Trans-Europe Express (album)

1977 studio album by Kraftwerk

Trans-Europe Express

German album cover

Studio album by

Kraftwerk

Released| March 1977 (1977-03)
Recorded| 1976
Studio| Kling Klang (Düsseldorf)
Genre|

* Electronic
* synth-pop
* experimental pop
* avant-garde[1]

Length| 42:45
Label| Kling Klang
Producer|

* Ralf Hütter
* Florian Schneider

Kraftwerk chronology
| Radio-Activity
(1975)  | Trans-Europe Express
(1977)  | The Man-Machine
(1978)

|
|

Alternative cover

Cover used on most international editions

Singles from  Trans-Europe Express

1. "Trans-Europe Express"
Released: 22 April 1977
2. "Showroom Dummies"
Released: 26 August 1977[2]

Trans-Europe Express (German: Trans Europa Express) is the sixth studio album by German band Kraftwerk. Recorded in 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 as one of the best albums of the 1970s and of all time.[3][4][5] In 2014, the Los Angeles Times called it "the most important pop album of the last 40 years".[6]

## Background

[edit]

Kraftwerk performing in Zürich on 10 March 1976, before starting production on Trans-Europe Express

After the release and tour for the album Radio-Activity, Kraftwerk continued to move further away from their earlier krautrock style of improvised instrumental music, refining their work more into the format of melodic electronic songs.[7] During the tour for Radio-Activity, the band began to make performance rules such as not to be drunk on stage or at parties. Karl Bartos wrote about these rules, stating that "it's not easy to turn knobs on a synthesizer if you are drunk or full of drugs. ... We always tried to keep very aware of what we were doing while acting in public."[7] During this tour, early melodies that would later evolve into the song "Showroom Dummies" were being performed.[8]

In mid-1976, Kraftwerk began to work on the album which was then called Europe Endless.[9][10] Paul Alessandrini suggested that Kraftwerk write a song about the Trans Europ Express to reflect their electronic music style. Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider met with musicians David Bowie and Iggy Pop prior to the recording, which influenced song lyrics. Maxime Schmitt encouraged the group to record a French language version of the song "Showroom Dummies", which led the group to later record several songs in French. The album was recorded at Kling Klang Studio in Düsseldorf.[10] Artistic control over the songs was strictly in the hands of members Hütter and Schneider, with Bartos and Wolfgang Flür contributing sequenced electronic percussion.[11] Kraftwerk went to railway bridges to listen to the sounds the train would actually produce. The group found the sound the train made was not danceable and changed it slightly.[12]

## Recording

[edit]

An important piece of new equipment used on the album was the Synthanorma Sequenzer, a customized 32-step 16-channel analog sequencer made for the band by Matten & Wiechers.[13][14][15][16][17] This allowed the construction of more elaborate sequenced synthesizer lines, which are featured prominently in the tracks "Franz Schubert" and "Endless Endless",[18][19] and liberated the player from the chore of playing repetitive keyboard patterns.

Whereas Radio-Activity had featured a mixture of German and English lyrics throughout the album, Trans-Europe Express went further and was mixed as two entirely separate versions, one sung in English, the other in German. At the recommendation of Maxime Schmitt, a French version of the song "Showroom Dummies", titled "Les Mannequins", was also recorded. "Les Mannequins" was the group's first song in French and would influence decisions to record songs in French on later albums.[9] After recording the album in Düsseldorf, Hütter and Schneider visited Los Angeles to mix the tracks at the Record Plant Studio.[10] Elements of the mixing sessions that were done in Los Angeles were dropped from the album, including the use of more upfront vocals in order to do more mixing in Düsseldorf and Hamburg later.[20][21]

## Artwork

[edit]

