Kraftwerk Trans-Europa Express released this month

Trans-Europa Express (aka “Trans-Europe Express”) Kraftwerk

Released: March 1977 Peak: 119 US, 49 UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.06 UK Genre: electronica/synth-pop

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Europa Endlos (Europe Endless) Spiegelsaal (Hall of Mirrors) Schaufensterpuppen (Showroom Dummies) (8/77, 31 CL, 15 CO, 25 UK) Trans Europa Express (Trans-Europe Express) (4/77, 67 BB, 91 CB, 68 HR, 24 CL, 11 CO) Metall Auf Metall (Metal on Metal) Abzug Franz Schubert (Franz Schubert) Endlos Endlos (Endless Endless) Total Running Time: 42:45 The Players: Ralf Hütter (voice, synthesizers, etc.) Florian Schneider (voice, synthesizers, etc.) Karl Bartos (electronic percussion) Wolfgang Flür (electronic percussion)

Rating: 3.858 out of 5.00 (average of 25 ratings) Quotable: This “is the starting point for modern electronic music.” – Toby Creswell & Craig Mathieson, 100 Best Albums of All Time Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

From Autobahn to Trans-Europa Express In 1974, Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn” “took machine worship to new heights. One of the first hit singles made entirely with synthesizers, it put listeners on the German highway system of its namesake, where cars whoosh past at superhigh speeds and…blur into a symphony of ever-changing sound as they streak by.” TM That song’s parent album “was a left-field masterpiece” AM but Trans-Europe Express “is often cited as perhaps the archetypal (and most accessible) Kraftwerk album.” AM The music here is “more consistently memorable even than that on Autobahn.” AM It “was probably inevitable that the German keyboard quartet would progress from cars to more sophisticated machines. Sure enough, this hugely influential follow-up finds Kraftwerk romancing hypercompetent robots and cyborgs with loose circuits, bullet trains, and other big rigs controlled by oddly impressive humans.” TM The Founding Fathers “In 1975, someone asked legendary rock critic Lester Bangs where music was going. ‘It’s being taken over by the Germans and the machines,’ he replied. Not a bad prediction.” 500 “With their vocoder vocals, seemingly direct from a science-fiction movie, and their sleek perfection Kraftwerk were not short of robotic precision.” CM The German group has been called “one of the founding fathers of techno.” RV They “sounded effortlessly ahead of their time.” RD Their “free-flowing synthesizers” RV made “it safe for computer nerds, egghead art rockers,” VB and “experimental geniuses such as Brian Eno.” 500 “Virtually everyone producing hip-hop or electronic dance music has drawn inspiration from these visionary blasts.” TM “Prescience DJs like Afrika Bambaataa…harnessed Kraftwerk’s tight robotic beats to launch ‘Planet Rock,’ and thus spearhead the hip hop revolution.” VB They “practically created the sound of ‘80s music” RV and “the whole world of EDM may not have happened without them.” 500 The Archetypical Kraftwerk Album Even more specifically, Trans-Europa Express “is the starting point for modern electronic music; the digital age is born in these…songs.” CM “Without it there is no new romantic movement or its 21st century revival, techno music is never birthed by a handful of Detroit DJs, hip-hop doesn’t have key early samples, and rock bands such as Radiohead don’t have a crucial signpost.” CM “Its influence was immense,” WR showing up in the music of David Bowie, Utravox, and Simple Minds. WR The album is “a glistening panorama of elegance and decadence, travel and technology…a streamlined celebration of Europe’s romantic past and shimmering future.” RD “These studio symphonies flicker with human desire and an obvious love for music’s possibilities.” CM The album finds Kraftewerk “shedding the superficial experimentalism of their earlier albums, the waves and whooshes of tape and delay technology.” WR “Melodic themes are repeated often and occasionally interwoven over deliberate, chugging beats, sometimes with manipulated vocals; the effect is mechanical yet hypnotic.” AM “Overall, Trans-Europe Express offers the best blend of minimalism, mechanized rhythms, and crafted, catchy melodies in the group's catalog.” SH The Songs “The real meat of this approach is contained in the opening love letter, Europe Endless,” AM “where the driving beat and sleek textures suggest a panoramic view that cuts up time and reality.” CM “Thematically, the record feels like parts of two different concept albums: one a meditation on the disparities between reality and image (Hall of Mirrors and Showroom Dummies share recurring images of glass, reflection, illusion, and confused identities, as well as whimsical melodies), and the other the glorification of Europe.” AM On the latter, “the lyrics express the disdain toward a society that emphasizes conformity with an entrancing melody that still sounds inspired today.” RV “Kraftwerk imagine themselves as little more than mannequins…but in the song they come alive and break the window…moving through the city until they find the dancefloor at a club.” CM “The epic title track” AM is “a locomotive whose relentless, piston-pumping rhythm mimics the sound of train wheels on metal rails, with a trance-like intensity,” RD capturing “the swaying motion and insistent drive of a cross-continent train trip.” AM The title cut “shares themes and lyrics with the following track, Metal on Metal,” AM its “panel-beating sister track.” RD “The Europe that once was…permeates these tracks, with the rich melody that flows across the repetitive building blocks of Franz Schubert,” CM “an impressive composition paying homage” AM to its namesake.

