hook. The main 20 minute piece is essential, the others considerably less so.
Un disc avançat al seu temps i encara a dia d'avui un dels cims de l'electrònica com a génere
Some good some bad.
annoying
It's interesting to se that this either get a 1 or a 5 in the comments. When it comes to long songs i allways compare them with 2112 by rush which i think is the best 20 min song because of it's structure as a story. I feel like autobahn lacks a narrative which makes it sound like a 22 min long improvisation. But i guess that it's supposed to simulate the relative monotoni of driving on the autobahn. As a listener of electronic music i can se the impact Kraftwerk had on the development of electronic music but this is a bit too noodly for me
I can appreciate it for what it was at the time but it's not my type of music.
I'm a big fan of Kraftwerk and have always enjoyed Autobahn (and the idea of driving on one one day). I also enjoyed Morgenspaziergang on this release.
So influential! As well as the title track's massive impact on electronic music, "Morgenspaziergang" sounds like the birth of folktronica! Fave tracks - "Autobahn" for the immersive hypnotic motorway experience, and "Kometenmelodie 2" for the uplifting optimism!
Well that was surprisingly delightful. My preconception of Kraftwerk was not on target.
Great timing, only a few days after I actually went to see Kraftwerk! This particular album was new to me, I only knew Autobahn. It has moments of darkness - I can hear the influence of Kometenmelodie 1 and Mitternacht on Wendy Carlos's work for The Shining soundtrack. However, Morgenspaziergang ('Morning Stroll') is full of joy, very 1970s kids TV.
Not to sound like a broken record, but I really can't get into this genre. I have nothing against the artists - I just don't understand what's "good" or "unique" among the bands that do this. This album sounds like the soundtrack to an acid trip - which is cool I guess.
I liked this one in high school! Really enjoyed, though not as much as The Man Machine
As per usual with a Kraftwerk album, from start to finish you are transported to their carefully crafted world of forward-thinking electronic sound. I imagine if I heard this back in 1973 I would’ve melted.
Fun but a little repetitive. Would be easy to play with them I think :)
Música electrónica. Bastante tostón. Un 2.
This was an interesting album it either was decent but not sure if fell asleep during autobahn or if it was what most of the album.
None of it was inherently bad; some of it was weird, but most of it felt like an into to some other song where something actually happens. Autobahn was the highlight and that's not saying much
Sorry, maar dit vond ik echt saai
Gahn Gahn auf de Autobahn. Kraftwerk is genieten. Wil veel leren over Krautwerk.
Another that's like 3.8/3.9 for me but not quite a 4. Really like it though
beep boop It sure is some more Kraftwerk. I can't say I'd listen to it out of choice
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.
I think I had heard of Kraftwerk before, but I didn't know they were German electronic music. I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it, and...I was right. At its best, it sounded like an early 80's cheesy sci-fi soundtrack, and at its worst, a boring soundscape to listen to to help me fall asleep. Maybe they were innovative for their time, but I'm listening to this in 2023 and it doesn't hold up at all. I hope this is their only album on the list.
Repetitive but with some meaning. There's a time and place for this, for sure.
Thanks to this app, I have discovered that I like Krautrock. Kraftwerk aren't the best exponents (check out NEU! 75) but I like it.
This was a bit too weird for me. The autobahn song was so repetitive I was starting to lose my sanity. And the fact it was 20 minutes long is absurd. The rest of the album would’ve been good music for a futuristic movie but to listen to and enjoy was far off. Overall this is one that isn’t great to me. I can see how some bands may have been influenced but that’s not gonna cut it here. 2.5/10
Some about this 70s german synth music draws me in - like soviet sci-fi. And it is one of the great album covers
It's good, but not my favorite from Kraftwerk
Sounded like a year 9 composition project. Sorry Autobahn, won't be coming back.
Meh
Una pieza clave para el desarrollo de la música electrónica. La pista homónima que abre el disco, con una duración de 22 minutos, explora diferentes texturas y posibilidades que la primera música 100% sintetizada nos podía entregar. La segunda parte del disco ahonda en el Krautrock. Un trabajo realmente influyente.
