TOUR DE FRANCE SOUNDTRACKS

Warning! No Prog here! As if you needed that one. Kraftwerk sure never attracted you for their baffling compositions and intricate harmonies. Stark minimalism and cold electronic sounds are their fare and I wouldn't want to have it any different.

Tour De France is a come-back of sorts after the 17 year gap that separates this album from the slightly weaker Electronic Café. The great thing about this album is that it sounds completely fresh and updated while still 100% Kraftwerk. Never before has Kraftwerk sounded so techno as on this album and I suspect Underworld and Orbital must have been a very important source ofor inspiration. The opening suite of the Tour De France stages and Chrono is simply marvellous. Stark techno beats, flanging pulses of highly processed guitar and synth sounds, washes of synthesized voices and catchy rising notes.

Things can only go down from here and they sort of do. Vitamin is a good track but sounds too old-school Kraftwerk for its own good, while lacking both the memorable melodic lines and catchy vocals that were so essential in their late 70's masterpieces. The techno machine gets going again with Aéro Dynamik/Titanium. The album ends with the 20 year older single Tour De France. It's synth-pop style is very different from the rest of the album but due to the remix upgrade it received it blends in quite well.

Great come-back album. Though I would rather recommend the Min Max live album for combining the best tunes from this album with plenty of Kraftwerk favourites