- Audio CD (4 Aug 2003)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: EMI
- ASIN: B0000A4G4N
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 41,625 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product details |
Track Listings
| 1. Prologue |
| 2. Tour De France (Etape 1) |
| 3. Tour De France (Etape 2) |
| 4. Tour De France (Etape 3) |
| 5. Chrono |
| 6. Vitamin |
| 7. Aero Dynamik |
| 8. Titanium |
| 9. Elektro Kardiogramm |
| 10. La Forme |
| 11. Regeneration |
| 12. Tour De France |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
With Kraftwerk now rumoured to be far more fascinated by bicycles than keyboards, it's perhaps not surprising that Tour De France Soundtracks is the group's first album for 12 years. Continuing to explore the theme of movement, men and machines that spawned the marvellous Autobahn, Trans-Europe Express and 1983's landmark single "Tour De France", Soundtracks is basically an expanded version of the latter, right down to the cover art.
Having inspired house, trance and techno, it seems fair that Kraftwerk should borrow something in return. Commencing with three segueing versions of the title track, Soundtracks opens with a fine 15-minute dose of tranquil minimalist trance before seamlessly gliding through various sonic soundscapes with a metronome-like rhythm. Mellifluous keyboard lines evoke the sense of motion while melodies weave and swirl. "Elektro Kardiogramm" goes as far as containing heartbeat and breathing effects while "Vitamin", the album's peak, could be described as the Pyrenean stage with its deep grooves and dizzying synth hooks. The sound of groundbreakers building bridges, Tour De France Soundtracks may not prove as hugely influential as Kraftwerk's early music, but it is nevertheless a winning return. --Christopher Barrett
Review
Apart from a few select live appearances (Creamfields, Paris etc.) and the somewhat forgettable single,''Expo 2000'', for Kraftwerk all has been quiet since 1991's The Mix. In music industry terms this gap was geological in scale. Whole new continents of electronic music formed, were eroded by critical storms and disappeared. Yet in Kraftwerk's universe time looked as if it had stopped. Members have left. Members have joined. The core duo of Ralf and Florian remained. They go cycling. They don't give interviews. Every day they turn up at their Kling Klang studio in Dusseldorf and work...on what? Well, at last we know.
Professing their love of the fusion of humans and technology, Kraftwerk took the analogy to its furthest limit with 1983's ''Tour De France''. Here the melding of man and machine in a relentless, repetitive quest for speed seemed to perfectly mirror the sounds that the teutonic technologists had been forging. Metronomic, minimal, clinical and yet possessed of a sweet harmonic beauty that allowed just a tasteful smidgeon of emotion; it seems as if, in the intervening period, the jungen from Dusseldorf, have become fixated to the point of almost obsessive reductionism.
Tour De France Soundtracks is exactly that: a series of musical concept pieces designed to reflect the ultimate European sporting celebration of muscle and titanium. Those expecting any kind of musical progress in the traditional sense will be shocked. This is an album that not only continues exactly where they left off, but almost wilfully refuses to throw anything new into the mix. Lord knows, with the ease with which any spotty teenager can rattle off a Kraftwerk pastiche in their bedrooms these days, it must have taken a huge amount of effort to make an album that sounds this retro. Or maybe the 12 years were spent buying cycling gear instead of new equipment.
Whatever; if you still regard Kraftwerk as the deities that gave the world some of the most delightful and seminal electronica ever (and I do) you will take this record to your hearts. While the initial three versions of the title track pall over 15 minutes, the rest of the album more than makes up for it. ''Vitamin'', ''Chrono'' and ''Aero Dynamik'' are all object lessons in how to construct robotic music with a soul. ''Regeneration'' is quite moving with its swathes of synth strings and ''Elektro Kardiogramm'' (dig the crazy modernist spelling, kids) with its cha-cha rhythm and rousing boys chorus may even be displaying a Germanic sense of humour.
It would be impossible for this album to ever have the same effect that, say, Trans Europe Express did in 1977. Yet who could deny that their hermetically sealed world is still alluring? It just no longer points the way to the future. Ralf, Florian, Fritz and Henning are still the masters of being, well...Kraftwerk. --Chris Jones
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Allez Kraftwerk,
By A Customer
This review is from: Tour De France Soundtracks (Audio CD)
It's a great record. The three etapes of the title track are incredibly complex and only repetitive in the right sense - each second of that sequence is unique as the sounds morph throughout.Vitamin is my particular favourite, but every individual track has its merits - the album just requires the proper level of engagement from the listener. It's one of my favourite records to listen to on headphones, because the tonal complexities of the sounds and the full richness of the sonic palette can be properly appreciated in this way. It's no small achievement for Kraftwerk to still be making such vital music so far on from Autobahn, and the only parallel I can identify is David Bowie.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A seriously addictive work-out...,
By
This review is from: Tour De France Soundtracks (Audio CD)
Innovators from the far left out-field who've managed to keep up there with the best for 30 years, Kraftwerk are a unique and often bizarre proposition. And here's another example why... take a fairly odd idea - "musical to cycle to" - put it through 11 iterations, stand back and see what happens. First off is their 1983 "Tour de France (CD Single)" featuring three excellent interpretations of their ridiculously catchy original tune, including some quite wonderfully integrated sound bytes of heavy breathing a buzzing derailleur gears. Then 20 years later there's this, their "Tour de France Soundtracks" album with its superb first three tracks (Tour de France Etapes 1, 2 & 3) which while some way away from their predecessors pick up on several of their chord sequences to become perfectly complementary, equally irresistible extensions of them, followed by it's final track, titled - yes you've guessed it - "Tour de France", that's a further excellent reworking of the original concept. And then, if that's not enough, mix it all up even more with their "Tour de France 03 (CD Single)" featuring four more, subtly different, versions of the first three tracks from the "Soundtracks" album.Too much I hear you say... well possibly not. As you may by now suspect these guys are dedicated "velo-men" who know a bit about how to keep your legs turning, and if you put the whole 11 tracks together and hit the "shuffle" button you'll see why because you've got just about the best possible accompaniment to a serious blast on the pedals. A mesmerically addictive, wholly harmonious sequence of brain etchingly good back-beats & chord sequences that'll keep you cycling, jogging, driving or just chilling out for almost an hour before hitting, as you will, the replay button. And if you're not convinced, buy any one of these superb records for starters and then see if you can resist getting the rest.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Suprised,
By
This review is from: Tour De France Soundtracks (Audio CD)
When I heard that Kraftwerk was releasing their first album in 17 years I felt almost obligated to buy it. The band has meant so much to me through the years. I expected that I would like this album. I did not expect to love it. I can honestly say that this is the best new album I have heard in several years. I cannot stop listening to it. Does Kraftwerk re-invent electronic music with this album? Probably not. Did Kraftwerk mean to re-invent electronic music with this album? Definitely not. Kraftwerk is Kraftwerk. They do what they do and they do it to perfection. Only Kraftwerk can hold my attention for 20 minutes with one song (track 1-5 are in reality one song in 5 parts/ like Autobahn with track breaks)… and leave me wanting more. Every song is genius. Vitamin, Aero Dynamik, Elektro Kardiogramm, etc… incredible. I can't get enough. If you "get" Kraftwerk (the concept of who and what they are) then you will love this album. -Kevin Schumm
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