Autobahn

That Kraftwerk ventured into pop territory isn't that far of a stretch; they'd always had a way with melody, and the whole krautrock trip was getting a little passé by now. The journey down side one of Autobahn is just like a Sunday afternoon cruise on the freeway: scenic, ambling with the windows down. Driven by a cheery, pulsing beat, "Autobahn" shifts between reoccurring themes throughout, the destination being as irrelevant as the location—once aboard, you just enjoy the ride. And yes, unbelievably, an edited version of the song made the Top 40 singles charts in both the UK and US, propelling the album to No. 4 and No. 5 on the charts, respectively. The second side's "Kometenmelodie 1" is veritable krautrock, while "Kometenmelodie 2" offers more of the band's easy melodies. For most Brits and Americans, Kraftwerk was undoubtedly their introduction to German rock; the band toured North America and the UK for the first time in 1975, with Wolfgang Flür and Karl Bartos in tow. There was considerable hype around the "electronic" nature of the album upon release, but their use of synthesizers and programmed rhythms here was just a start. Kraftwerk would further innovate into "dance" areas, exuding greater influence with each successive release as they perfected their electro-pop in their Kling Klang Studio. Few bands in the timeline can truly be called ahead of their time, but Kraftwerk was a rare exception.