Rating: 4/10
I have been told that this music is groundbreaking, and yet all I think is that it sounds a lot like video game music for something with graphics slightly more complex than the Atari 2600. OK, maybe that was a little too mean, but the songs seem kinda boring. And a 22 minute side-long song about driving on the Autobahn? Geez, it should have at least had movements where things happened. It just seem to drone one. The last track I did like, it was peaceful and meditative. I can imagine that more of the other pieces (particularly "Autobahn") would be great for that kind of thing. I never did quite get Bowie's infatuation with this stuff in the Berlin trilogy, and hearing this album I still don't totally see it. As contemplative, new age-y pieces, I've heard stuff that's better that's out there.
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
immediately catches you off guard with the theatric/movie-like noise dialogue weirdness. guitars kinda fun. keyboards very 70s. appreciate the noisecore! the weirdness of autobahn is cool.
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.
Not offensive to listen to but very boring. Barely music. Komet 2 was the only song I somewhat liked.
These are the sounds one of the most important bands of the seventies has very patiently crafted for this masterpiece: "Vroom, vroom" ... "Honk honk" ... "Tick, tock, tick, tock..." ... "Beep beep" ... "Shhhhhhhhh" ... "Vroom, vroom, vrooooooom" ... "Beep, beep, bee-eeeeeeeeeep..." ... "phhhwwtphhhwwt" ... "Click, click, click" ... "Honk, hooooooonk!" And you know what? The proto-electronic music supporting those sounds is so evocative, dreamy and poetic that you really feel like you're riding a car on a highway with Florian, Ralf and their dear, dear friends, driving towards a German sun setting on the horizon. 5/5. Number of albums left to review: 558 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 216 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 103 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 127
Early electronic music was still finding its footing, so I can't fault this album for that, but boy oh boy about 10 minutes into the first song you start to wonder if anything of value is going to happen.
Electronic music means a whole lot to me, and I really respect Kraftwerk for laying the foundation for the genre’s proliferation by way of this groundbreaking sonic highway of a record.
Really can't be bothered by this
I'm a sucker for albums that integrate the music into the theme of the album, so the title track here is right in my wheelhouse. You really get the vibe of driving down the highway out of it. The rest of the album feels less essential but still cool with lots of interesting synth work.
I’ve only just finished the first track but I feel confident enough in my opinion to leave a review. This is garbage. Absolutely trash. The ‘band’ must’ve been laughing at what people would listen to and what idiocy they could get away with and people would still lap it up. Can I leave zero stars? This doesn’t deserve any more than that
Outdated
aawww tooww baaawwnnnnnnn *breath in* aawww tooww baaawwwwnnnnnnn *breath in* AAWWW TOOWW BAAAAAWWWWNNNNNNN *breath in* 𝔸𝔸𝕎𝕎𝕎 𝕋𝕆𝕆𝕎𝕎 𝔹𝔸𝔸𝔸𝔸𝔸𝔸𝕎𝕎𝕎𝕎ℕℕℕℕℕℕℕ 3.75
A very solid 3 though.
Iconic seminal album, on one side. Side one alone makes it 4****
Genre defining genius. Love it. I think I'd only ever listened to the short version of Autobahn before so I didn't realise how melodic the track is and how cleverly it uses repetition and melody to achieve its aim. Entrancing. Full of interest and a really interesting piece of music. Is it pop? Or rock? No, of course not. But it's brilliant. Hypnotic. Driving. Did I mention I like this? I listened to it two or three times and have done so again since. It's just mesmerising and full of interest. And sounds modern still - an album that's close to 50 years old. Side 2 is then full of melodies and electronic oddness. It's really interesting to hear the flute play such a key role on Morgenspaziergang, and both the Kometenmelodie are lovely pieces of music. And the oddness of Mitternacht seems like a bridge to early punk - look at what we can do in our basement... I need to unpack their earlier stuff and some of the related music. I get why some people don't like this. I get that it's easier to like Fleetwood Mac with "tunes" that you've heard on the radio all your life. But some of the 1 star reviews are hilarious and seem narrow minded. But, you know, I love this. I'll be driving most of the way across Germany in the summer and I already have this lined up to make an appearance on the soundtrack for that. Oh, this is good. Really good.
