Trans-Europe Express (album)
| Trans-Europe Express | ||||
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German album cover
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| Studio album by Kraftwerk | ||||
| Released | March 1977 | |||
| Recorded | 1976 | |||
| Studio | Kling Klang Studio (Düsseldorf, Germany) |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:45 | |||
| Label | Kling Klang | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Kraftwerk chronology | ||||
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| Alternative album cover | ||||
Album cover used on most international editions of the album
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| Singles from Trans-Europe Express | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  |
| Robert Christgau | A− |
| Drowned In Sound | (10/10) |
| The Independent | |
| Mojo | |
| Q |  |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Slant Magazine | |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | (9/10) |
| Uncut | |
Trans-Europe Express (German: Trans Europa 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. The album's themes were influenced by friends who suggested writing songs about the Trans Europ Express to reflect Kraftwerk's electronic music style. Critics have described the album as having two specific themes:a celebration of Europe and the disparities between reality and image. Musically, the songs on this album differ from the group's earlier Krautrock style with a focus on electronic mechanized rhythms, minimalism, and occasionally manipulated vocals.
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 from Trans-Europe Express: "Trans-Europe Express" and "Showroom Dummies". The album has been re-released in several formats and continued to receive acclaim from modern critics. In 2014, the LA Times called it "the most important pop album of the last 40 years."
After the release and tour for the album Radio-Activity, Kraftwerk continued to move further away from their earlier Krautrock style of improvised instrumental music, refining their work more into the format of melodic electronic songs. During the tour for Radio-Activity, the band began to make performance rules such as not to be drunk on stage or at parties. Karl Bartos wrote that about these rules, stating that "it's not easy to turn knobs on a synthesizer if you are drunk or full of drugs. ... We always tried to keep very aware of what we were doing while acting in public." During this tour, early melodies that would later evolve into the song "Showroom Dummies" were being performed.
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