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Autobahn by Kraftwerk, released 1974, is considered one of the most pivotal albums in music history. The 22-minute single (curtailed to around 3 minutes for radio) went to #25 on the US Billboard charts and charted even higher around Europe. The album is often credited for bringing electronic music to the public for the first time. However, it is not a completely electronic album, as violin, flute, and guitar were also used with synthesizers. Kraftwerk used a Minimoog as one of their synthesizers, which were known to cost as much as a Volkswagen at that time. Kraftwerk would lose the rest of the non-electronic instruments for their next album, Radioactivity. The title track was used to capture the feelings of driving on the Autobahn. From the high-speed concentration of the fast lane, to the tuning of the car radio, to the monotony of a long trip, the song captures it all. Autobahn is also the first of Kraftwerk's concept albums, in which they have done upto 2003. The cover was painted by long-time friend of Ralf and Florian and artist, Emil Schult.
Track listing
- "Autobahn" (Motorway) 22:42 (SAMPLE (250 kilobytes))
- "Kometenmelodie 1" (Comet Melody 1) 6:20 (inspired by Comet Kohoutek)
- "Kometenmelodie 2" (Comet Melody 2) 5:45
- "Mitternacht" (Midnight) 3:40
- "Morgenspaziergang" (Morning Walk) 4:00
Personnel
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