In
the age of the single download, Jeff Harford rediscovers the
album . . .
While 1974's Autobahn marks the moment Dusseldorf band Kraftwerk fully integrated its human elements with the machinery of electronic music, 1977's Trans-Europe Express presents the most engaging aspects of the hybrid personality that emerged.
Seams of romanticism and humour run through Kraftwerk's sixth studio album, challenging the stereotype of robotic German efficiency and precision the group plays on to this day in its artwork and stage presentation.
Written between spare lines of lyrics are hints at a fresh connectedness and sophistication within Europe, represented by opening track Europe Endless and the eponymous ode to the rail service that reached its zenith in the mid-'70s.
A sense of detached wonder at the stark beauty of industrial Dusseldorf also pervades, reflecting the band's experience of travelling in and out of the city at night.
Fame's alienating price is addressed in Hall Of Mirrors, but there is time to lampoon the growing perception of band members as personality-free automatons who would rather twiddle knobs than enjoy a knees-up.
On Showroom Dummies the mannequins burst through shop windows in search of a decent nightclub, finally taking their chance to boogie.
However primitive, minimalist and relentlessly ordered the rhythms and sounds are, this is where the blueprint for all electronic dance music to follow was drawn up.
Without Kraftwerk there would have been no Detroit or Chicago techno scenes, no '80s synth-pop and no Shapeshifter.
While echoing the artistic approaches of pre-war German modernism, the band was always future-focused, using the 16-channel analogue Synthanorma Sequencer on this album and thereby building exponentially on the possibilities for automated musical patterns.
Last month saw the release of digitally remastered versions of all classic Kraftwerk albums.
The pioneering outfit still performs dazzling live shows under the guidance of sole remaining original member Ralf Hutter, the band's human heart.