Felt like a European fever dream
Just not my vibe. But last track kinda hits
Love this
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
Watching paint dry
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
What a cool album! Really has some wild synths on this thing! I mean the first song??? Oh yeah fun fun fun on the Autobahn!! Have never heard of Kraftwerk before but this album was very solid!! Insane electronic music for being released in the 70’s! So so far ahead of its time and you can see the impact this had on new electronica.
The album that spawned a thousand imitators, and wholly unique for its time. Autobahn is driven, relentless, cold but weirdly beautiful.
Brilliant
Ground-breaking, seminal et cetera...
Built like an actual journey, from urban to country, this is a fascinating album, intriguing and engaging, groundbreaking.
This album feels like being stuck in a time vortex, but like... in a good way. It's like the musical equivalent of taking a wrong turn and now you're suddenly in a random Bulgarian village (population: 383). The people yearn for more albums of German people making funny noises.
Very pleasant. Wish there was more to it.
Wow! Legendary. What a powerful opener, I was engaged the entire time. And in 1974! This is crazy. The last piece is more along ambience, but electronic music in 1974 and it still rocks.
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
Sounds like the future in 2023 What must it have sounded like in 1974?
You can totally feel how this changed the gear of electronic music.
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
It is not good, it is IMPORTANT
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.
Not my favorite
Well this was something. I’m into prog rock so I was intrigued for the first 5-10 minutes. But it just turned into a bunch of noise and button pushing and Im convinced I could create something similar in my basement in an hour.
By the sounds of it, this album will get a lot of hate. I didn't hate it. I will never listen again, but it was good background music while working. I'd give it 2.5 of I could. Rounding down.
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!!!
If this album dropped thirty years earlier, Goebbels would have had a producer’s credit.
Alright, folks, let's talk about Kraftwerk's "Autobahn." This album might be considered a classic, but let me tell you, it's about as exciting as driving through Kansas - which is to say, not very exciting at all. The title track is 22 minutes long, which is longer than most people's attention span. It's like taking a long road trip with someone who won't shut up about their stamp collection. If you're looking for something to get you pumped up on your morning commute, "Autobahn" isn't it. It's more like elevator music for robots. And let's not forget about the album cover. It looks like it was designed by a first-grader with a ruler and a set of white and blue pencils. I mean, come on, guys, at least put in a little effort. Overall, if you're a fan of music that puts you to sleep, then "Autobahn" is the album for you. But if you're looking for something with a little more energy and excitement, you might want to look elsewhere.
If you started driving on the Autobahn and played this song, you’d 1000% reach the end of the autobahn before the track finished. This album is perfect for sketching drawings of what a Time Machine would look like. I actually have immense respect for what I heard on the album from these innovators. Incredibly experimental with combining sounds, and paving the way for those who came after. That said, I’ll never listen to this Miiternacht shit again. It’s fun to listen once and then melt this record down with a blow dryer. On the other hand, this laid the groundwerk for electronic music to flourish, and of course the first crack at it will sound rough by todays standards. Based on influence alone, this album has tremendous merit. Anyone who gave it a 1, shame on you! I’ll give it a 2
Not much to say... at best Kometenmelodie 2 kinda sounds like nice theme music for a 16-bit game. I wonder if I'd enjoy this more if I was a robot??
I am reasonably confident the inclusion of this album was an unfortunate typo. Apparently Tim Horton, Duke Ellington, and Nick Drake all died in 1974. I can only imagine they all died due to a broken heart from hearing this album. 1974 had the deadliest single airplane crash with no survivors in history, this is also likely due to this album. Trash
Sometime pioneers are dumb.
I became a fan of Kraftwerk about a year ago, but hadn't yet gotten to this album. Eventually I learned it was on this list so I just waited to get it. An opening 20 minute song, woof. Tracks longer than 5-6min annoy me to no end but I love Kraftwerk so...conundrum? This album was alright! I don't think I'd listen to it again as I prefer their later more "radio-friendly" stuff.
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.
Its their first album and the sound isnt very refined at this stage in their career.