The artwork for the album cover of Trans-Europe Express was originally going to be a monochrome picture of the group reflected in a series of mirrors. This idea was dropped for a photo by New York-based celebrity photographer Maurice Seymour, with the group dressed in suits to resemble mannequins.[22] J. Stara's image of the group was taken in Paris and is a highly retouched photo-montage of Kraftwerk from their shoulders up again posed as mannequins which are shown on the cover of the English version of the album.[22][23] On the inside sleeve, a color collage of the group sitting at a small cafe table designed by Emil Schult was used. The photo for this scene was from the session by Maurice Seymour, taken on the group's American tour. Other photos were taken by Schult that show the group laughing and smiling. These were not used for the album's release.[23]

## Composition

[edit]

Wolfgang Flür has stated Kraftwerk were influenced by the music of the Weimar Germany era: "we were children who were born straight after World War Two ... we had no musical or pop culture of our own ... there was the war, and before the war we had only the German folk music. In the 1920s or 1930s melodies were developed and these became culture that we worked from".[24] Karl Bartos also spoke of post-war influence as the group thought that they "had this development in the 1920s which was very, very strong and was audio visual. We had the Bauhaus school before the war and then after the war we had tremendous people like Karlheinz Stockhausen and the development of the classical and the electronic classical. This was very strong and it all happened very close to Düsseldorf in Cologne and all the great composers at that time came there."[12] Paul Alessandrini is credited for helping contribute to the album's concept. Alessandrini told Hütter and Schneider that "with the kind of music you do, which is kind of like an electronic blues, railway stations and trains are very important in your universe, you should do a song about the Trans Europe Express".[25] Kraftwerk believed critics in the United Kingdom and the United States associated them with Nazi Germany, with tracks such as "Autobahn" inextricably linked with the Nazis who built the high-speed roads in the 1930s and 1940s. At the same time, the band were keen to move away from their German heritage towards a new sense of European identity and felt that the Trans-Europe Express could be used to symbolize this.[12] AllMusic referred to Trans-Europe Express as a concept album with two different themes. The first being the disparities between reality and image, represented by the songs "Hall of Mirrors" and "Showroom Dummies", and the others about the glorification of Europe.[26] Slant Magazine described the album as "a sonic poem to Europe".[27]

The musical style of Trans-Europe Express was described by AllMusic as melodic themes which are "repeated often and occasionally interwoven over deliberate, chugging beats, sometimes with manipulated vocals" and "minimalism, mechanized rhythms, and crafted, catchy melodies".[26] The music has been categorized as electronic pop,[6] synth-pop,[28] and experimental pop.[29] Hütter has commented on the minimalist nature of the album, stating that "If we can convey an idea with one or two notes, it is better than to play a hundred or so notes".[25] The first side of Trans-Europe Express has three songs. The song "Hall of Mirrors" has been described as containing deadpan vocals with lyrics that speculate how stars look at themselves in a looking glass.[9] Hütter and Schneider have described the song as autobiographical.[9] The third track "Showroom Dummies" was described by AllMusic as "bouncily melodic in a way that most of Trans-Europe Express isn't" and with lyrics which are "slightly paranoid".[30] The idea for the song came from Flür and Bartos being compared to showroom dummies in a British concert review. Some versions of the song contain a spoken introduction starting with a count-in of "eins zwei drei vier" as a parody of the band Ramones who started some songs with a quick count-in of "one two three four".[9] The second side of Trans-Europe Express is a suite with "Trans-Europe Express" continuing through to "Metal on Metal" and "Franz Schubert" before closing with a brief reiteration of the main theme from "Europe Endless".[31] AllMusic described the musical elements of the suite as having a haunting theme with "deadpan chanting of the title phrase" which is "slowly layered over that rhythmic base in much the same way that the earlier 'Autobahn' was constructed".[31] The song's lyrics reference the album Station to Station and meeting with musicians Iggy Pop and David Bowie.[32] Hütter and Schneider had previously met up with Bowie in Germany and were flattered by the attention they received from him.[33] Ralf Hütter was interested in Bowie's work as he had been working with Iggy Pop, who was the former lead singer of The Stooges; one of Hütter's favorite groups.[34]

## Release

[edit]

