Product Description

1991's THE MIX is a collection of 11 often-radical remixes of Kraftwerk classics from the '70s and early-'80s. Unlike most remix projects, which merely extend the song needlessly or slap a currently-fashionable and usually inappropriate new beat on an old song, THE MIX starts from the ground up, soto speak: most of these songs are so extensively reworked that they bear only passing resemblance to the originals. Forexample, the opening deconstruction of "The Robots" purposely withholds the nagging four-note synth hook of the original, creating a tension throughout its nine minutes which wasn't present in the original. Similarly, "Autobahn" de-emphasises its hypnotic beat, giving the track a looseness it's never had before. The album as a whole is beautifully sequenced, with chill-outs like the ambient-ized "Radioactivity" coming at useful intervals between the more insistent numbers. This is a textbook example of a remix album.

Track Listing

1. Robots
2. Computer Love
3. Pocket Calculator
4. Dentaku
5. Autobahn
6. Radioactivity
7. Trans Europe Express
8. Abzug
9. Metal On Metal
10. Homecomputer
11. Musique Non Stop

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33024 in Music
• Released on: 1991-06-10
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
This 1991 Kraftwerk collection of often drastically remixed "greatest hits" offers a good, if slightly skewed, overview of the Dusseldorf legends' career. Inspired by the band's continuing influence on modern pop, dance and techno, founders Florian Schneider and Ralf Hutter tweak Kraftwerk's sonic foundations with the intention of making their music more club-friendly. While some of the faithful have lamented the tinkering, The Mix presents a distinct, typically idiosyncratic take on modern club music. It also represents the way Kraftwerk usually sounds in their infrequent live forays; witness the reworking of "Radioactivity" into an unexpected (the band has been notably apolitical) antinuclear statement aimed largely at Britain's Sellafield installation. The Mix bows to trend in concept only; the execution is pure Kraftwerk. --Jerry McCulley

From Amazon.com
This 1991 Kraftwerk collection of often drastically remixed "greatest hits" offers a good, if slightly skewed, overview of the Dusseldorf legends' career. Inspired by the band's continuing influence on modern pop, dance, and techno, founders Florian Schneider and Ralf Hutter tweak Kraftwerk's sonic foundations with the intention of making their music more club-friendly. While some of the faithful have lamented the tinkering, The Mix presents a distinct, typically idiosyncratic take on modern club music. It also represents the way Kraftwerk usually sounds in their infrequent live forays; witness the reworking of "Radioactivity" into an unexpected (the band has been notably apolitical) antinuclear statement aimed largely at Britain's Sellafield installation. The Mix bows to trend in concept only; the execution is pure Kraftwerk. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Kraftwerk: New and improved!
This CD, released in 1991, is the CD that really got me into Kraftwerk. The production and sound is excellent, and some of the mixes are superb (Computer Love, although long, is my favourite).

While some of the original 1970s albums sound very dated, the versions here still sound fresh, 17 years on. For some reason the album sounds especially good in your car at night time!

If you've never bought a Kraftwerk album before, start with this one!

Must have the originals too.
This was my first Krafwerk purchase back in the early 90s and I listened to it over and over again. They suceeded in smoothing out and updating their well known tunes into a consistent mix package. I subsequently purchased the original 70s albums and was at first a bit disappointed with them. However I've grown to love the originals in a way that I can't love The Mix. In many cases they have more groove in their slightly wonky way and you can't help but marvel that they could make such sharp electronic and minimalist music in the 70s, the age of prog rock. The Mix is colder, harder and much more smoothed out.

That said, the album is worth it for Pocket Calculator alone. Other highlights for me are Autobahn, Trans Europe Express with it's mesmerising middle section made of out metallic noises and Home Computer. That's half the album then! The other tracks are fine, the low point for me being Computer Love which just seems to run on and on with the original charm removed.

All said, this is a very good album, but make sure you listen to the originals too.

Not Bad But Not Good
The Mix was/is a strange beast. It was Ralf and Florian's attempt to update their sound. By the time of its release in the Summer of 1991, the world was wise to Kraftwerk and the tumbling costs of musical technology meant that everyone was catching up with them and in some cases surpassing them, e.g. Depeche Mode's Violator released the year before. The main milestone (apart from the updated sound) of the release was that in effect the band were now down to a duo, Wolfgang Flur having left the year after their last proper album Electric Café was released way back in 1986. Karl Bartos had diligently worked on digitising all of Kraftwerk's arsenal of sounds for this album and then he decided to jump ship. Who can blame him? The band had the world at their feet, waiting with baited breath for their next move and all they could release was a rehash of their old material. Considering they go into Kling Klang everyday, it seems strange.

As for the music; some of the new versions are more successful than others. For instance, Autobahn sounds great in its new guise, as does Radioactivity. However, Pocket Calculator is almost unrecognizable. It would be another 9 years before any new material came out of Düsseldorf, the single EXPO 2000 and another three before a new album, Tour De France Soundtracks appeared in 2003.

If you want to get into Kraftwerk, get the "classics" first - Computer World, Man Machine, Trans Europe Express. This is interesting, but not essential.

The live set Minimum Maximum released a year or so ago is also an interesting purchase, a live album yes, but due to the way Kraftwerk "perform", it is in all but name, The Mix 2.