A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #
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Kraftwerk Minimum-Maximum Release Date: 06/07/2004 Score: 9.5 out of 10.0 |
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Do you remember the first time you saw Kraftwerk? Well for me, it's only been once; late at night at the Coachella Music and Arts festival in 2004. Sadly, they sorta crossed schedules with Radiohead, so I missed the first few songs. But I remember walking up to the tent that housed the German legends. As I was walking up, a song was ending (which I later found out was the original "Tour De France," angers me that I missed that!) I heard some synth fade out, and people yelling. I started to hurry to the tent, wondering what classic they'd play next. As I approached an opening of the tent, I saw 4 perfectly still men on stage, then the background turned blue, a white symbol appeared before me, and I heard a very loud car door shutting. If you know where this is going, then this album is for you.
Minimum-Maximum is a collection of nearly 2 hours of live recordings of the German electronica legends over the course of their 2004 tour. The sound quality on this tour was out of this world, which is pretty well known, but what I really love about this collection, and their 2004 tour, was the song selection. A lot of older bands skip out on their classic songs when they tour in support of a new album. Even though Kraftwerk's 2003 release was actually quite impressive, I really wanted to hear some of my old favorites. Kraftwerk didn't let down at all...opening with "The Man-Machine," adding the '83 version of "Tour de France" into the medley of the modern "Tour de France," along with some of my favorites "Autobahn," "Trans Europe Express" with "Metal on Metal" extended on, and "Dentaku" recorded in the Shibuya district of Tokyo and the full vocals in Japanese. All of the songs maintain their original splendor, but recorded with the best of modern technology. The minimal vocals are absolutely flawless, and perhaps even better than their original recordings in the 70s. The only thing I can complain about, is the absence of "Europe Endless," but you can't win them all, can you?
The album ends on one of the best notes in recorded history. (OK, maybe behind the line that ends Kid A by Radiohead, "And I will see you, in the next life") But its the perfect line to send off their audience on. Don't stop with us, let the music flow forever. "MUSIC NON STOP."
Seriously, what more can you want from a record? 2 hours of a pretty much best-of collection, recorded absolutely beautifully. This also works out for me, as I have very little Kraftwerk on CD. I have most of their albums on vinyl, so it's nice to have a collection like this on CD. But lets say you're not a Kraftwerk fan...will you enjoy this album? I don't know...I can't say. I friggin love Kraftwerk.
Music non stop.
-Scott Swinford
June 12, 2005
