Electric Cafe
The byproduct of a much anticipated, long-delayed, and ultimately scrapped album to have been calledTechnopop(and to have contained Kraftwerk's great dance single "Tour de France"), 1986'sElectric Cafesuffers only slightly from lacking the thematic focus of previous Kraftwerk albums. Ironically, the '80s techno-pop wave had passed by band founders Florian Schneider and Ralf Hutter at this point, but their sly wit ("Boing Boom Tschak," "Telephone," "Sex Object") and melodic inventiveness still stand the test of time. Its segues virtually seamless,Electric Cafeplays like one mega-dance-mix, but with the tasteful restraint that has long been a Kraftwerk hallmark. This is club music for thinking men and women.--Jerry McCulley