Trans-Europe Express
LP by Kraftwerk
Released	1977
Recorded	1976
Genre	Electronic
Length	42 min 17 s
Record label	Astralwerks
Producer	Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider
Professional reviews
Allmusic.com	5 stars out of 5	link
Robert Christgau	A-	link
Q	4 stars out of 5	October 2000
Rolling Stone	5 stars out of 5	RS 909 – November 14, 2002
Kraftwerk Chronology
Radioactivity (1975)	Trans-Europe Express (1977)	The Man Machine (1978)

Trans-Europe Express is a Kraftwerk album released in 1977. It was released in German as Trans-Europa Express.

Kraftwerk's sound developed further on this release. Their music is distilled into a song format more than ever, with strong classical melodies. Much use was made of custom-built sequencing equipment, which combined with further sonic developments in their electronic percussion, produces an increasingly precise, minimalist electronic pop sound, by now sounding quite unique compared to any of their contempories. The string sounds of the Vako Orchestron were also used liberally, and some impressive vocal vocoding is on display. The title track in particular was an impressive fusion of electronic percussion rhythms & and very strong melody, tied together with a lyrical concept. (Tracing its developement through live bootlegs, it appears to have ultimately derived from Ruckzuck, which opened the original Kraftwerk album.)

In 2003 the TV network VH1 named Trans-Europe Express the 56th greatest album of all time.

Track listing

English release

1. "Europe Endless" - 9:41
2. "Hall Of Mirrors" - 7:54
3. "Showroom Dummies" - 6:13
4. "Trans Europe Express" - 6:52
5. "Metal On Metal" - 6:44
6. "Franz Schubert" - 4:25
7. "Endless Endless" - 0:56

German release

1. "Europa Endloss" - 9:41
2. "Spiegelsaal" - 7:56
3. "Schaufensterpuppen" - 6:15
4. "Trans Europa Express" - 6:35
5. "Metall Auf Metall" - 2:10
6. "Abzug" - 4:53
7. "Franz Schubert" - 4:26
8. "Endlos Endlos" - 0:46

Personnel

• Ralf Hütter (electronics & voice)
• Florian Schneider (electronics & voice)
• Karl Bartos (electronic percussion)
• Wolfgang Flur (electronic percussion)