Początki niemieckiej muzyki elektronicznej, absolutna klasyka. Powtarzalność i powolne rozwijanie tępa bardzo dobre do słuchania podczas pracy. Highlight: Autobahn
I had the first song stuck in my head for a bit, maybe because it was so long, but the rest of the songs I skipped so not sure why this was on this list besides it feeling like a kind of experiment.
Very nice! I've been looking forward to getting something from Kraftwerk, a name I've heard many times but with no music to associate. Very quirky electro-rock stuff, with at least some sense of humor - the title track, lyrically, is them just saying "we're driving, driving, driving on the Autobahn," and to us it just sounds like "fun, fun, fun at the Autobahn." That one long track, plus a few more experimental departures. Really great stuff, give us more like this. Favorite tracks: Autobahn, Mitternacht, Morgenspaziergang. Album art: The remastered cover is quite lacking, and the original is just a picture of cars on a road. Looks almost AI generated, but not in a way that's funky enough to be really interesting. Could've gone a lot more spacey or experimental here to match the vibes. I don't mind it though. 4/5
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
Fuck this
I'm not normally into electronic music, but I liked this a lot. It seemed to have more in common with progressive music, e.g. Pink Floyd, than with some of the later electronic music I've heard. The sounds are more organic sounding, there is a focus on melody and song structure versus just repetitious beats. Very nice! 4 stars.
This is crap
Pretty ok, the first song is a bit long but other than that i quite enjoyed having it on while doing something something else
This was not really fun, although it blended away in the background after a while
Autobahn is fun for a while, not for 22 minutes. Not much else on this album
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
Very good
7/10 solid music to wander around an airport to.
4/10. Why do I always listen to the really boring albums right after lunch?
I get that it was the 70s and some of this was ahead of its time but I really feel like this is just bad ambient music. Like, “fun fun fun on the autobahn” was the best you could think of?? 4/10
Hard to listen to modern EDM music and not respect the foundation that Kraftwerk laid down. Synths and dancehall beats are never going out of style. This is some of the first electronic music and it doesn't have all the polish sonically or structurally that would come later, so it's a little tough to listen to in stretches, but it's great to have on while you work or read. Good stuff! An extra star for being so far ahead of its time.
Autobahn makes edgar winter group's frankenstein seem like childs play synth. Apparently they even invented some electronic instruments, that's badass. Also this is an amazing tidbit I found on wikipedia... Chris Martin of Coldplay recalled in a 2007 article in Q magazine the process of requesting permission to use the melody from the track "Computer Love" on "Talk" from the album X&Y. He sent a letter through the lawyers of the respective parties and several weeks later received an envelope containing a handwritten reply that simply said "yes".[77]
I want to be reincarnated as a square wave
Not my type of music. And I did not like the German accented autobahn stuff.
The main track wasn’t bad. If anything, it was kind of entertaining. But the sounds of the others were much more annoying.
Haha I like Kraftwerk. I just find their songs funny.
Excepcional disco electrónico cuando la música punchi punchi era algo de otro planeta
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.
Nope, doesn't do it for me. I like (some) electronic music, and don't have anything against tracks over 20 minutes. But could just not get into this one. 1/5
4.2 + "Autobahn" is a symphony that takes you on a fast-paced car ride exploring this iconic highway both as a space of sunny optimism as well as one of dark menace.
- REVOLUTIONARY! - ICONIC! - PIONEERING! - SEMINAL! - A BIT BORING! Sounds like it was more fun to make than it is to listen to. I’m sure it opened the doors for other electronica to follow but it’s not great on the ears. I found the flute at the end refreshing.
The only redeeming factor about this record is that it sometimes sounded like music from a video game. Then again, if I wanted to listen to video game music I would just.. you know, play video games?
Not really my thing, you know?
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.
👌🏼👌🏼😎
Das Autobahn!
I hate this record. I hate nerds.
This album holds quite a lot of nostalgia for me, so that skews its rating up some. This was one I listened to a lot in the early 80s. I very much love the imagery that each of the pieces in this evokes. The title track has always been a favorite, conjuring up a car trip quickly passing through different environments along the highway. Then we go with a comet in the sky, amplified midnight noises, and a morning walk. All pretty perfect.
I have no problems with Kraftwerk and I have enjoyed becoming acquainted with some of their library of work. However, two albums within the same week seemed a bit out of balance and perhaps created an uphill battle to win my affections. They did it!
