Current Kraftwerk album availability...what's good, or not?

[J_Partyka]

I am Kraftwerk-less, but I want to change that. I'm particularly interested in checking out Autobahn.

Does anyone have any info on the various CD issues? Are there any that should be avoided? (Is it even in print in the US currently?) Is vintage vinyl the way to go here?

[Rspaight]

They've been threatening reissues of the "big four" (Autobahn, Man Machine, Trans-Europe Express, Radio-Activity) for some time now, with release dates coming and going, but still no product. So all that is still OOP in the US.

I have the European Autobahn, but I have no point of reference to compare it to anything else...

Ryan

[J_Partyka]

They've been threatening reissues of the "big four" (Autobahn, Man Machine, Trans-Europe Express, Radio-Activity) for some time now, with release dates coming and going, but still no product. So all that is still OOP in the US.

Yes, I seem to remember hearing a few of those "threats." But then, in true Neil Young-archives-box fashion, nothing happened ...

[dudelsack]

The thing with Man Machine, Trans-Europe Express and Computer World is that there are both German and English-language versions. I don't think the German versions (much more lyrically interesting, if you can understand German, heh) are available outside Germany. Amazon.de probably has them. But those are the ones (save Computer World, which was always too expensive when I was over there) that I have. And they sound fine.

[Crummy Old Label Avatar]

Did that Kraftwerk box ever gain an actual release? I did get CD-Rs last year from a friend in Germany, to whom EMI-Electrola sent a pre-release version. I don't see it listed at Amazon.de. Strange, that.

The box includes all CDs (with redone artwork) from Autobahn through Tour de France Soundtracks (in other words, all but the elusive first 3 albums). They are all remastered, allegedly, but they only seem a bit louder than previous CDs, so don't expect any sonic revelations.

Also, they were, like most current EMI discs, "Copy Controlled" (easily defeated, at least using a combination of a Mac and the right secure ripping software).

It all sounds good, but I don't think they sound all that much different than the still-available EMI-Electrola discs (which are plentiful and cheap used all over Germany) or the US Capitols (Radio-Activity, Trans-Europe Express, The Man Machine), which may be deleted but clutter used shops in America.

Actually, the Electrola and Capitol discs all sound quite good, particularly for CDs of this vintage, and -- language differences aside, are practically sonically identical.

Do, however, avoid the US Cleopatra Kraftwerk CDs. Those are fairly terrible sounding.

Curiously, Autobahn hasn't been released on CD in the US. German and UK imports abound, though.

[Ess Ay Cee Dee]

Curiously, Autobahn hasn't been released on CD in the US. German and UK imports abound, though.

Actually, Elektra released it on CD in the States in 1988. I've seen it but have never heard it. Needless to say, it's hopelessly rare these days.