Kraftwerk – Autobahn

Wait for the price to go down (have already seen $10 cheaper than what I paid directly from SDE). Their retail price is overpriced for the lacking visual content and the weak A.F. booklet inside. There are hundreds of images from this era to be put into a slideshow. There is plenty of information from this era to be put into the booklet. Atmos cash grab. HaHa, they got me 🤦‍♂️

Imagine complaining about the sound of a picture disc... gee whiz.

Disappointing Reissue – Poor Sound Quality and Constant Surface Noise

I purchased the 50th Anniversary Edition of Kraftwerk – Autobahn with high expectations, but I was deeply disappointed. The sound is flat, lacking dynamics, and missing the warmth and depth of the original recording. Instead of the immersive experience this album is known for, everything sounds sterile and compressed.

The biggest issue, however, is the poor pressing quality – there is constant crackling and surface noise throughout both sides of the record, even after cleaning and testing on different turntables. It’s clear that low-quality vinyl or a poor mastering process was used.

If you're a Kraftwerk fan looking for a good version of
Autobahn, I strongly recommend seeking out an original pressing or a higher-quality reissue. This one is definitely not worth it!

Audio - sounds excellent, but the only significant differences to my ears (i.e. things I hadn't noticed from earlier releases) are in Morgenspaziergang and Mitternacht, where occasional sound effects, ripple/bubble sounds, howls etc seem to curl through the speakers and become distorted. Additionally, the pianos and instruments in Morgenspaziergang sound beautiful and full.

Visually - it's a mixed bag. Only the 'radio edit' of Autobahn contains a fully animated video which is a heavy cut down version of what we got in the 3D catalogue release (though some shots have been tweaked in terms of colour/lighting).

The other songs contain either static panning slides or short animated clips:
Autobahn - close up pans of 5/6 Emil Schult paintings, which all pan through rather quickly, before the 'Autobahn' cover is shown, then the loop repeats. They are never still or static on the screen, and it might have been nice if they had looped more slowly.
Kometenmelodie - an animated shot of the comet from the 3D concert film slowly pulsating/rippling. Occasionally punctuated by a shot of the Autobahn album cover panning across it, which happens in all songs for some reason.
Kometenmelodie 2 - a shot of the 'KLING KLANG' atom graphic in space from the 3D concert film. Occasionally punctuated by a shot of the Autobahn album cover. Exact same video for the 'Radio Edit' of the song.
Mitternacht - The street at night painting from the 3D concert film, slightly edited/altered with better light effects. Seems to zoom pan slightly, then after the autobahn cover appears it loops as per other videos.
Morgenspaziergang - A more detailed version of the fields/sky shot from the 3D concert film, based on work by Emil Schult. Rather pretty.

As expected with Kraftwerk the menus and interface are all minimal and rather nicely put together. The booklet contains the same images and lyric text as the booklets included with the 2009 remasters (for example the coloured vinyl edition or catalogue cd set).

Bonus content is very minimal, it's a shame the opportunity wasn't taken to embellish this release with additional visual content from the era, but I can see why the band didn't do that.
And finally just to confirm there are NO tracks on here from the 3D/live catalogue boxsets - everything here (except for some of the visuals) is sourced from the original album versions.

How on earth can anyone seriously think about playing a picture disc – and then complain about the poor sound quality?!? Picture discs are for collectors and belong on the wall or the shelf. Nothing more.

Unfortunately,the record isn‘t for hifi fans…I was hoping for a picture disc from Kraftwerk with top -notch digital remixes…
Crackles,Pops,and jumps !!! Probably a Grammophone recording from a garage…That‘s a way to make money…As a fan,I‘m really annoyed about it…What a pity…

Fantastic, most engaging, fully discreet multi-channel mix. A must have multi-channel disc!

There is a near-identical pressing, but without the German FSK classification on the disc and without the sticker on the back.

Really nice sound settings esp D-Atmos.But to minimal content. Expected more value for money

The picture disc Looks nice. Sounds light - lame vs original 1st release. A vinyl to keep in the shelf as collector, not to listen to it voluntarily