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Rating: "Trans-Europe Express" was the album that in 1977 definitively consecrated the German band Kraftwerk and that, after the marvelous "Autobahn" and "Radio Activity," brought electronic music to the mainstream, reaching an audience that was open to novelties while substantially feeding on pop songs.
The formula of the Teutonic quartet in this album remains substantially the same: voice+electronic instruments, linear and catchy melodies, recitative lyrics with multilingual quotes, rhythms never exaggerated, and formal execution rigor. A formula that, stated like this, seems like the egg of Columbus and that, in truth, no one before them had consolidated so evidently in black and white. Moreover, the almost universal conceptuality of their works, combined with an essential and very European visuality, made an album like "Trans-Europe Express" so immediate and fascinating that it earned a spot in the sun in the charts of the time without selling out the great artistic professionalism of the group.
The album's title-track, with a synthetic rattling of futuristic trains, swept the radios across half the world, mentioning great capitals and jet-set musical icons (like David Bowie), offering a vivid sensation of cultural and emotional journey projected both towards the past and the years to come. The memorable leitmotif of the piece, played with artificial violins on a simple rhythmic line, is undoubtedly one of the reference points of all current pop and rock music, which has transversally contaminated the most varied genres from the late '70s to today.
But it is not just that track that is noteworthy, in an album that unfolds with apparent repetitiveness through a nearly cinematic scenario made of silent characters, mannequins, artists of the past, and absolutely European flavored architectures. And it is in rarefied and surreal songs like "Hall of mirrors" and "Crash Test Dummies" that Kraftwerk's style best manifests, eventually leading into the arcane and melancholic "Franz Schubert," which permeates with true musicality before bringing listening back to the opening suite "Europe Endless." In between, the excursion "Metal on Metal" anticipates by several years the noise-industrial tendencies put into pop mode by Depeche Mode and other bands of the British synth-wave in the '80s.
In my opinion, "Trans-Europe Express" is not the artistic peak of Kraftwerk, despite being a work of great relevance. The two previous albums are certainly more complete and refined, as well as more engaging on an evocative level. But it must be said that the album in question was the chapter of consecration, the one that gave them more visibility and established a precise reference point for the sounds of electronic arts.
Nevertheless, it is to be listened to and valued together with its musical-visual aspects. Observe the four Kraftwerk on the cover and immerse yourself in the 20th-century Europe without reservations, in its overwhelming technological evolutions that have not alienated the ability to feel emotions and to dream.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 The Hall of Mirrors (07:54)
The young man stepped into the hall of mirrors
Where he discovered a reflection of himself
Even the greatest stars discover themselves in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars discover themselves in the looking glass
Sometimes he saw his real face
And sometimes a stranger at his place
Even the greatest stars find their face in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars find their face in the looking glass
He fell in love with the image of himself
and suddenly the picture was distorted
Even the greatest stars dislike themselves in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars dislike themselves in the looking glass
He made up the person he wanted to be
And changed into a new personality
Even the greatest stars change themselves in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars change themselves in the looking glass
The artist is living in the mirror
With the echoes of himself
Even the greatest stars live their lives in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars live their lives in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars fix their face in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars fix their face in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars live their lives in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars live their lives in the looking glass
03 Showroom Dummies (06:13)
1 2 3 4 [in German]
We are standing here
Exposing ourselves
We are showroom dummies
We are showroom dummies
We're being watched
and we feel our pulse
We are showroom dummies
We are showroom dummies
We look around
and change our pose
We are showroom dummies
We are showroom dummies
We start to move
And we break the glass
We are showroom dummies
We are showroom dummies
We step out
And take a walk through the city
We are showroom dummies
We are showroom dummies
We go into a club
And there we start to dance
We are showroom dummies
We are showroom dummies
[repeat to fade]
We are showroom dummies
Europe endless
Endless endless endless endless
Europe endless
Endless endless endless endless
Parks, hotels and palaces
Europe endless
Parks, hotels and palaces
Europe endless
Promenades and avenues
Europe endless
Real life and postcard views
Europe endless
Europe endless
Endless endless endless endless
Europe endless
Endless endless endless endless
Elegance and decadence
Europe endless
Elegance and decadence
Europe endless
04 Trans-Europe Express (06:52)
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Rendezvous on Champs-Elysees
Leave Paris in the morning on T.E.E.
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
In Vienna we sit in a late-night cafe
Straight connection, T.E.E.
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
From station to station
back to Dusseldorf City
Meet Iggy Pop and David Bowie
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
07 Endless Endless (00:55)
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
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Other reviews
By Qzerty
An album a masterpiece of inspiration, composition, production, and content.
Trans-Europe Express deserves to be listened to at least once in a lifetime by anyone who calls themselves a music enthusiast.
By Rocky Marciano
"The music creates the same union between modern technology and homage to old Europe."
"The four German robots, at the peak of their inspiration, aimed for the formal perfection of their music."
By R13569920
It’s as if the train had been sampled, we are indeed in the carriage observing Europe flowing from Berlin to Paris up to the predictable, shrill final brake at the station.
Trans Europe Express remains the album to be prioritized to get to know this unique and fascinating band, which had the merit of imposing a musical and cultural aesthetic through its albums.
By 123asterisco
A finite time (about 40 minutes) is capable of becoming a concrete image of infinite time.
The product of human industry, finally emancipated from human perishability, becomes eternal.
