Trans Europe Express
Kraftwerk
1977
Album Summary
Trans-Europe Express (German: Trans Europa Express) is the sixth studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk. Recorded in mid-1976 in Düsseldorf, Germany, the album was released in March 1977 on Kling Klang Records. It saw the group refine their melodic electronic style, with a focus on sequenced rhythms, minimalism, and occasionally manipulated vocals. The themes include celebrations of the titular European railway service and Europe as a whole, and meditations on the disparities between reality and appearance. Trans-Europe Express charted at 119 on the American charts and was ranked number 30 in The Village Voice's 1977 Pazz & Jop critics' poll. Two singles were released: "Trans-Europe Express" and "Showroom Dummies". The album has been re-released in several formats and continues to receive acclaim. In 2014, the Los Angeles Times called it "the most important pop album of the last 40 years".
WikipediaWhat an interesting album. I can see why it is one of the most influential albums in modern music history. Electronica vibes
Early electronica should always be celebrated. It’s the foundation for any synthesised music today. But this foundation has cracks...and their extremely repetitive and flakey. There is a solid compound in it’s mix yet nowhere near interesting enough to want to reapply once let alone over and over again. 1 Star!
Solidly boring. I see that it was made in 1977 so this may have been foundational to the music that I DO like but... I do not want to listen to this ever again haha.
What's not to love about Kraftwerk? Groundbreaking electronic music and German accents! I've been a fan since a very young age. The Siouxie and the Banshees version of "Hall of Mirrors" was an important moody college song, but sounds positively jaunty next to Kraftwerk's masterpiece of existential dread, which leads nicely to "Showroom Dummies." We are all showroom dummies; "we go into a club, and there we start to dance." I never had this album, but "Trans Europe Express" was on a Kraftwerk collection I had, and was always a favorite of mine with its funky train beat in the background and (retroactively) futuristic feel. On a sleek, high speed train of the future, speeding through the European landscape, I'm filled with ennui and angst under this façade I'm forced to wear. Timeless perfection.
It is such a great album and love the early electronics and rhythms, along with the German flair in Kraftwerk's vocals. Listening to this made me want to catch a train in the middle of the night in the city. A very essential listen. Trans Europe Express to Abzug was perfection and its chant felt like a powerful mantra. Have to say though, the German version was better and in partitcular, so were the live versions of Hall of Mirrors and Showroom Dummies in 1981. Fun Fact: Dr Dre playing a live version of Metal on Metal at the beginning of Defiant Ones effectively prescribed me to Kraftwerk and this album.
OK, I wrote my first review below but was still listening to it when driving across town. In the space of a mile, I encountered some staggeringly entitled arsehole drivers. I found that it actually was the perfect soundtrack to staring the patriarchy in the face with a cold, dead, unblinking stare. It's just gone from 1 to 4 stars. ---‐------------------------------------------- Yes, I know, massively influential on the electronic music genre. But this is the musical equivalent of eating 6 crackers without water. Joyless, functional and boring. I couldn't finish it. One star.
Kraftwerk opens this album with sparkly electronic synths reminiscent of 8-bit games that would later be invented years after its release. A display of their visionary status in the 1970s music industry milieu, 'Trans-Europe Express' (album) implements simple beats and minimal production that is perhaps more contemporary and innovative at the time. Despite this, Kraftwerk fundamentally misses the target - static and uniform composition that manages to revel only in its past glory, of being first to experiment with the digital medium.
1977 German techno sounds interesting just by the title, but honestly it's feckin boring. Couldn't finish
A little more in the way of vocals than the previous Kraftwerks album, still DEFINITELY not my thing though.
Really could not get through it. Understand why it was foundational for its time but unsure if it translates to anything interesting today. Did find out the melody from the title track was used in a Bollywood movie which was funny.
I like synth. I even like some Kraftwerk. But this album is so repetitive and boring that it was pretty hard to get through. There's a set of 3 songs that are actually the same song. Rough.
This one was challenging to listen to the whole album. Grinds a bit on the outside of my brain.
Sounds like someone dicking around on a keyboard. Almost ten minutes of this shit on the first song. Guh. Like is the fact they say "Europe. Endless." Over and over and play the same shit over and over for 10 fucking minutes supposed to be ironic? Or is it supposed to be a stab at coloratura? Europe is endless and so is this fucking song. I don't find this groundbreaking in anyway. It's sophomoric if you we're to ask me. Pedantic even. I'm not taking the right drugs. I've just seen there's a song called endless. I can't wait...
