Kraftwerk – Techno Pop

Finally it is "Techno Pop", a desired title for an album that, at its time, was not delivered. The earlier creative crisis of making "Techno Pop", somehow still continues to overshadow Kraftwerk's efforts in making this "final" version to sound more convincing. Remasters always push for a certain change - and in case of "Electric Cafe"-come-"Techno Pop, it is not for the better, but more of a damaged affair. The original 8-minute "Telephone Call" was absolutely superior in timing and arrangement, now omitted from the whole. In terms of excuse, Kraftwerk justify this by their supposed inability to rescue it from the original master tape - instead choosing to provide space for more shallow, two single versions. While in "single" terms both, the 7" re-edit of "The Telephone Call" and its further remix, the tiresome "House Phone" do make a tiny collectors' oddity, including them as the album's tracks is a downright miss. For such reasons, I personally feel far more attached to, and recommend the original album as it was - a masterpiece that stood the test of time. As "Techno Pop", it might display the amazing Rebecca Allen graphics more decently, but musically it is a crippled affair - the album that never was. And still isn't.

I admire this album and find it their best. The title track I find the best Kraftwerk song ever beside the Man Machine. Brilliant sounding-wise, and soundqualitywise also. A perfect production and the MOST Übermensch-ish album of all time. Pity, the remastering destroyed the soundquality. That was a sin done by an amatheur, earless stupid even if it's R.H. himself...

Why Kraftwerk fiddled with this albums tracklisting on this re-release? Maybe they don't even know for themselves... the version of Telephone Call/Telefonanruf is the original 7" version and this is followed by the original 12" B-Side of Telephone Call/Telefonanruf, Housephone.
For the collector, it's nice to get these formerly vinyl-only versions remastered on CD, and the collectors have got the original "Electric Cafe" CD anyway. For all others, the original album version of Telephone Call/Telefonanruf is lost.
So, this album, though renamed "Techno Pop" does in now way show what was intended in 1984 as the "Techno Pop" album. Two demos of this have been leaked years ago and show a totally different sound mixing analogue synths with early sequencers.

Hi, please note, not only replaced the title..
the telephone call is an shorter edition, and house phone an completely diffrent remix version as appeared at original Electric Caffe issue.
BR,Erik