Trans-Europe Express
It's ironic that electronica's forefathers include two German bands whom, at least on the surface, were polar opposites. On the one hand, there wasCan--shaggy, Stockhausen-trained advocates of trance improvisation--and on the other, Kraftwerk: clean-cut control freaks and masters of the pristine machine groove. Yet, even at their most robotic, Kraftwerk manages to locate the soul of the machine, as they demonstrate throughout this 1977 outing. Hell, the mannequin manifesto "Showroom Dummies" alone is worth the price of admission. For a band so closely tied to technology, it's a testament to Ralf and Florain that their music continues to sound fresh more than two decades down the autobahn.--Bill Forman