Recorded | 1976 |
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Length | 3:53 (single version) 6:53 (album version) |
Genre | Electronic |
Single release | |
Format | 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl |
A-side | Trans-Europe Express (UK) Trans Europa Express (DE) |
B-side | Metal on Metal (UK) Franz Schubert (DE) |
Released | 7 April 1977 |
Trans-Europe Express track listing | |
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Wikipedia |
"Trans-Europe Express" (German: "Trans Europa Express") is the title song from the Kraftwerk album Trans-Europe Express and is the fourth on the album. It was later remixed with eleven other songs on the remix album, The Mix. The music was written by Ralf Hütter, and the lyrics by Hütter and Florian Schneider. The track is ostensibly about the Trans Europ Express rail system, with technology and transport both being common themes in Kraftwerk's oeuvre.
German language version[]
The song was also recorded and released in a German language version under the title Trans Europa Express both as a single in edited form and on the German language version of the album of the same name. The lyrics are a literal translation of the English language version although it is not known which came first.
The Mix version[]
A new version of Trans-Europe Express was included on the 1991 album The Mix. This version is considerably shorter than the original and omits the verse about David Bowie and Iggy Pop. It also segues directly into the tracks Abzug and Metal on Metal, although the fusion with the former makes Trans Europe Express closer to the original in duration. A German language version of the track was also included on the German release of The Mix.
Live version[]
The track has often featured in Kraftwerk's live sets and a live version of the Trans Europe Express / Abzug / Metal on Metal suite recorded at Riga Olimpiska Hall in 2004 is included on the group's live album Minimum-Maximum.
1970s |
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Kohoutek-Kometenmelodie (1973) • Autobahn (1975) • Kometenmelodie 2 (1975) • Radioactivity (1976) • Trans-Europe Express (1977) • Showroom Dummies (1977) • The Robots (1978) • The Model (1978, Germany) • Neon Lights (1978) |
1980s |
Pocket Calculator (1981) • Computer Love (1981) • Numbers (1981) • The Model (1981, UK) • Computerwelt (1982) • Tour de France (1983) • Musique Non Stop (1986) • The Telephone Call (1987) |
1990s |
The Robots (1991) • Radioactivity (1991) • Expo 2000 (1999) |
2000s |
Tour de France 2003 (2003) • Elektro Kardiogramm (2003) • Aerodynamik (2004) • Aerodynamik / La Forme Remixes (2007) |