Trans-Europe Express was originally released in March 1977.[35] With the help of Günther Fröhling, Kraftwerk made a promotional music video for the song "Trans-Europe Express". The video features the group wearing long coats on a train trip from Düsseldorf to nearby Duisburg. Photo stills from this video were later used on the single sleeve for "Showroom Dummies".[32] Fröhling would work with Kraftwerk again on their album The Man-Machine doing the photography for the album cover.[36] To promote the album to the press in France, EMI Records hired a train with old-fashioned carriages from the 1930s to travel from Paris to Rheims while the songs from the album were played over the train's announcement system for the critics.[11]

In October 2009, a remastered edition of the album was released by EMI in Germany, Mute Records in the European Union and Astralwerks in the United States.[37][38][39][40] This re-release was available on compact disc, digital download, and vinyl and features a different album cover from previous versions of the album. This new version features a black background with a white Trans Europ Express train in the center.[41] The track listing on the 2009 re-release amends the titles of the songs to match the original German release. This change has "Metal on Metal" being credited for two minutes of the music with the remainder being a track titled "Abzug" (English: "Departure").[42][43]

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [26]
Christgau's Record Guide| A−[44]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [45]
The Independent| [46]
Mojo| [47]
Q| [48]
Rolling Stone| [49]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide| [50]
Spin Alternative Record Guide| 9/10[51]
Uncut| [52]

Initial reviews for Trans-Europe Express were positive. Music critic Robert Christgau, in a review for The Village Voice, wrote that the album's "textural effects sound like parodies by some cosmic schoolboy of every lush synthesizer surge that's ever stuck in your gullet—yet also work the way those surges are supposed to work".[53] Trans-Europe Express placed at number 30 in The Village Voice's 1977 Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[54]

Modern reception has been very favorable. Trans-Europe Express has the highest possible ratings from publications including AllMusic, Drowned in Sound, Mojo, Rolling Stone and Slant Magazine.[26][41][47][49][27] Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote that the album "is often cited as perhaps the archetypal (and most accessible) Kraftwerk album ... Overall, Trans-Europe Express offers the best blend of minimalism, mechanized rhythms, and crafted, catchy melodies in the group's catalog".[26] Q, in a 1995 review, wrote that the album "changed the face of American dance music" and was "one of the most compelling beats of this or any other era".[55] In 2009, Drowned in Sound's Chris Power stated that "Trans-Europe Express is all at once antique, timeless, retro and contemporary. Its status as modern electronic music's birth certificate is well-earned, but its hallowed reputation should never be allowed to disguise its true value and power as a work of art. Nor should it obscure a longevity that, 32 years on, we might as well start calling by its real name: immortality".[41]

Trans-Europe Express has also appeared on top album lists from a variety of sources. In 2001, TV network VH1 placed Trans-Europe Express at number 56 on their list of "100 Greatest Albums (of Rock & Roll) of All Time".[56] In 2002, Slant Magazine placed the album at number one on their list of the greatest electronic albums of the 20th century.[57] In 2003, Rolling Stone placed the album at number 253 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time",[58] with the ranking dropping to number 256 in a 2012 revision and climbing to number 238 in the 2020 reboot of the list.[59][60] Channel 4 placed the album at number 71 on their list of the 100 greatest albums.[61] In 2004, the online music website Pitchfork listed Trans-Europe Express as 6th best album of the 1970s, stating that "the day will soon come, if it hasn't already, that Trans-Europe Express joins the ranks of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Exile on Main St. as a record that simply cannot be written about".[62] 2014, pop music critic Randall Roberts wrote in the Los Angeles Times that the record was the most important of the last forty years.[63]

### Legacy

[edit]

Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine described the album's influence as "unprecedented, reaching as wide as rock (Radiohead's Kid A), hip-hop (Afrika Bambaataa's classic 'Planet Rock', Jay Dee's recent 'Big Booty Express') and pop (Madonna's Drowned World Tour, which incorporated samples of 'Metal on Metal')".[27]

