BlueHammer85
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Trans-Europe Express is the sixth studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk. Recorded in mid-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 placed number 30 on 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. In 2014, the LA Times called it "the most important pop album of the last 40 years.
1. Europe Endless
2. The Hall Of Miracles
3. Showroom Dummies
4. Trans-Europe Express
5. Metal On Metal
6. Franz Schuvert
7. Endless Endless
Review 209
Kraftwerk were pioneers for the electro generation with this album being regarded as their most Iconic - Haunting, repetitive and futuristic this concept album inspired generations of electro pop bands, named after TEE, the Trans Europ Express luxury railway service that connected 130 European cities - it takes you on a musical journey like nothing i've heard before, it can be at times a little tedious with the same deadpan vocals and melody for long periods of time but 'Metal on Metal'. 'Showroom Dummies' and 'Hall of Mirrors' are classic Kraftwerk tracks and a breakaway from the concept train travel theme, many of the sounds on this Album were created by the band themselves - it was way ahead of its time.
8.5/10