Track Listing

1. Europe Endless
2. The Hall Of Mirrors
3. Showroom Dummies
4. Trans-Europe Express
5. Metal on Metal
6. Franz Schubert
7. Endless Endless

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60935 in Music
• Released on: 1995-09-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .19 pounds

Amazon.com
It's ironic that electronica's forefathers include two German bands whom, at least on the surface, were polar opposites. On the one hand, there was Can--shaggy, Stockhausen-trained advocates of trance improvisation--and on the other, Kraftwerk: clean-cut control freaks and masters of the pristine machine groove. Yet, even at their most robotic, Kraftwerk manages to locate the soul of the machine, as they demonstrate throughout this 1977 outing. Hell, the mannequin manifesto "Showroom Dummies" alone is worth the price of admission. For a band so closely tied to technology, it's a testament to Ralf and Florain that their music continues to sound fresh more than two decades down the autobahn. --Bill Forman

Customer Reviews

A Truly Beautiful Album
When one hears that Kraftwerk uses basically all computers and synthesisers to make their msic, you might expect a very jagged and metalic sound. Trans - Europe Express, however, is suprisingly beautiful and very melodic. This album proves that Kraftwerk weren't just brilliant musical engineers and sound creators, but also incredible musically. This is Kraftwerk at their best. All the songs are great and flow beautifully. My personal favorites are Europe Endless and the title track. After almost 25 years, this album still sounds like it was made in the future. Trans - Europe Express is, at least, a very interesting album to listen to and at most a brilliant album, mixing melody with technology.

Beware - This version is dubbed from an LP!
Years ago I purchased the EMI version of Trans Europa Express and have enjoyed it so much I decided to add the Capitol version to my last shopping cart so I culd have the English lyrics. When I played it I noticed lots of low-frequency rumble, especially on the first track - Europe Endless. I popped the EMI version in and it is totally quiet! I guess for $10.98 you get what you pay for but I find this recording unacceptable so I ordered the $15.98 version to see if the problem disappears. Here are the details of the "flawed" version:

Audio CD (September 26, 1995)
Original Release Date: 1977
Number of Discs: 1
Format: Original recording remastered
Label: Capitol
ASIN: B00000DQSZ

A masterpiece with truly global influence.
Somewhere between the technologically pioneering `Autobahn' in 1974 and the commercial success of `The Man Machine' came the highly accomplished and massively influential `Trans-Europe Express' (TEE).

Not only did this spur many embryonic British acts to use synthesizers heavily in their more commercial efforts (Depeche Mode and The Human League amongst many) it also provided inspiration - and illegally used samples - for urban black America. It thus provided British groups with the means to retain musical domination globally in the early eighties AND provided the Americans with the means to take over as rap, hip-hop and techno all emerged. Besides, the track pairing of TEE and `Metal On Metal' ran long enough to allow a DJ time to go to the toilet and the bar before having to change the record.

The lyrics are sparse, correctly allowing the music to dominate, but even `Showroom Dummies' caused Debbie Harry to comment that it was "a song I can really relate to." `The Hall Of Mirrors' similarly reflects on fame; TEE mentions other artists that had been drawn to Germany to record at that time - David Bowie and Iggy Pop.

I keep trying to convince myself it must sound really dated by now, but both the electronics and the tunes they make stand the test of time and remain atmospheric today. I rate this one of the three best, most influential albums of all time, with `Sgt. Pepper' and `Velvet Underground and Nico' for company. A must for music historians and true pop fans.