In the late 1970s, the album influenced post-punk band Joy Division; bassist Peter Hook related: "We were introduced to Kraftwerk by [singer] Ian Curtis, who insisted we play Trans Europe Express before we went on stage every time. The tape was played at the venue over the PA system, to be heard by everyone. The first time was Pips [a Manchester club well known for its 'Bowie Room']. Ian got thrown out for kicking glass around the dance floor in time to the track. It took us ages of pleading to get him back in."[64] Drummer Stephen Morris also confirmed that Joy Division "used to play Trans-Europe Express before we went on stage, to get us into the zone. It worked because it gets up a lot of momentum. Trans-Europe Express just seemed to express an optimism – even if people see it as machine music". Morris also said: "It reminds me of Cabaret, the film, with all of the 1920s singing. ... When you get that marriage between humans and machines, and you get it right, it's fantastic. I have to say it's my favourite Kraftwerk album."[65] In the mid-1980s, Siouxsie and the Banshees' rendition of "The Hall of Mirrors", on their album Through the Looking Glass, was one of the few cover versions that Ralf Hütter hailed in glowing terms as "extraordinary".[66]

### Accolades

[edit]

Publication  | Country  | Accolade  | Year  | Rank

|
|
|
|

Blender | United States | 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die[67] | 2003  | *
Paste | The 70 Best Albums of the 1970s[68] | 2012  | 47
Pitchfork | Top 100 Albums of the 1970s[69] | 2004  | 6
Robert Dimery  | 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[70] | 2005  | *
Rolling Stone | The Rolling Stone 200: The Essential Rock Collection[71] | 1997  | *
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[72][73][59] | 2003  | 253
2012  | 256
2020  | 238
Slant Magazine | The 25 Greatest Electronic Albums of the 20th Century[74] | 2005  | 1
Tom Moon | 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die[75] | 2008  | *
VH1 | The 100 Greatest Albums of Rock & Roll[76] | 2001  | 56
Vibe | 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century[77] | 1999  | *
Channel 4 | United Kingdom | 125 Nominations for the 100 Greatest Albums[78] | 2005  | *
GQ | The 100 Coolest Albums in the World Right Now![79] | 2005  | 86
Gary Mulholland  | 261 Greatest Albums Since Punk and Disco[80] | 2006  | *
Mojo | The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made[citation needed] | 1995  | 48
70 of the Greatest Albums of the 70s[citation needed] | 2006  | *
The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion[81] | 2007  | *
Muzik | The 50 Most Influential Records of All Time[82] | 1999  | 8
Top 50 Dance Albums of All Time[83] | 2002  | 9
NME | Albums of the Year (honorable mentions)[84] | 1977  | *
All Times Top 100 Albums[85] | 1985  | 38
100 Best Albums of All Time[86] | 2003  | 36
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[87] | 2013  | 81
Paul Morley | Words and Music, 5 × 100 Greatest Albums of All Time[88] | 2013  | *
Q | The 50 Best Albums of the 70s[89] | 1998  | 9
Sounds | Albums of the Year[90] | 1977  | 13
The 100 Best Albums of All Time[91] | 1985  | 48
The Observer | 50 Albums That Changed Music 1956-2006[92] | 2006  | 3
The Times | The 20 Most Influential Albums[93] | 2008  | 11
Uncut | 100 Rock and Movie Icons[citation needed] | 2005  | 23
The Wire | The 100 Most Important Records Ever Made[94] | 1992  | *
Adresseavisen | Norway | The 100 (+23) Best Albums of All Time[citation needed] | 1995  | 15
Panorama | The 30 Best Albums of the Year 1970-98[95] | 1999  | 16
Pop | Sweden | The World's 100 Best Albums + 300 Complements[citation needed] | 1994  | 101
Max | Germany | The 50 Best Albums of All Time[citation needed] | 1997  | 22
Musik Express/Sounds | The 100 Masterpieces[citation needed] | 1993  | 94
The 50 Best German Records[citation needed] | 2001  | 15
RoRoRo Rock-Lexicon | Most Recommended Albums[citation needed] | 2003  | *
Rolling Stone | The Best Albums of 5 Decades[96] | 1997  | *
The 500 Best Albums of All Time[97] | 2004  | 325
Sounds | The 50 Best Albums of the 1970s[citation needed] | 2009  | 10
Spex | The 100 Albums of the Century[citation needed] | 1999  | 35
(*) designates lists that are unordered.