Tedious, sterile and joyless. I really don't understand the appeal of this music - except maybe as a background, ambient sound. Felt a lot longer than 43 minutes.
2 Kraftwek albums in a row.... Wtf are you doing to me. These sound exactly the same. Like crap.
I LOVE KRAFTWERK. So cool, different, electronic, but not overwhelming or too much. Genius. I discovered them playing in Vintage Vinyl one day and had to ask an employee who it was and bought the CD.
Liked this one a lot more; slowly building songs, somewhat repetitive but intricately great
I mean, I don’t hate electronica, and this is pretty decent so far. I don’t consider myself the biggest electronica fan, but I found this fairly enjoyable. It was not a pain to listen to at all.
One of the coolest albums ever. German version >> English version. Electronic ingenuity. 9-10/10 1. Trans Europa Express 2. Spiegelsaal 3. Schaufensterpuppen
Gran álbum que puedo apreciar como frecuente escuchador de tecno y deep house. Aunque también he de reconocer que no me lo puedo tomar en serio, es como música-meme. Chistosito, sobre todo la canción inicial la súper veo en un meme de gatitos tocando el synth. Mood: los supersónicos atienden al concierto de robotina.
Escuchar Kraftwerk no es sentarse a escuchar musica como haces siempre. Tenés que posicionarte en los 70 y mirar hacia este lado del charco. TEE se hizo cuando acá se cantaba pata pata la escena de la musica nacional se preparaba para explotar. Es inocente, despojada de complejidad y terriblemente exacta. Te dicen Kraftwerk y escuchás como suena y decis "si, a esto me suena la palabra Kraftwerk". Si bien no es mi disco favorito de ellos (Computerwelt y Die Mensch-Maschine por si se lo preguntan), es un disco mega significativo. La tematica de la musica es sobre cosas que cuando mirás para atrás suenan re simples y basicas, pero cuando lo contextualizas, tematizaban con la vanguardia de lo que estaba sucediendo. El Tour de France, la radioactiviad, un tren que cruza todo europa, robotica, computacion... De ahi viene la inocencia con la que hicieron musica y la forma en la que suena. Hoy pasarían como ringtones polifonicos. Inventaron la musica electronica. Sin ésto, no hay Tiesto, no hay David Guetta, no hay nada. And that's something. ...Que increible que en los 70's estos tipos hablaban de un tren que iba a pasar por todo un continente y acá seguimos discutiendo si la emision genera inflacion.
Otro disco que gasté. Hoy no estoy de humor para escucharlo. Me duele la cabeza y digamos que no colabora mucho a que se me pase. Gran disco igualmente. 9/10 ludomatics.
Lo escuché un poco a las apuradas, pero es una banda que me gusta Como dijo Betz es un gusto adquirido. Ideal también para trabajar, me permite concentrarme. 5 efes
Really innovative and fun. It's repetitive, but there are variations throughout. My five year old developed a dance to Trans Europe Express while wearing sunglasses. 5/5.
Stunning example of electronica. Completely game changing - who knew that Germans could be so cool ;)
Phenomenal, still comes in just behind Autobahn for my favourite of theirs but it's close.
Take a ride on the T.E.E. Express. It is retro, but also futuristic. It is idealistic but also kind of unsettling. It is a 10/10 but still not even my personal favorite Kraftwerk record. R.I.P. Florian Schneider
Beautiful sometimes uncomfortable listening. How can an album so subdued make me feel so anxious? The layered sounds, pioneering synth lines and monotone vocals of Trans-Europe Express are a master work. This is another album that is so influential I find it hard to imagine what it would have been like to be one of the artists inspired by it hearing it for the first time.
Iconic. Most people are not aware of Kraftwerk and their ground-breaking electronic style that wasn't really done. The inhumanness goes so far it wraps around and becomes somehow human. Only song I'm not a fan of is "Showroom Dumimes". 4.5 to 5.
