10-15-09 K: Kraftwerk
I was taken aback when I read an interview with Ralf Hutter of Kraftwerk in a British magazine recently, where he was talking about finally re-mastering all the Kraftwerk albums on CD. And it looks like the process has begun! All of the Kraftwerk albums that were released as legit CD’s were done so long ago – 80’s mastering. And, as we all know and lament – the first three albums are still not on CD…but it looks like they’re ‘coming soon’.
For the record, I was a huge Kraftwerk fan in the 70’s, bought everything when it was a new release upon it’s release from “Ralf & Florian” all the way to “Computerwelt”. I was not such a fan of “Electric Café”, I confess.
CD AUTOBAHN EMI DE CDP 746153.2
1974 5 TRKS original CD issue
LP AUTOBAHN PHILIPS DE 6305 231
1974 5 TRKS original issue
12" COMPUTER LOVE EMI
1981 2 TRKS with pic sleeve
7" COMPUTER LOVE / NUMBERS WARNER
1981 2 TRKS no pic sleeve
CD COMPUTER WORLD WARNER US 3549.2
1981 7 TRKS original issue CD, paint face
LP COMPUTER WORLD EMI
1981 7 TRKS English language
LP COMPUTERWELT EMI DE 1C064-46311
1981 7 TRKS original issue
CD DIE MENSCH MASCHINE EMI DE CDP 746131.2
1978 6 TRKS in German
LP DIE MENSCH MASCHINE EMI DE 1C058-32843
1978 6 TRKS original issue
LP ELECTRIC CAFÉ EMI DE 1C064-240644.1
1986 6 TRKS
7" KOMETENMELODIE 2 VERTIGO
1974 2 TRKS with pic sleeve
LP KRAFTWERK PHILIPS DE 6305 058
1970 4 TRKS original issue
LP KRAFTWERK 2 PHILIPS DE 6305 117
1971 6 TRKS original issue
12" KRAFTWERK'S DISCO BEST (8865) promo CAPITOL US SPRO-8865
1977 4 TRKS no pic sleeve, promo-only
12" KRAFTWERK'S DISCO BEST (8866) promo CAPITOL US SPRO-8866
1978 4 TRKS no pic sleeve, promo-only
CD MIX, THE ELEKTRA US 60869.2
1991 11 TRK Collection
7" MODEL, THE CAPITOL NL 5C006-85673
1978 2 TRKS with pic sleeve
12" POCKET CALCULATOR EMI
1981 3 TRKS with pic sleeve
7" POCKET CALCULATOR / DENTAKU WARNER US WBS 49723
1981 2 TRKS with pic sleeve, green vinyl
12" POCKET CALCULATOR promo WARNER US PRO-A-951
1981 2 TRKS no pic sleeve, promo
CD RADIO-ACTIVITY CAPITOL
1975 12 TRKS
LP RADIO-AKTIVITAT EMI DE 1C064-82087
1975 12 TRKS insert, original issue
LP RALF & FLORIAN PHILIPS DE 6305 197
1973 6 TRKS poster, original issue
LP RALF & FLORIAN PHILIPS JPN BT-8102
1973 6 TRKS ('79 re-issue)
12" SHOWROOM DUMMIES CAPITOL US 8501
1977 2 TRKS no pic sleeve
12" TOUR DE
1983 3 TRKS with pic sleeve
7" TOUR DE
1983 2 TRKS with pic sleeve
LP TRANS EUROPA EXPRESS EMI DE 1C064-82306
1977 8 TRKS poster, original issue
12" TRANS
1977 2 TRKS no pic sleeve
12" TRANS
1977 2 TRKS no pic sleeve
My most vivid Kraftwerk memory: My dad took me to KPFK-FM about 1973/4 to visit a DJ that I had been listening to, Mr. Greg Stewart. My youthful enthusiasm for European music was both tolerated and respected by Mr. Stewart – I am still friends with him 35+ years later! He played me “Kristallo” by Kraftwerk (from “Ralf & Florian”, a new release at the time) on the huge stereo in the control room of KPFK. Wow. I’d never heard anything ever that sounded that good before! I was 14/15 years old, and had not previously been exposed to audiophiles!
I somehow got their studio telephone number, and I called the number when I was visiting
4 comments:
A-HA!!!!!
So that tale of how their studio had no phone was completely spurious!!!
I recently ripped the CD version of Autobahn to my hard drive and set about to replicating the brutal 3:20 7" Vertigo edit that caught my ear in such a big way in 1974. So finally, after 35 years I could hear the version of the track with much more quality than my 45 has! I had to very carefully A/B the 7" from vinyl and the CD rip to get the edits just right. And you know where THAT leads... to the inevitable Kraftwerk BSOG, buckaroos! It's in the mental queue... It's just a matter of time.
I've seen the new RM box and think that I'll stick with my extant copies. The neu artwork for the releases is not exciting to me. I will admit that the notion of Electric Cafe being re-branded to the legendary title of Techno-Pop does hold some residual excitement, given that the non-release of that album over several years of patient waiting.
I have the Ger. TEE but English copies of everything from 77 onward. I was never adamant about getting all of the language versions. The only reason I have the Ger. TEE is that that was the first release of it on CD. Since I first heard that album in English, the thought has always been to eventually buy an English copy but obviously, it has not been a priority in the last 25 years!
All I really need for the new BSOG are the recent singles from the last album. They're easy to get (online). I am excited that Kraftwerk 1, 2 & Ralf + Florian may be getting a legit release. Save's me the time and effort. I have the Germanophon boot of 1 and it's not bad. I've never given it a critical headphone listening though.
Ron - I can't believe that you consented to sell me that luminous UK 12" of Neon Lights all those years ago! Were ye' daft, man?!
Is there a more perfect object?
No!
Ron:
I DARE YOU not to write about Frank Zappa for "Z!"
No Hector Zazou, either!!!
Cn you do it?
I seem to remember that my first encounter with Kraftwerk was hearing some radio station played "Autobahn" in full (at least the 22-minute Side One). It was like NOTHING I had ever heard before, and finding more of it quickly became a priority.
At one point in the 70s I had pretty much everything they'd put out in English.
I remember distinctly that Computerwelt was the "icing on the cake" to me, perfectly complementing the synth-driven bands that were emerging and proving they had genuinely been way ahead of their time. I was so disappointed that they could not keep up this standard, and by the time Electric Cafe finally came out, I wasn't as thrilled as I should have been -- until I saw the video for "The Telephone Call"! That video MELTED MY BRAIN and briefly put Kraftwerk back on top for me. I did not know for many years that Bartos sang the lead on it! To this day it remains one of my all-time favourite music vids.
When a group or artist reaches the point where they can only very very occasionally recapture "the spark," they should hang it up (or become their own tribute band, as Kraftwerk now seem to have done).
By the time "Tour De France Soundtracks" -- or "Lame Shit" as I like to call it -- came out in 2003, it was obvious they were just phoning it in. I have a live version of "Aerodynamik" from the MTV Europe Music Awards that's pretty awesome, but the album just felt forced and lifeless and ten years overdue.
At this point, I'll believe new material from the V2 Schneider-less edition when I see or hear it. Obviously I hope they don't embarrass themselves, but I'm not confident that we'll get anything noteworthy out of them again.
OK, Jim-san.
No Zappa or Zazou.
RK
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