## Commercial performance

[edit]

Trans-Europe Express charted higher in the United States than Kraftwerk's previous album Radio-Activity by peaking at number 117 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart.[98][99] "Trans-Europe Express" and "Showroom Dummies" were released as singles from the album.[100] "Trans-Europe Express" charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977 where it peaked at number 67.[98] Trans-Europe Express began charting in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. The album entered the charts on 6 February 1982, staying in the charts for seven weeks and peaking at number 49.[101] The re-released single for "Showroom Dummies" (a remix with additional drums) entered the charts on 20 February 1982, staying on the charts for five weeks and peaking at number 25.[102]

## Track listing

[edit]

Side oneNo.| Title| Lyrics| Music| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Europe Endless" ("Europa Endlos")|

* Ralf Hütter
* Florian Schneider

| Hütter| 9:40
2.| "The Hall of Mirrors" ("Spiegelsaal")|

* Hütter
* Schneider
* Emil Schult

| Hütter| 7:56
3.| "Showroom Dummies" ("Schaufensterpuppen")| Hütter| Hütter| 6:15
Total length:| 23:51

Side twoNo.| Title| Lyrics| Music| Length

|
|
|
|

4.| "Trans-Europe Express" ("Trans Europa Express")|

* Hütter
* Schult

| Hütter| 6:52
5.| "Metal on Metal" ("Metall auf Metall")|  | Hütter| 2:11
6.| "Abzug[a]"|  | Hütter| 4:53
7.| "Franz Schubert"|  | Hütter| 4:26
8.| "Endless Endless" ("Endlos Endlos")|  |

* Hütter
* Schneider

| 0:55
Total length:| 19:17 (42:45)

Notes

* ^[a] While "Abzug" (English meaning "trigger" or "departure") appeared originally as a separate track on all pressings of Trans Europa Express, later releases of Trans-Europe Express combined "Abzug" and "Metal on Metal" together under the latter track's title, at a running time of 6:52. On both 2009 reissues of Trans Europa Express and Trans-Europe Express, however, "Abzug" is presented as a separate track.

## Personnel

[edit]

Adapted from Trans-Europe Express liner notes.[42][103]

### Kraftwerk

[edit]

* Ralf Hütter – voice, synthesizers, Vako Orchestron, synthanorma-sequenzer, electronics, producer
* Florian Schneider – voice, vocoder, votrax, synthesizer, electronics, producer
* Karl Bartos – electronic percussion
* Wolfgang Flür – electronic percussion

### Technical

[edit]

* Peter Bollig – engineer
* Bill Halverson – engineer (The Record Plant, Hollywood)
* Thomas Kuckuck – engineer (Rüssl Studio, Hamburg)

### Design

[edit]

* Maurice Seymour – photography
* J. Stara – photography
* Günther Fröhling – photography (2009 remaster only)
* Ink Studios – typographic design
* Johann Zambryski – artwork reconstruction (2009 remaster)

|

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

Chart (1977–1982)  | Peak
position

|

French Albums (SNEP)[104] | 2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[105] | 32
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[106] | 38
Italian Albums (FIMI)[107] | 8
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[108] | 32
UK Albums (OCC)[101] | 49
US Billboard Top LPs & Tapes[98] | 119

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

United Kingdom (BPI)[109] | Silver  | 60,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