This may be their most refined and engaging album. It feels very conceptually unified as they begin to focus more on something closer to pop song structures with lyrics, at least on Side A. The fluid 3-track song suite of Trans Europe Express / Metal on Metal / Abzug on Side B is like a mini railway version of their masterpiece Autobahn, but with a much funkier beat. Quite a ride. This album is also a big step for them in becoming the robots they were destined to be in Showroom Dummies. And I must say I geek out every time when they name check their real life rendezvous with Bowie and Iggy on the title track. Absolutely historic. They were electronic music pioneers who were so far ahead of their time that they were essentially in a league of their own. You may not dig their schtick, hell, you may not even care for electronic music whatsoever, but, like it or not, these affectless Germans changed the sonic possibilities for music across multiple genres, some of which they nearly single handedly created. Hard to pick a favorite album by them but this just may be it for me.
I don't know why but I love this album. It's great. Fun sounds, cool german accents saying the same words over and over again. So amazing! I think my favourite tracks are Europe Endless and The Hall of Mirrors.
fucking amazing electronic I love Kraftwerk favorite song is probably Showroom Dummies, but the whole album’s great - 10/10
OK so I'm dumb. For the longest time I thought kraftwerk was that shitty joke from the eric Andre show. But that's kraft punk. I'm smart. But this album is amazing. It's so ahead of its time it isn't even funny. I will save this one for now and check out the whole kraftwerk catalog.
Not something I'd choose to listen to but probably good to have on the background while working.
Was initially thinking 3 stars during a background listen, but put it on again and paid slightly more attention and definitely bumping it up to 4. It's been so massively influential on a bunch of genres I like. To quote from a Drowned in Sound review quoted on Wikipedia, it's "all at once antique, timeless, retro and contemporary". Fave track - the whole of side 2! 🚅
No me queda sino imaginar solamente cómo sonó esto en su momento. Aun hoy, me gusta prácticamente todo. El minimalismo y la repetición de las vocales le dan un aire todavía más artificial, ese sonido "robótico" con el que se ubica a Kraftwerk. Un pensamiento random, me gusta mucho, pero siento que si estuviera atrapado en algún lugar con solamente esta música, sentiría miedo rápido (?). Creo que mis beats favoritos están en "Trans-Europe Express", "Metal on Metal" y pues qué linda "Franz Schubert". 9/10
Production: 17/20 Songwriting: 12/20 Innovation: 19/20 Bangers: 10/20 Emotional response: 16/20 =64 Awesome sauce.
Otra banda que nunca había escuchado pero esta vez sí fue algo a conciencia jajaja Kraftwerk para mí siempre fue música de gente cool y a ese mundo yo no pertenezco. Ahora que tuve la ocasión de escucharlos, sigo con la misma idea (?). Es un disco muy conceptual que, en ese sentido, lo siento lejano a mí, pero de todas formas sí me gustó, aunque no sabría poner en palabras por qué.
I would play this album again. The last 4 tracks, from "Metal on Metal" through "Endless Endless", was may favorite portion of the album. The first track, "Europe Endless", felt like the typical sound from Kraftwork to me (in a good way). Track 2, "The Hall of Mirrors", was the weakest spot for me on the album. Perhaps this was because of the almost spoken word portions. "The Hall of Mirrors" wouldn't prevent me from putting this album on again. Between 3.75 and 4.25
Parts of this album really blew me away. Some of it was repetitive to be sure, but there was a level of energy that was constant throughout that kept me hooked. I really enjoyed this.
interesting to 1. realize more songs than I know are covers of albums i didn't know. 2. listen to early electronica and see how that comes through in more recent music 3. realize I love the the mild german-accent in english. 4. realize that my only impression of kraftwerk was based on the name, and that conjured a very different sound that reality.
The grandfathers of electronic rock music. Lots of very familiar beats with moody Eurocentric lyrics. Album has a great flow but some of the tracks are very long and repetitive, even if the motifs never really get boring.
Een gezelliger album dan ik van Kraftwerk herinner. De moeite waard om nog eens te luisteren.
Another really great album from Kraftwerk. I think I like this one a bit better than The Man Machine actually, especially in the vocal department.
This felt "milder" than The Man-Machine album that came up from Kraftwerk already. Maybe more song/melody oriented? Fairly laid back.
Light on vocals, heavy on synthesizers. I can get behind this. I hope I listen to more Kraftwerk. Maybe I will. I probably won't. But it would definitely make me cooler. Great music for chugging away at work. Highlights: The feeling of listening to the same drum beat and synth sounds for 6+ minutes, and how that lures you into a trance.
8/10, spacey, repetitive in the best way possible, very forward thinking, very good. v good.
