Review:
Often considered to be where the story began, 'Autobahn' was actually Kraftwerk's fourth album but was the first to make inroads into the British and US markets. At this time compatriots Neu! and Can were beginning to have an influence as well but Kraftwerk's instinct for melody made their experimentation a lot easier for listeners to swallow and thus a new dawn for electronica came about. 'Autobahn' is a quiet - some may say quaint - masterpiece split ostensibly into two halves: the first, the title track itself, the second a collection of minimalist pieces inspired by night time. The 22 minutes of an anthem dedicated to the motorway retains interest even now; with car engines provide the key changes and that repeated line of "Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn", it remains the thinking person's alternative driving anthem. The less heralded second half boasts the foreboding 'Kometenmelodie 1' a (clear pre-cursor to Gary Numan's 'Down In The Park) with version 2 being its naive optimistic little brother, meanwhile the use of flute lends 'Morgenspaziergang' a curious child-like nostalgia. Kraftwerk had still to reach their peak yet this music sounds remarkably fresh 30 years on.