Autobahn (album)
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| Autobahn | |||||
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| Studio album by Kraftwerk | |||||
| Released | 1974 | ||||
| Recorded | Germany, 1974 | ||||
| Genre | Electronic music Synthpop |
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| Length | 42:26 | ||||
| Label | Philips Vertigo |
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| Producer | Conny Plank & Kraftwerk | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Kraftwerk chronology | |||||
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| Singles from Autobahn | |||||
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Autobahn (German for "motorway") is an album by Kraftwerk, released in 1974. The album’s 22-minute title track was edited to about 3 minutes for single release and reached #25 on the US Billboard charts, charting even higher around Europe, including #11 in the UK. This commercial success came after the band had released three highly experimental and purely instrumental albums.
Autobahn is not a completely electronic album, as violin, flute, and guitar are used along with synthesizers. The title track features both untreated and vocoded vocals; the remaining tracks are purely instrumental. Kraftwerk used a Minimoog as one of their synthesizers, which were known to cost as much as a Volkswagen at that time. Other instruments employed included the ARP Odyssey, EMS Synthi AKS and various devices of their own design and implementation, such as their famous electronic drums.
The title track is intended to capture the feeling of driving on the Autobahn; from the high-speed concentration of the fast lane, to the tuning of the car radio, to the monotony of a long trip. Autobahn is also the first of Kraftwerk’s concept albums of sorts, which they have done up to 2003.
The front cover of the original German edition was painted by Emil Schult, a long-time collaborator of Ralf and Florian, who also co-wrote the lyrics to the song "Autobahn". The version released in the UK on the Vertigo label in 1974 had a differently designed cover, produced by the label’s in-house marketing department.
Klaus Röder was not a member of the band for very long, and had left before the recording sessions were completed. Wolfgang Flür’s face was added to the group photo on the back cover of the original LP (grafted onto Emil Schult’s body) at the last minute when it was decided that he would stay as a permanent member of the band.
Konrad Plank had reputedly played a large role in developing the Kraftwerk sound,[1] and much of the recording and all of the mixing of the work took place at his studio in Cologne. Plank's contribution to the sound was evident in comparing the album version of "Kometenmelodie" with the rare demo-quality single "Kohoutek-Kometenmelodie", recorded without his input.
Flür had played with the band since late in 1973, first appearing with them on a Berlin TV performance to promote their Ralf und Florian album. On that show, he debuted the band’s custom-built electronic percussion pads, and these feature heavily on the Autobahn album.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
[edit] Side one
- "Autobahn" ("Motorway") (Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Emil Schult) – 22:42
[edit] Side two
- "Kometenmelodie 1" ("Comet Melody 1") (Hütter, Schneider) – 6:26 (inspired by Comet Kohoutek)
- "Kometenmelodie 2" ("Comet Melody 2") (Hütter, Schneider) – 5:48
- "Mitternacht" ("Midnight") (Hütter, Schneider) – 3:43
- "Morgenspaziergang" ("Morning Walk") (Hütter, Schneider) – 4:04
[edit] Credits
- Ralf Hütter – vocals, keyboards and synthesizers.
- Florian Schneider-Esleben – vocals, flute, keyboards and synthesizers.
- Klaus Roeder – guitar, electric violin.
- Wolfgang Flür – electronic percussion.
- Konrad "Conny" Plank – record producer.
- Emil Schult – cover design.
[edit] Equipment
- Minimoog
- ARP Odyssey (white-face)
- Customized Farfisa Rhythm Unit 10
- Vox Percussion King
- Farfisa Professional Piano
- EMS Synthi A
- Schulte Compact Phasing A
- Mutron Biphase
- & others
[edit] Release details
The originally released formats are shown below. These may differ from currently available versions.
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog | |
| Germany | November 1974 | Philips | Vinyl | 6305 231 | Motorway symbol sticker on front cover |
| November 1974 | Philips | Cassette | 7105 181 | ||
| June 1985 | EMI-Electrola | Vinyl | 1C 064 2400 701 | ||
| June 1985 | EMI-Electrola | Cassette | 1C 064 2400 704 | ||
| February 1986 | EMI-Electrola | CD | CDP 564 7 46153 2 | ||
| United Kingdom | November 1974 | Vertigo | Vinyl | 6360 620 | Unique UK-only embossed cover design |
| May 1975 | Vertigo | Cassette | 7149 005 | UK-only cover design | |
| July 1975 | Vertigo | 8-track | 7710 702 | UK-only cover design | |
| June 1985 | EMI-Parlophone | Vinyl | AUTO 1 (24 0070 1) | Catalog number was given as EMC 3405 in pre-release listings until late-1984 | |
| June 1985 | EMI-Parlophone | Cassette | TC AUTO 1 (24 0070 4) | Catalog number was given as TC EMC 3405 in pre-release listings until late-1984 | |
| February 1986 | EMI | CD | CDP 7 46153 2 | ||
| United States | 1975 | Vertigo | Vinyl | VEL-2003 | |
| 1975 | Vertigo | Cassette | VCR-4-200 | ||
| 1975 | Vertigo | 8-track | VC-8-2003 | ||
| 1985 | Warner Bros. | Vinyl | 9 25326-1 | ||
| 1985 | Warner Bros. | Cassette | 25326-4 | ||
| 1985 | Warner Bros. | CD | 25326-2 |
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