I grew up listening to Kraftwerk and it shaped my musical taste profoundly. They were so innovative in the 70s that this sound must have blown everyone’s mind. However the irony is that because they were so influential that you hear this style almost everywhere now so the their unique groundbreaking sound is lost on most new listeners. This album is great but I think Man Machine and Computer World are better so it only gets a 4 from me.
I remember watching a hip-hop documentary a few years back and they highlighted Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock” which samples “Trans-Europe Express” quite liberally. (IMO it’s the only part of the song worth listening to). They went on to claim that this song, especially that sample, launched electro-boogie in the 90s. I remember saying to my co- judge that without Kraftwerk, no one would have heard of Afrika Bambaataa. Maybe an overstatement, but he was one of so many artists were influenced by the Kraftwerk sound. When I listen to “Hall of Mirrors” and “Showroom Dummies”, I can hear a lot of new wave/post punk bands like OMD and Simple Minds. That said, the title track runs on a bit. If you count all 3 parts, it's something like 13 minutes.
Good job it wasn't the Trans UK Express or it would have been overpriced, delayed, busy and the toilets would have been horrible. AMIRIGHT?
There were a few moments on here that really shone- the instrumental intro really stands out. At its best it sounded like the soundtrack for an indie. Still, the vocals and lyrics were both really weak and uninspired, and I feel that it got repetitive in the middle section so I didnt really enjoy listening to it that much. I can see how it was really influential in the development electronic music, so I’ll be generous and give it a 7/10
4.0 + It's impossible to hear those first synth strains on "Europa Endlos" and not feel a swell in my chest! It makes me nostalgic for that optimistic vision of a united Europe that was going to advance humanity towards greater prosperity, peace and peace. Having listened to the English and German versions, I prefer the latter. “Schaufensterpuppen” sounds cooler than “Showroom Puppets.” Kraftwerk’s efficient and minimal production is on display, though sometimes the repetition of song elements feels “endless endless.”
That's why we had synth-pop in the 80s, techno in the 90s and glitch in the 00s. And today Nintendocore. One of the first albums that charmed me with robotic rhythms and mechanical melodies. (8/10) Favourite Songs: Europa Endlos, Franz Schubert
I could see why this wouldn't be for everyone, but i loved it. The second half was particularly good. The vocals were hit or miss for me, but i loved these sparse, iterative electronic arrangements throughout
When I first got into music I was really into synth sounds. Early computer music (Commodore 64) and synthy TV themes from shows like Doctor Who and The Tomorrow People really appealed to young me and started me on a path of musical discovery that still continues today. You can imagine then how excited I was when I first heard Kraftwerk. I think it was even one of their stronger albums that I first heard but it hooked me right away. This album is one of their greats and really pushed the boundaries of synth music at the time. I like side 2 a little more than side one, especially the Trans Europe song cycle.
A total classic! Really enjoyable listen despite some of the tracks being quite repetitive.
Always always love Kraftwerk. This album is not their best one, but I love a lot of the melodies. I think I like the German language one better (fyi: every single Kraftwerk song has a German language version). The main "Trans Europe Express" melody gets over-used a lot by the end. Still a damn good time and my ears are happy.
There's nobody that quite sounds like Kraftwerk. This is another of those bands that I appreciate and respect more than like. They're good. They're unique. They're interesting. And yet... Their music doesn't make me FEEL anything. I never have the thought, "Oh, I should listen to some Kraftwerk." This album is good. I have a hard time distinguishing between songs but I can tell that things change now and then. I find the affectless German thing quite charming and some lines stick in my head (We look around and change our pose.) I wasn't wishing for it to end but I wasn't all that disappointed when it was over, ya know? Normally, this kind of review would mean a 3-star rating from me but I'm bumping it up to 4 stars because, although I don't love them, my husband does and he doesn't love many things and so the fact that he loves Kraftwerk DOES make me feel something...happy.