Very fun, especially for someone who doesn't like driving.
I’ve hear the short version of Autobahn before and enjoyed it, but it was nothing compared to driving down the highway today listening to the full 20 minute version! Really incredible how the song is constructed. I loved it so much! As the album progressed my love only grew. They paint amazing sound pictures on this album. The flute is wonderful. It might have even edged out The Man-Machine as my favorite from Kraftwerk.
yes, it´s iconic, but also boring
Great Kraftwerk album: superclassic, superinfluential, noting to add.
Normally this is not my preferred choice when I want to listen to some Kraftwerk, but I was pleasantly surprised when hearing Autobahn again. It was strangely emotive, even.
Fahren fahren fahren auf der Autobahn .. usw .. usw
mmm?
Psychological warfare
my notes didnt save but it was so funny turning on this album and hearing the #autobahn song decent atmospheric album 3.5
I know their supposedly revolutionary in the world of electro-music, but I just can’t get on board. Give me some crystal moccasins any day.
No big deal, it’s only an absolute masterpiece.
Notes - 4th album by electronic music band Kraftwerk - First half of the album is the 22 minute behemoth “autobahn” - Supposed to capture the feeling of driving on a long highway - Repeating melodies and baselines along with phaser-y synths to simulate cars driving by - Split into 4 or 5 sections - My personal favourite part starts at about 18 minutes in - This album was the first of theirs to incorporate vocals - Second half of the album is more atmospheric and textural Fav - Mitternacht - Really cool spooky sounds and noise Least fav - Kometenmelodie 1 - Really pretty but forgettable 4/5 - interesting! Could see myself listening to it again if the song autobahn wasn’t 22 minutes long
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.
Grandios. Das ertse Album elektronischer Musik, ein Vorreiter und Wegvorbereiter. Hört sich auch heute noch sehr gut.
Hyvää kuunneltavaa moottoritielle 👍 (Ei ehkä muualle)
While I can appreciate the electronic experimentation going on here, the LP is just too simple melodically to justify its track lengths or existence really. Not sure I would've been as accepting as I was with this one if it wasn't on as background music while I cleaned the house.
Есть такие альбомы, которые были записаны туеву хучу лет назад и являлись прорывными для того времени, но сейчас звучат посредственно и неинтересно. Данный альбом к ним не относится, ибо даже спустя почти что двадцать лет композиции здесь звучат свежо и интересно, особенно самый первый гигант на 20 с лишним минут. Да, я был слегка удивлён длиной трека, опять же, ввиду того, когда был написан этот альбом, но мне не привыкать, поэтому я не был разочарован. К тому же, он довольно хорошо спродюсирован, инструменты звучат очень органично и выстраивают очень приятный звук, нооо некоторым этот альбом может показаться затянутым, что, в принципе, я могу понять. Но в остальном этот альбом довольно хороший и интересный. (7.5)
I enjoyed it. It was weird. Not something I'd have picked out for myself. Reminds me of a movie scene where the main character is driving in the middle of the night with a purple sky and they're having a psychotic break.
Kraftwerk is a true pioneer of electronica/ambient and Autobahn was my introduction to them. I prefer their later work (Man Machine, Trans-Europe Express, Electric Cafe), in which they developed more energy and sonic exploration and has more of a dance/club vibe...but this first album should be heard, if for no other reason, for the classic track Autobahn. My favorite part of this album, though, was revealed after repeated listens and is Kometenmelodie 2....the more subdued track that precedes it (Kometenmelodie 1) creates a need for an emotional, musical release, which is delivered in part 2....particularly at the end....so stay with the track for that. Nice payoff. 3.8/5.0
Musical equivalent of motorways and architecture books.
Get how influential this is for electronic music, but personally it got a bit boring and was a slog come the end.
It’s really good, it just didn’t capture my attention while listening in the car. It’s super relaxing and I kept falling asleep to the beautiful instrumentals.
Wacky, didn't really like it but I can tell they were having a good time.
Sure. Visionary music from synthesizers and drum machines. The birthplace of EDM. Too bad I can't tell any of it apart.
