THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

41-Kraftwerk-Autobahn.

1974-Number 11 single.

Best Bit-At 13.27. If you’re planning on listening to this song in one sitting, then I suggest you take a packed lunch.

Who are the most influential group in Pop Music history? Some say it’s the Beatles, but you might be surprised if I told you that many music critics think it’s this lot. ‘Kraftwerk,’ which means ‘power station’ in English were formed in Dusseldorf, West Germany, in 1970, by Ralf Hutter, and Florian Schneider, (1947-2020) and at the time of writing Kraftwerk remain active. Hutter (organ and synthesizers) and Schneider (flutes, synthesizers, and violin) first met as students in the late 1960’s, sharing a passion in German experimental music. The pair first recorded in 1970 as part of a quintet called ‘Organisation,’ releasing an Album called ‘Tone Float,’ which the British music press jokingly dubbed ‘Krautrock.’ Between 1970-1974 Hutter and Schneider worked with other musicians under the ‘Kraftwerk’ banner developing a growing interest in synthesizers and ‘Electronic Music.’ In total there have been 20 official members of Kraftwerk come and go, and the four current members include Ralf Hutter.

The discography of Kraftwerk includes 10 studio Albums released between 1970-2003, and 24 singles issued between 1973-2021. In Germany, six of their singles have reached the top 40, with ‘The Model’ charting the highest at Number 7, when it was re-issued in 1981. In the UK nine of their singles have charted with ‘The Model’ making Number 1 in 1981, while in America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, only ‘Autobahn’ has made their top 40, reaching Number 25 in 1974.

Kraftwerk’s experimentation with electronic instrumentation would lead to a body of work that was unique for it’s day, baffling many listeners, and influencing many more. It is not overstating the facts to say that Kraftwerk laid the foundations for the ‘Electronic Music’ that came out of the early 1980’s, from artists such as Depeche Mode, (see also best songs 968-261 and 134) Gary Numan, (see also best songs 772-232 and 177) and New Order (see also best songs 885 and 619.) Kraftwerk’s influence continued in to the 1990’s, as their music is seen as playing a part in the development of ‘Electronic Dance Music,’ and ‘Hip-Hop.’ Martin Gore of Depeche Mode has said,’For anyone of our generation involved in Electronic Music, Kraftwerk were the godfathers.’

‘Autobahn’ was taken from Kraftwerk’s fourth studio Album of the same name, and was co-written by Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider, with Emil Schult collaborating on the lyrics, the track and the Album were both produced by Hutter and Schneider. There was also additional production on the track ‘Autobahn’ from Konrad ‘Conny’ Plank, (1940-1987) who had previously worked with Kraftwerk, and the ‘Organisation.’The Album contains five tracks with ‘Autobahn’ at 22.30 taking up the whole of side 1 of the original vinyl issue. The single version of ‘Autobahn’ was released to radio stations in a severely edited 3.28, although in the UK the edit was 3.06.

‘Autobahn’ was the first Kraftwerk song to include lyrics, and was written to capture the feeling of driving on the motorway. The lyrics are sung in German, with the English translation (approximately) being,’We drive, drive, drive on the motorway. Before us is a wide valley, the sun shines with gliltter ray. Roadway is a grey band, white stripes, green border.’ Ralf Hutter who provided the vocals which would become his trademark delivery, also featuring on many other Kraftwerk songs has said,’It’s called Sprechsingen, It means ‘talk-sing.’ It’s like a form of rap. This started with ‘Autobahn.”

‘Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn. Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn. Vor uns liegt ein weites Tal, die Sonne scheint mit Glitzerstrahl.’