Really love the early synthesizer sound. Europe Endless is my fav. Great background music (which I guess is what ambient type music tries to be). Rating gets docked for lacked of diversity...too much of the album is just a riff on the TEE staple. 4/5
Kraftwerk are pioneers of the electronic music scene and any of their albums merits a spot on this list, without a doubt! The core of the album is the openning track (Europe Endless), and then tracks 4 through 8 ('Trans-Europe Express' through 'Endless Endless'). If you consider those 6 tracks alone and played in order, it's really two musical movements. When I listen to those 6 songs together, I hear it like a musical interpretation of a trans-european train ride. The themes slowly ebb and flow, much like the scenary would out the window of the train. Where you end is much like where you started, but there is just enough variation to make it feel all its own. The other two tracks ('The Hall of Mirrors' and 'Showroom Dummies') are more like single b-sides that were tossed into the album. The seriousness of 'The Hall of Mirrors' stands in sharp contrast to the nearly humourous 'Showroom Dummies'. Both are enjoyable tracks, but they seem a bit out of place. This album provides a great trip through the state of the art for early days electronic music.
un viaggio, minimale, con uno zaino, in giro per l'Europa, con quei due amici inseparabili. così vedo nella mia mente questo disco
Kraftwerk are the great pioneers of electronic music, weaving their synthesizers, vocoders, and electric drums to make the sounds of the future, and this album demonstrates that in spades. Intrinsically unique is the group's background, growing up in a unique musical vacuum post-WWII. This pushed Kraftwerk to innovate and developed the gran new genre of Electronic music, embracing the cold, calculated sounds of synthesizers. I love the little ambient arpeggiated synth line in "Spiegelsaal" especially, so cool. There's also Iggy Pop and David Bowie influence on this album, but it's a lot more subtle than other contemporaries of the 70's.
Sometimes when I listen to Kraftwerk they sound to silly for me, and the album started that way, but they really had me in a trance by the end. The friendliest most seductive robots.
I had to listen several times before I could decide what to make of it. It’s not immediately engaging but after a while it becomes quite mesmerising/almost hypnotic.
Smá legacy bónus hér á ferðinni, er betri í sögulegu samhengi en úr því. En samt ánægjuleg hlustun heilt á litið, og titillagið er frábært.
Beautifully krafted werk! Have never listened to Kraftwerk album before.This felt like a symphony for celebration of Europe constructed on a synth. Really innovative and enjoyable record. Strong 4 to Light 5. Most Favourite tracks: Europe Endless The Hall of Mirrors Trans-Europe Express Franz Schubert
Listened to the German version. I liked it a lot, it pulled me in and felt shorter than it is.
Un dels pics de la protoelectrònica. 'Europe Endless' i el tema títol són dos dels grans temes que donarien força al génere als seus albors. Però és 'Hall of Mirrors' on excel.leixen; tema hipnòtic amb una melodia brillant que tal com la vesteixen t'acaba absorbint per complet. Molt a prop de les 5 estrelles
Solid. I do enjoy Euro electronic. You can clearly hear the influence they’ve had on the genre
Okay yeah this album is pretty amazing. I would do a 4.5 if I could, but since I can't, I rounded down in order to preserve the integrity of 5/5. Considering individual tracks (which is maybe not a great thing to do for an album like this, but nevertheless): -Spiegelsaal is my favourite track. Very cool. -Schaufensterpuppen is great, but it is an obvious ripoff of t.A.T.u's song "They're Not Gonna Get us". Very disappointing that Kraftwerk would stoop to thievery. -Abzug is maybe the only track that didn't do it for me.
The motifs are super catchy on this album, and the songs are quite hypnotic. It's of course very repetitive but feels more carefully structured musically and conceptually than Autobahn for example, which veered off after the title track for me. There's also much more of an emotional range than you get with most Kraftwerk, even though it's still veiled by this robotic coldness
Such a classic, influential album. Not something I listen to regularly, but when I do I am impressed every time. Any fan of electronic music should listen to this!
I really loved this and can’t believe this was 1977. Hearing the sounds that influenced so many of my favorite 80s bands was a real treat.
Another album my brother turned up with in the 80s, no clue how he got onto them. I listened to it quite a bit, over 30 years ago, and not at all since. Surprised to find I remembered it very well, and I think that lasting impression says something about it. It really is iconic, and was a big part of so many foundations of electronica that were set down around those times. I have to dun it slightly for the lyrics being so mundane, even though I think this is an intentional choice.
Inspirational. It’s incredible a couple of people created these sounds almost out of nowhere. I respect what Kraftwerk was able to do, but not my style
Kraftwerk proves how to make good train station music. Favorites: "Europe Endless", "The Hall of Mirrors", "Trans-Europe Express"
One of the building blocks of electronic music as it exists today. Through repetition and careful choice of effects and arrangements, there arises an interesting texture that really does replicate traveling through Europe via train.
Como siempre pasa, viendolo a la distancia suena como un disco muy experimental, de todos modos es un gran disco.