Well, this stunk. Completely forgettable at best and downright annoying at worst. Tough to get through. The 22 minute opening track fails to justify it’s length while the remaining songs are just electronic garbage. 1/5
Megaklassiker! Likevel: mest kult som en låt her og der, for musikkhistorisk relevans, enn kult å høre på i timevis. Elektronisk musikk har heldigvis beveget seg masse.
Annoying
Una propuesta interesante... durante 2 minutos. El disco se vuelve monótono y termina aburriendo.
La pochette est malade. L’année est importante. Y’a des trucs intéressants.
"Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn". Pas le plus accessible de leurs albums, mais définitivement important. C'est quand même intéressant de savoir qu'au départ ils avaient enregistré le son des voitures sur l'autoroute pour la chanson et qu'au final, puisque la qualité était médiocre, ils ont dû reproduire l'effet des voitures avec les synthétiseurs. Je préfère l'album Man-Machine, mais cette écoute est essentielle. J'ajoute une étoile pour l'importance de l'album.
Even I can see how influential this is. The album grew on me as I went along with it. The chances I'll put this album on again one day are very slim though.
One of the things that listening to albums on this list has given me a better appreciation for is the history of electronic music. I think I would not have enjoyed this album nearly so much a year or two ago, but the significance of what Kraftwerk was doing in this period is much clearer to me now. I didn't like this album as much as Man-Machine, which leans a little more towards the pop music side of electronic music, but this album is really cool. It develops very slowly but methodically. The first song is the real treasure here, but the entire album is good. Absolutely iconic down to the cover art 4/5
‘twas okay
Nup Boring I just don't understand this The last track was almost pleasant, but.. nup
This one was pretty cool and had to be awesome during the 70s
I totally understand why this album is on the list, but it doesn't completely resonate with me. I'm sure the production was revolutionary for the time, but the world has caught up. Overall, not bad, probably revolutionary, but not something I would actively listen to again. Best Songs: Autobahn, Kometenmelodie 2, Morgenspaziergang Worst Songs: Kometenmelodie 1
Might have been groundbreaking at the time, but not all that amazing now
Enjoyed this, a lot more poppy than I expected. Definitely prefer their Neu! work but this stands up on its own. When it’s good, I loved it. A few drifty moments but when it hits form, it’s great. Prefer the man machine
I get what the album is trying to say and evoke in your mind and it does that pretty well. But I just didn't like it much. Highlight was Kometenmelodie 2 and some sections of title track. But other than that I was just hoping for it to move on. I guess my mind was also clouded from disappointment since I really enjoyed other Kraftwerk album I got earlier.
The one 'official' Kraftwerk album I don't own. 'Autobahn' was on the radio a fair bit when I was a child. Which, if you grew up where I grew up, you would acknowledge as being rather odd. On a different note. Ignoring the uselessness of the term as a taxonomy, never quite figured out why Germans aren't (or don't seem to be – I've asked a few) pissed off by the term 'krautrock'.
Er jo et sjukt album, på sin måte
whoa
Cool album, would give it a 3.5ish I think. I am sure it was groundbreaking in 1974
I do like Kraftwerk, but this is not my favorite. Still pleasant to listen to.
I’d go like 2.7 here. Autobahn was bangin but the others a bit too experimental for me. Definitely makes me want to listen to more kraftwerk though
Title song is brilliant. The others good.
A genuine album you should hear before you die. Efficient German electronic tunes and efficient German lyrics. The fact that this album has pretty much influenced every major genre of music should be reason enough to listen to it. The fact that it's actually brilliant is another reason. Best Tracks: Autobahn; Kometenmelodie 1; Kometenmelodie 2
A little on the fence on this one, which Like other Kraftwerk openings I heard a fair bit in my teens. I like the title track a lot, think it really does what it sets out to do, but the flip side never makes quite the impression.
This was very interesting. I might listen to it again.
Aware of but haven't owned this.
I prefer the other Kraftwerk stuff. Still very interesting.
A spacey electronic trip along Germany's famous highway and other locales.
Canciones demasiado largas
songs too dang long
Pretty boring. I thought kraftwerk were a lot darker than this for some reason.
Ehhhh....
