Kraftwerk pretty much invented electronic pop, and the “pretty much” part may be an unnecessary qualifier. After having released three previous albums of experimental-leaning music, 1974’s now-classic Autobahn found the band taking a major stylistic and sonic leap with the adoption of synthesizers, the use of vocals, and a direction towards a more melodic and rhythmic sound. While the first three albums, Kraftwerk (1970), Kraftwerk 2 (1972) and Ralf und Florian (1973) have been called “archaeology” by co-founding member Ralf Hütter and are unavailable as official releases, Autobahn leapt forward as the band’s breakthrough, peaking at Number 5 in Billboard’s Top LPs and Tapes listings. Autobahn gave the band international acclaim in 1975, thanks in part to an edited single version of the approximately 22-minute title track.

In celebration of its 50^th anniversary, (though considering it’s 2025, the road trip began a little late), Rhino Entertainment has released Autobahn on vinyl (including Kraftwerk’s first-ever picture disc), digital, and Blu-ray, the latter featuring a new Dolby Atmos mix created from the original 16-track master tapes by Hütter and longtime Kraftwerk engineer Fritz Hilpert, who has worked with the band since 1989 and was a touring member from 1990 to 2023. I listened to the Blu-ray version on a 5.1 system (I was hoping to hear it on an Atmos rig but the logistics didn’t work out) and in stereo. (I've also listened to the original LP and numerous reissues in various formats.)

The band is also celebrating the 50th anniversary of Autobahn with an extensive tour. If you have the chance, see their live show, which is an astounding experience unlike any other.

The Blu-ray disc offers Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and stereo mixes of the five songs on the original album release: “Autobahn,” “Kometenmelodie 1,” (“Comet Melody 1”) “Kometenmelodie 2,” (“Comet Melody 2’”) “Mitternacht” (“Midnight”) and “Morgenspaziergang,” (“Morning Walk,”) along with 2024 edits of “Autobahn” and “Kometenmelodie 2.” The Blu-ray audio is accompanied by minimalist – would you expect anything else? – visuals taken from the original Emil Schult artwork.

Though the album is considered a landmark today, initial reactions were mixed. Yet the passage of time has proven the album to be an undeniable classic. Kraftwerk had purchased a Minimoog, and hearing its sounds on Autobahn was revolutionary and extraordinary. Pop music simply didn’t sound like this before. This instrument and other synthesizers and processed electronic drums gave Kraftwerk the ability to mimic the sounds of cars driving on the highway, from the roar of the engines to the thrum of tires on roadway and passing car horns. On paper it sounds questionable; while listening it’s mesmerizing.

The personnel and instrumentation include Ralf Hütter on synth, electronics, vocals, organ, piano, electric guitar and electronic percussion; co-founding member Florian Schneider, vocals, vocoder, electronics, synthesizer, flute and electronic percussion; Wolfgang Flür, electronic percussion; and Klaus Röder, electric violin. (The album credits on the original LP list Röder on electric guitar.) While Autobahn is largely dominated by synthetic, electronic sounds, acoustic instruments are very much a part of the mix, particularly Schneider’s beautiful flute playing on the title track and Hutter’s pensive piano playing on “Morgenspaziergang.”

Kraftwerk co-founders Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter in the 1970s. Courtesy of Caroline Coon.

Autobahn is also an audiophile classic. It appeared on The Absolute Sound’s Super Disc list early on, and the sound quality of a good pressing of the original LP is stunning, with incredibly deep bass, an immense sonic presence, and superb clarity.

“Autobahn” opens with the sound of a car door slamming and its horns honking, followed by the vocals through a vocoder, a completely alien and startling sound at the time. The journey gets underway with a loping, echo-delayed bass synth, establishing a hypnotic groove, reinforced by the spoken-sung lyrics “Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n auf der Autobahn.” The song extols the pleasures of driving on the ribbon of road, encountering glittering sunshine and wide valleys, and even listening to the radio (all in German). “Autobahn” takes a number of musical twists and turns, evoking visions of passing though populated cities and rural areas. In an interview Hütter was quoted as saying that driving on the Autobahn was an "exciting experience that makes you run through a huge variety of feelings. We tried to convey through music what it felt like."

Kraftwerk Autobahn original US Vertigo LP album cover.

Though the title track gets most of the attention, the other songs are notable in their own rights. “Kometenmelodie 1,” inspired by the 1973 passing of Comet Kohoutek, is almost glacial in pace, beginning with a subterranean melody delineating a major scale-based melody in the primeval key of C, doubled by pitched “white” noise many octaves higher. For me, this symbolizes the gulf between Earth and space, and the stately passage of the comet over millions of years. “Kometenmelodie 2” takes the melody up-tempo and harmonizes the major-scale riff, taking the comet from its stealthy approach to its waxing in brightness as it approaches the Sun.

“Mitternacht” is based on another simple yet memorable melody – a trait that would become a Kraftwerk hallmark over the course of their recorded output – and features evocative synthesizer sounds and echoed percussion which one could say foreshadowed an entire ambient music genre to come. The album concludes with “Morgenspaziergang,” a meditative piece with birdcall synths, Schneider’s wistful flute, and Hutter’s acoustic and electric pianos bringing the album to a quiet conclusion. For me, it evokes a subtle sense of nostalgia, marking the end of an era before Kraftwerk went fully electronic with their subsequent album, Radioactivity/Radioaktivität, and proceeded to revolutionize pop music.

Kraftwerk performing "Autobahn" at The Anthem, Washington, DC, March 16, 2025. Courtesy of Mickey McCarter/Parklife DC, @parklifedc.

The Blu-ray is a sonic triumph. Clearly, the original 16-track tapes were in great shape, or else this is one of the most artful restorations extant. The overall tonal balance is excellent, warm, rich and extended like the original, without, thankfully, exaggerating the bass or treble. Perhaps the fact that there are only 16 tracks to work with was an advantage, preserving a direct clarity of presentation. The overall sound is enhanced, not exaggerated.

The spatial separation enables the listener to more easily focus on the various nuances of the instruments and vocals, whether the breathiness of Schneider’s flute and his subtle use of reverb and delay, or the sweeps of the modulations of the synthesizers’ timbres, or the nuances of the phase-shifted electronic percussion. There is no gratuitous panning or placement of instruments throughout the sound field (though there is plenty of panning, it feels complimentary, not exaggerated); the recording just sounds like a more expansive version of itself, from the powerful bass synths and passing-car engines of “Autobahn” to the ambient burbling water effects of “Morgenspaziergang.” The vocals are neither exaggerated nor recessed. Hütter and Hilpert have maintained the essence and the integrity of Autobahn.

Most importantly: you can more clearly hear that the synthesizers and electronic percussion are being played as musical instruments by humans; not people pushing a button to set off a drum machine. In an interview a long time ago, Ralf Hutter said something to the effect that he thought synthesizers were more expressive than conventional musical instruments. Listening to Autobahn anew, that statement seems more like prophecy than hyperbole.