4 The dudes at Green Light are huge Kraftwerk fans so I’d heard a few albums in the background working or whatever but I never ended up listening to them on my own. I know how influential Kraftwerk was to house and techno music because of how many artists credit them, hell you can absolutely hear Daft Punk in a lot of this. However when this album first started I was worried again. Worried about an experimental boop boop album with little variety. What I got was a lot more entertaining. The songs definitely ran long but a lot of times I didn’t notice and was surprised that it’d been 7+ minutes. My only complaint is that it could benefit from a low end rework. It’s a little sharp on the ears. Maybe also that I keep thinking the cover is a golf club. The worlds this album took my imagination to were fun, vibrant and a little spooky. Def going to look into these guys more. Turns out the dudes at Green Light know what they’re talking about sometimes. Favorites: Europe Endless, Hall of Mirrors, Showroom Dummies, Trans-Europe Express, Endless Endless
I don’t have much to say about this that I didn’t say about their other albums. Their music aged gracefully because they played to the strengths of the technology rather than using it to try and replace traditional instruments
Was pretty stoked for this one after having The Man Machine a few months back. I wouldn’t say it disappointed because I still enjoyed most of it, but one or two of the tracks on the back half didn’t quite have much punch for me. 7/10
A little too repetitive for my taste (ironically) but it makes good background working music.
An album carried a bit by the quality of its first song, but it's so ahead of its time that you can't help but admire it.
that little repetitive beep beep beep pissed me off so samey the whole way through. but kind of enjoyed it
A little sparse for my taste, but it's interesting to hear the samples used and the influence on later music.
It is electronic. Nice to explore another genre, though admittedly it was pretty repetitive and i couldn't figure out what makes it compelling. Nothing too catchy or gets you moving. Still fine, nothing to push the listener away.
I thought it was decent enough electronica, but I couldn't really get into it. I wouldn't mind having it on in the background, but it felt rather repetitive at times.
I ugly cried to this one... I don't think this was related to the music, but it was a somewhat co-ordinating sound for a weird lash out... forever cherised
An important, minimal, almost bare bones effort. The shape of magnificent things to come but just not quite there yet.
this is a lot like riding a train, it's a lot of the same thing for longer than you really want it to be.
Listening today it’s all just a wee bit flat and tedious. That might appear sacrilegious but it doesn’t change my respect and appreciation for the importance of this album.
A beyond important project. I’m not too well acquainted with early electronic works. Besides a few acts. But the LP is a illuminating journey into the synthesized world of Kraftwerk. Plunky at moments but the allure and entrancement of such early use of a technology is there.
To be honest, this album is kind of boring. Very minimalistic, with songs that chug along repetitively. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s a landmark of electronic music, but I’m not going to sit and listen to this every day.
I set out wanting to hate this album, but I really don't. The instrumental pieces just kinda sound like my kids are playing video games in the next room and sounds (at first) like something I could recreate in Garage Band in about five minutes. But - to my surprise - the vocals actually make these seem more like songs, not just guys playing with the synth buttons on their Casios. And - this clearly influenced a lot of popular 80s music and there are remnants of it in more recent bands (Daft Punk). I don't hate it like I thought it would, but it's still not really my bag. "Showroom Dummies" is cool. Ends on a real weird 0:56 song.
The opening track is great. It's insane to think that this was released in 1977 which is the same year The Clash and The Sex Pistols' released their first (only) album. Meanwhile, in 1977 the bars I was going to preferred to play that other 1977 release: Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever. It sucks to be us! Hall of Mirrors follows and seems a little off tempo. Perhaps if I didn't listen to Siousie & The Banshees' amped up cover version first I would not think this. Kinda like how I started thinking Paul Anka's My Way was a little off tempo after hearing Sid's cover. The tempo picks up again with Showroom Dummies and the title track starts off Side 2 and keeps the goodness going. Then, much to my surprise, Franz Schuber starts. Did I lose two songs somewhere? One could say this now sounds dated, but these guys deserve kudos for bringing out these tunes in the late 70s so I feel one of their offerings should get bonus points. Arguably a subsequent album (such as Man-Machine) is more deserving.
5/10. I do not want to hear the words Tran Europe Express chanted at me ever again. Based on the title, I would have thought metal on metal would have been the most grating sounding song, but actually one of the more pleasant because I didn't have to listen to them chanting some bullshit. Still, looking past the speaking bits, the music was pretty enjoyable.
