Kraftwerk - "Trans-Europe Express" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1980/1977 (Capital)

If someone approached me and said: "Kraftwerk is the most important band in the world," I would not dispute that.  In fact, I may agree with that mysterious someone.   I discovered Kraftwerk when "Autobahn" came out, but it was "Trans-Europe Express" that changed everything.   For one, they were the first band to me that didn't come from America or England.  They were hardcore German.  They looked German, sounded German, and the traces I picked up were European classical music, with a touch of Musique Concrete.  No blues, or Beach Boys which I think was an influence on their previous album.

I remember showing this album cover to my German (Hamburg born) grandmother, and she said: "ah, they look like young men from my youth."    "Trans-Europe Express" was my first gateway to a European aesthetic.  I admired European films, but this was (sort of) my contemporary entrance to the European aesthetic.  When I went to Europe for a huge traveling trip, it was Kraftwerk's music on this album that served as a soundtrack to my adventures in Italy, Germany, France and the UK.  At times when I was in Munich, I wasn't sure if what I was seeing was truly my experience, or I was re-living the imagery from "Trans-Europe Express."

There are many brilliant artists in the pop music world, but Kraftwerk seemed to me another or unique version of genius at play.   The icy perfection of their image/music (the same thing for me) as well as the beautiful melodies, made a huge dent in how I saw the world.   I love other Kraftwerk albums, especially "Radio-Activity," but "Trans-Europe Express" is my sonic version of someone else's "On The Road," or another romantic literary title.   Once bitten, you've changed.  Kraftwerk was the bite that keeps on giving.