Ross and his keyboard
Definitely worth a listen, sure it's very influential, can't see myself going back to it.
Quite enjoyed it.
It gets a bit samey but works alright in the background like a retro video game soundtrack.
I'm sure it was extremely innovative in 1974.... Not so much now. Don't mind it though
Kraftwerk pain and simple
"A family cannot survive on kraftwerk alone" the bible
vroom vroom
Very interesting album. Most of the record is the first song. It kind of just becomes noise after a certain amount of time. Its very experimental and different but that doesn't necessarily make it any good. Sure its interesting at points and the production can be cool, but most of the record just feels uninspired. Favorite Track: Kometenmelodie 2 Least Favorite Track: Autobahn
Auto ban från the server om du postar crubge
Daft Punk succeed in what eludes so many electronic artists: Making music that stands the test of time even as it’s technology becomes obsolete
Kova!
Classic kraut-rock, awesome!
good listen, very ahead of it’s time
Fun fun fun on the Autobahn for 22 minutes.
It's my 2nd time coming back to this album and it's much better now then at the very beginning of my music journey. Great synth work throughout the entire album.
Quite boring... fahr, fahr auf der Autobahn!
Tirando a Mike Oldfied, sorprendente. 4
Nice to get chance to go beyond the model. Wasn't what I was expecting. Kometenmelodie 2 was my fave
Fuck cars and fuck autobahns. I can’t believe there are three Kraftwerk albums on this list. Yes I know how influential they are, but almost every one of their students surpassed them as their music has the repetitiveness and the teeth of music written for toddlers.
really NOT my thing
可以说是很超前的电子乐了，充满了虚幻感，仿佛表达了宇宙的意识。刚开始给人一种迷幻的感觉，我相信可以启发一些人的思想，充满着未知与创造性，可受众面不会很广。但在电子乐的领域真的很强，可以给人带来一种不可言喻的升华。
You know, not bad for background noise.
Awesome in a chilled esoteric way. Ahead of their time. Definitely a chilled out sunset album
I really don't like this band... two albums by them is kinda painful.
Had me dreaming of electric sheep
This was like listening to the origin story of all the new wave bands I love.
Tranquilo de escuchar. Musicalmente parece música relajante. Sin estridencias. No aporta mucho
Not quite as good as the other Kraftwerk I've listened to (Trans-Europa Express) but it's still Kraftwerk and it's still great.
Not gonna lie I wasn’t expecting the first song to be 20 minutes.
Oh delicious Germans and their electronic synth proclivities. This is uber creative with ambient sounds and some orchestral accompanying the quirky, catchy and enjoyable. Still sounds and feels fresh.
Eh it was okay, a bit too long.
This was interesting as a historical listen, but there were some really rudimentary electronic experimentation moments that maybe don’t hold up as well. Also much less exciting than Can
Kraftwerk is what I would consider "good electronica" but then again there is no such thing as "good electronica" so still just not my thing.
Listened Before? N This was a fun early electronic album! Even though it was released in the 70's, it has a distinct 80's sound to it. I liked it quite a bit. I broke down and added the title track to my playlist even though its 23 minutes long. Oh well. Added to library? N Songs added to playlist: Autobahn
Me gustaría entender más kraftwerk
Très très très avant-gardiste, avec des sons très révolutionnaire. Pour 74, ça a extrêmement bien vieilli. Soit, il ya quelques sons encore un peu vieillot, mais il y a des trucs de 2010 qui ont tellement plus vieilli que Autobahn. Je m’attendais pas à 20 minutes en ouverture, mais ça passait comme du beurre. Ensuite les tracks se sont très bien suivi. Il ya juste Mitternacht qui tombe un peu sous le charme, mais le reste est excellent. Je recommande lol.
Yeah, progressing right along the autobahns of the world of Tron, where all the cars run on solar energy and drive themselves. But I’m actually more interested in what’s going on off the road, beyond the ditches and in the vast, dark forests of metal leaves that cut like razors.
Je pense que beaucoup d'entre vous savent que je parle un allemand impeccable.
Kraftwerk surprend une fois de plus: on ne s'attendait en effet pas à les voir se pointer une troisième fois dans la liste de Robert avec leur musique de merde.