Kraftwerk is a fascinating band. Sometimes I kinda like how primitive this sounds, other times it’s kinda cheesy. Sometimes this album is calming, sometimes it’s claustrophobic. This album is basically a soundtrack to a doc that doesn’t exist about the dangers of urbanization in Europe. It’s fascinating to think about what it must’ve been like to be born in Germany at the end of or right after WWII and then come of age and be like “wait…we did WHAT?!” It’s also interesting to think of how much music might not have existed if it weren’t for Kraftwerk.
I can appreciate how ahead of its time it was, but it sounds a little cheesy today. Decent.
Interesting sound. I had no idea who these guys were but apparently they're set to join the rock and roll hall of fame. I'm not sure I'd go that far but they have some catchy beats. I think I could probably play this as background music for a party or get-together and it wouldn't seem out of place. Not sure I could wear out a cd listening to it though. Europe Endless sort of epitomized the whole album - cool underlying beat but annoying high-pitched or distorted synth layered in. Interesting that Trans-Europe Express mentions David Bowie because I was thinking this wasn't far off from some of his "artistic expression". Not sure who inspired who. Definitely grateful I got exposed to this album and these guys, but not going to be my go to.
Have never listened to Kraftwerk before. I get where they have influenced a number of different acts, and Bowie was so big on them in the 70s. But those first couple of tracks went on WAY too long. They easily could have cut out a minute or two from each. I started to think of it as just pretentious, but I eased up and kind of “got” what they were going for. But those first few should have been trimmed, especially “Hall of Mirrors,” by at least a verse. Yikes.
I can see where 90s 16 bit games got inspiration from Cracking instrumentals and soundscopes!
It's Kraftwerk. Music by robots for us. Or is it music by humans for robots? Or are we all robots? I don't know. It's electronic bubbling with efficient and stern German vocals. Best Tracks: Europe Endless; Trans-Europe Express; Metal on Metal
I have only heard a song here and there from Kraftwerk, mostly from college friends' mixtapes back in the 80s and 90s. But that and Sprockets on Saturday Night Live were enough to give me an idea of what might be in store here... As anticipated TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS is a musical journey, long on electronic music with limited, repetitive lyrics and melodies. At times this album felt almost like a parody - then I remember that this was released in 1977 and realize that this is the source from whence those parodies sprang. "Europe Endless" takes us out of the station and rapidly zipping across the continent. The first station stop along the way is a meditative one. The reflective "The Hall of Mirrors" juxtaposes our watching ourselves with being watched by others in "Showroom Dummies." Back on the train, "Trans Europe Express" chugs out of the station and continues our journey. "Metal on Metal" continues the song - you can practically hear the train whistles. When "Abzug" starts I realize that we are still on "Trans Europe Express" despite the new song title. These three songs blend together without breaks in the music or the theme. "Franz Shubert" is a welcome change of pace after the previous song trilogy. It's a simple but very meditative song that I found not unpleasant. Like the previous three songs, this blurs seamlessly into "Endless Endless". It seems that our journey will go on... At times this album had me looking over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't being pranked, but the repetitious patterns in the songs became strangely soothing. Once one separates the memes that followed from the original, Kraftwerk's huge contribution to electronic music pull into sharp focus. I enjoyed taking this journey, but like a journey across Europe likely won't be making this a daily commute. Still it might make for great meditation or to lull you away from waking life.
U 8-bit vlaku prolazim kroz polja Europske prirode. :) ENO TULIPANI! PRODUŽIT ĆEMO ONDA DO FRANCUSKE DO BIG SERPENTA PA MALO ISTRAŽIT. Da, to su mi želje.
TRANS. EUROPE. EXPRESS! Men se sviđa ovaj album, općenito oni su pojava. Drugačiji su bili, glavni u ovom pokretu glazbe. Elektrosintpopičko stvaranje uz mrvice techna. Sitnica koja mi se sviđa u vezi albuma je to što je kraj albuma povezan sa početkom albuma. Isto tako podsjeća na Pink Floydovog Zidnog albuma. Pa kaže: TRANS. EUROPE. EXPRESS.
Very interesting look into the then-emerging euro electronic music vibe of the late 1970s. Very omnious and creepy sounding at parts, I can understand why people may have felt off or uncomfortable with the sound. At times minimalist and very formulaic with lots of four-loops and subtle changes and additions to the loop.