Reviews: AM AllMusic.com review by Steve Huey CM Toby Creswell & Craig Mathieson (2012). 100 Best Albums of All Time. Hardie Grant Books. Page 202. RD Robert Dimery (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited: New York, NY. Page 373. TM Tom Moon (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, NY. Pages 433-4. RV The Review (Oct./Nov. 2001). “The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time” by Clarke Speicher 500 Rolling Stone (2020). 500 Greatest Albums of All Time VB Vibe (Dec. 1999). “100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century,” pages 154-164. WK Wikipedia WR The Wire (June 1992). “The 100 Most Important Records Ever Made” Related DMDB Links: First posted 11/16/2010; last updated 10/13/2026.

Peter Gabriel “Solsbury Hill” released

Solsbury Hill Peter Gabriel

Writer(s): Peter Gabriel (see lyrics here) Released: March 21, 1977 First Charted: April 9, 1977 Peak: 68 US, 81 CB, 80 HR, 2 CL, 3 CO, 13 UK, 92 CN, 45, AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.4 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 68.91 video, 168.93 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Peter Gabriel was one of the founding members of Genesis in 1967. The English progressive-rock band didn’t get much attention in the United States, but built a following in the UK, eventually garnering top-10 albums with 1973’s Selling England by the Pound and 1974’s The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Then frontman Peter Gabriel, who’d largely given the band its identity with outlandish stage costumes, left. The band’s drummer, Phil Collins, stepped up to the mic and led Genesis toward a more commercial sound and worldwide success. Gabriel launched a solo career, focusing on more experimental, alternative rock, and eventually world music. He would also find unexpected commercial success in 1986 with So and the #1 song “Sledgehammer,” one of the most celebrated and viewed videos of all time. His career started, however, in 1977 with “Solsbury Hill,” the lead single from his self-titled debut. Much like Genesis’ early years, the song didn’t get much attention in the U.S. where it peaked at 68, but it was a top-20 hit in the UK. It has become “a radio staple on various formats and remains popular.” SF The song “is a partly enigmatic, partly autobiographical personal statement that stands as one of the most immaculate pop/rock songs of the late ‘70s.” BB It has been viewed as a statement about his departure from Genesis and the anticipation of his solo career ahead. He explained that it was “about being prepared to lose what you have for what you might get…It’s about letting go.” WK He was inspired by a spiritual experience at Little Solsbury Hill in Somerset, England. WK Musically the “7/4 stomp of ‘Solsbury Hill’ is one of its indelible and striking features, that feeling of a beat missing in every measure giving the song a constant sense of struggle.” BB “The song hits the ground running – launching right into its primary guitar riff, with its groove already in cruise control by the end of the first measure.” BB Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Peter Gabriel BB Billboard (2/25/2017). “10 Reasons Peter Gabriel’s ‘Solsbury Hill’ Is One of the Greatest Songs of All Time” by Andrew Unterberger SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/7/2022; last updated 10/28/2022.

Foreigner released its debut album

First posted 4/6/2008; updated 10/17/2020.

Foreigner Foreigner

Released: March 8, 1977 Peak: 4 US, -- UK, 9 CN, 9 AU Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 0.1 UK, 6.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Feels Like the First Time (3/26/77, 4 US, 2 CL, 39 UK, 7 CN, 41 AU) Cold As Ice (7/23/77, 6 US, 1 CL, 24 UK, 9 CN, 32 AU) Starrider (23 CL) Headknocker (23 CL) The Damage Is Done Long, Long Way from Home (12/10/77, 20 US, 7 CL, 22 CN, 70 AU) Woman Oh Woman At War with the World Fool for You Anyway (47 CL) I Need You Total Running Time: 38:46 The Players: Lou Gramm (vocals, percussion) Mick Jones (guitar, keyboards, vocals) Ian McDonald (guitar, backing vocals, saxophone, keyboards) Al Greenwood (keyboards) Ed Gagliardi (bass) Dennis Elliott (drums)

Rating: 3.719 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings) Awards:

About the Album: “Although punk rock’s furious revolution threatened to overthrow rock’s old guard in 1977, bands like Foreigner came along and proved that there was plenty of room in the marketplace for both the violent, upstart minimalism of punk and the airbrushed slickness of what would be called ‘arena rock.’ Along with Boston, Journey, Heart, and others, Foreigner celebrated professionalism over raw emotion.” AMG “Looking back, it’s easy to see why they sold millions; not everyone in the world was pissed off, dissatisfied with the economy, or even necessarily looking for a change. In fact, for most suburban American teens, Foreigner’s immaculate rock sound was the perfect soundtrack for cruising through well-manicured neighborhoods in their Chevy Novas. The album spawned some of the biggest FM hits of 1977, including the anthemic Feels Like the First Time and Cold as Ice, both of which were anchored – like most of Foreigner’s songs – by the muscular but traditional riffing of guitarist Mick Jones, the soaring vocals of Lou Gramm, and the state-of-the-art rock production values of the day, which allowed the band to sound hard but polished. As pure rock craftsmanship goes, Foreigner was as good as it got in the late ‘70s.” AMG Notes: A 2002 reissue included demos of “Feels Like the First Time,” “Woman Oh Woman,” “At War with the World,” and “Take Me to Your Leader.”

Resources and Related Links: Foreigner’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry AMG All Music Guide review by Andy Hines WK Wikipedia