Footnotes

1. ^ Schütte, Uwe (2020). Kraftwerk: Future Music from Germany. London: Penguin Books. p. 106\. ISBN 978-0-141-98675-3.
2. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 48.
3. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
4. ^ Barker, Emily (25 October 2013). "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 100-1". NME. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
5. ^ Pitchfork (23 June 2004). "The 100 Best Albums of the 1970s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
6. ^ a b Roberts, Randall (7 March 2014). "Kraftwerk's 'Trans Europe Express' started the musical revolution". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
7. ^ a b Bussy 2004, p. 82.
8. ^ Bussy 2004, p. 81.
9. ^ a b c d e Bussy 2004, p. 93.
10. ^ a b c Bussy 2004, p. 83.
11. ^ a b Bussy 2004, p. 92.
12. ^ a b c Doran, John (11 March 2009). "Karl Bartos Interviewed: Kraftwerk And The Birth Of The Modern". The Quietus. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
13. ^ "Aktivitaet Online - Archive - General articles". Archived from the original on 2 April 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2007.
14. ^ "Der Kraftwerk-Synthanorma" (in German). Synthesizerstudio Bonn. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
15. ^ "Matten & Wiechers" (in German). Synthesizerstudio Bonn. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
16. ^ "Dirk Matten & Kraftwerk" (in German). Synthesizerstudio Bonn. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
17. ^ "Von Unten Nach Oben" (in German). Synthesizerstudio Bonn. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
18. ^ Matten, Dirk. "Synthanorma Modell 316" (PDF) (in German). Synthesizerstudio Bonn. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
19. ^ Flür 2003, pp. 133–134.
20. ^ Bussy 2004, p. 86.
21. ^ "Kraftwerk - Gearslutz". www.gearslutz.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
22. ^ a b Bussy 2004, p. 88.
23. ^ a b Bussy 2004, p. 89.
24. ^ Thompson, Dave. "Europe Endless – Kraftwerk". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
25. ^ a b Bussy 2004, p. 90.
26. ^ a b c d e Huey, Steve. "Trans-Europe Express – Kraftwerk". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
27. ^ a b c Cinquemani, Sal (2 November 2002). "Kraftwerk: Trans-Europe Express". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
28. ^ Blenkinsop et al. 2013, p. 370.
29. ^ Rubin, Mike (4 December 2009). "Who Knew That Robots Were Funky?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
30. ^ Thompson, Dave. "Showroom Dummies – Kraftwerk". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
31. ^ a b Mason, Stewart. "Trans-Europe Express – Kraftwerk". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
32. ^ a b Bussy 2004, p. 94.
33. ^ Bussy 2004, p. 84.
34. ^ Bussy 2004, p. 85.
35. ^ Nusser, Dick (22 October 1977). "Kraftwerk's Electric Plant Pulsating Funky Success". Billboard. Vol. 89, no. 42\. New York. p. 67\. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
36. ^ "The Man-Machine – Kraftwerk | Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
37. ^ "Kraftwerk". Astralwerks. Archived from the original on 14 August 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
38. ^ "Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express". Mute Records. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
39. ^ "Kraftwerk // Trans Europa Express (Remaster-CD)". EMI. Archived from the original on 29 June 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
40. ^ "Kraftwerk // Trans Europa Express (Remaster-Vinyl)". EMI. Archived from the original on 29 June 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
41. ^ a b c Power, Chris (13 October 2009). "Album Review: Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express Remastered". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
42. ^ a b Kraftwerk (2009). Trans-Europe Express (CD) (digital remaster ed.). Mute Records. CDSTUMM305.
43. ^ Bussy 2004, p. 212.
44. ^ Christgau 1981.
45. ^ Larkin 2011.
46. ^ Gill, Andy (13 October 2009). "Album: Kraftwerk, Trans Europe Express (Mute)". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
47. ^ a b Snow, Mat (November 2009). "Gut Vibrations". Mojo. No. 192\. London. p. 110.
48. ^ "Kraftwerk: Trans-Europe Express". Q. London. 2009. p. 116\. "[I]t's famed for its title track, though its most perfect piece is 'Europe Endless,' another glorious evocation of motion..."
49. ^ a b Blashill, Pat (22 October 2002). "Trans-Europe Express". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
50. ^ Coleman & Randall 2004, pp. 468–469.
51. ^ Reynolds 1995, p. 215.
52. ^ Cavanagh, David (16 October 2009). "Uncut reviews: Kraftwerk – Reissues". Uncut. London. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
53. ^ Christgau, Robert (25 April 1977). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
54. ^ "The 1977 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. New York. 23 January 1978. Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
55. ^ "Kraftwerk: Trans-Europe Express". Q. No. 104\. London. May 1995. p. 123.
56. ^ "100 greatest albums of rock & roll (60 – 41)". VH1. Archived from the original on 9 January 2004. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
57. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (30 June 2002). "25/20: The 25 Greatest Electronic Albums of the 20th Century". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
58. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Trans-Europe Express – Kraftwerk". Rolling Stone. New York. 18 November 2003. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
59. ^ a b "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
60. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. New York. 31 May 2012. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
61. ^ "The 100 Greatest Albums". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 9 March 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
62. ^ Leone, Dominique (23 June 2004). "The 100 Best Albums of the 1970s – 6. Kraftwerk: Trans-Europe Express". Pitchfork. p. 10\. Archived from the original on 17 March 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
63. ^ "Music & History". Los Angeles Times. 2014.
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Works cited

