KRAFTWERK TOUR DE FRANCE SOUNDTRACKS ALBUM EMI RELEASE: AUGUST 6, 2003 REVIEW: AUGUST 9, 2003

I guess I have the same feeling most of you have or will have when you hear this album. 17 years have past since the last proper album "Electric Café". And this is all they can come up with? We get five versions of the same 20 year old song (yes, “Chrono” is also a version of “Tour de France 03”), and some new ones that could have been better, under an old cover design. Furthermore I can't help but wonder what the two "new" members Fritz Hilpert and Henning Schmitz are doing? They sure haven’t brought in any new elements into the music (or they haven't been allowed to by their masters?).
Of course, "Tour de France Soundtracks" is classic Kraftwerk. In fact, to the extent of absurdity. But then again, we want Kraftwerk to be Kraftwerk, don't we? I guess a new Kraftwerk album with a totally different approach, say that they moved closer to experimental rock, would not go down well with their target audience. But some progression after almost two decades could be expected, don’t you think? Sure there are some techno and house influences, but not that much. We are still served robotic voices and the trademark Kraftwerk sounds.
This time the lyrics are obviously built around bicycling, and contain charming phrases like “A B C D Vitamin” and “A E RO Dynamik”. The latter of course comes from “Aerodynamik” and is for me the best new effort on the album. Up-tempo, very bouncy bass line and beeping and bopping bleeps everywhere.
I expect almost every electronic music fan to buy this album. It’s Kraftwerk we're talking about, and this is a fairly decent album after all. And maybe it could never have lived up to all our expectations. But it lacks memorable melodies and fresh ideas. The mix of the original “Tour de France” is still the best song on here, and they haven’t even touched it much.

JOHAN CARLSSON