* Albiez, Sean; Pattie, David (2011). Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1441191366. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
* Blenkinsop, Ian; et al. (2013). "Club Culture". Music: The Definitive Visual History. Penguin Books. ISBN 9781465421265. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
* Bussy, Pascal (2004). Kraftwerk: Man, Machine and Music. SAF Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-946719-70-5. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
* Christgau, Robert (1981). "K". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
* Coleman, Mark; Randall, Mac (2004). "Kraftwerk". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
* Flür, Wolfgang (2003). Kraftwerk: I Was a Robot. Sanctuary. ISBN 1-86074-417-6.
* Larkin, Colin (2011). "Kraftwerk". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
* Reynolds, Simon (1995). "Kraftwerk". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
* Salvatori, Dario (1999). 40 anni di Hit Parade in Italia. Tarab. ISBN 9788886675550.
* Strong, Martin C. (1998). The Great Rock Discography. Giunti. ISBN 88-09-21522-2. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
* Warwick, Neil; Kutner, Jon; Brown, Tony (2004). The Complete Book of the British Charts: Singles and Albums. Omnibus Press. ISBN 1-84449-058-0. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2009.

## External links

[edit]

* Germany portal

* Trans-Europe Express at Discogs (list of releases)
* Trans Europe Express on Spotify (listen)
* Kraftwerk official website

* v
* t
* e

Kraftwerk

* Ralf Hütter
* Fritz Hilpert
* Henning Schmitz
* Falk Grieffenhagen

* Florian Schneider
* Karl Bartos
* Wolfgang Flür
* Emil Schult
* Klaus Dinger
* Michael Rother
* Klaus Röder
* Fernando Abrantes

Studio albums|

* Kraftwerk (1970)
* Kraftwerk 2 (1972)
* Ralf & Florian (1973)
* Autobahn (1974)
* Radio-Activity (1975)
* Trans-Europe Express (1977)
* The Man-Machine (1978)
* Computer World (1981)
* Electric Café (1986)
* The Mix (1991)
* Tour de France Soundtracks (2003)

Live albums|

* Minimum-Maximum (2005)
* 3-D The Catalogue (2017)

Compilations|

* Exceller 8 (1975)

Box sets|

* Klang Box (1997)
* The Catalogue (2009)

Singles|

* "Autobahn"
* "Radioactivity"
* "Trans-Europe Express"
* "The Robots"
* "The Model"
* "Computer Love"
* "Tour de France"
* "Musique Non-Stop"
* "The Telephone Call"
* "Expo 2000"
* "Tour de France 2003"
* "Aerodynamik"

Videography|

* Minimum-Maximum

Related|

| Articles|

* Discography
* Conny Plank
* Kling Klang Studio
* Tone Float

|

Artists|

* Neu!
* Organisation

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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