Search - Kraftwerk :: Tour de France 03

Nice but not great

Joerg Colberg | Northampton, MA USA | 07/31/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The crucial thing about whether you're going to like the single or not is whether you like Kraftwerk's old stuff or not. By "old stuff" I mean the music pre-1991, that is before they did "The Mix". If you're a fan of the older stuff it's quite likely you won't be too thrilled with this. You'll probably know the original version of "Tour de France" (which hails from 1983) and the new versions are nothing like it. They more or less abandoned a lot of what made people like them so much in the past - those beautiful melodies and the almost robot-like singing. That's too bad. On the other side, this stuff is quite a bit better than a lot of the other stuff you're being subject to these days so that's two stars. If you don't know Kraftwerk's older stuff "Tour de France 2003" sounds almost like your run-of-the-mill electronica. You're getting four versions of the same song which are pretty much all the same - give or take some slight variations. It's better to get the actual album (which also has a few versions of this very same song)."

A seriously addictive work-out...

nicjaytee | London | 08/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Innovators from the far left out-field who've managed to keep up there with the best for 30 years, Kraftwerk are a unique and often bizarre proposition. And here's another example why... take a fairly odd idea - "musical to cycle to" - put it through 11 iterations, stand back and see what happens. First off is their 1983 "Tour de France (CD Single)" featuring three excellent interpretations of their ridiculously catchy original tune, including some quite wonderfully integrated sound bytes of heavy breathing and buzzing derailleur gears. Then, 20 years later, there's "Tour de France Soundtracks" with its superb first three tracks (Tour de France Etapes 1, 2 & 3) which while some way away from their predecessors pick up on several of their chord sequences to become perfectly complementary, equally irresistible extensions of them, followed by it's final track, titled - yes you've guessed it - "Tour de France", that's a further excellent reworking of the original concept. And then, if that's not enough, mix it all up even more with this, their "Tour de France 03 (CD Single)" featuring four more, subtly different, versions of the first three tracks from the "Soundtracks" album.



Too much I hear you say... well possibly not. As you may by now suspect these guys are dedicated "velo-men" who know a bit about how to keep your legs turning, and if you put the whole 11 tracks together and hit the "shuffle" button you'll see why because you've got just about the best possible accompaniment to a serious blast on the pedals. A mesmerically addictive, wholly harmonious sequence of brain etchingly good back-beats & chord sequences that'll keep you cycling, jogging, driving or just chilling out for almost an hour before hitting, as you will, the replay button. And if you're not convinced, buy any one of these superb records for starters and then see if you can resist getting the rest.

"

A logical progression from Expo 2000

Trevor Cordes | Manitoba, Canada | 04/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just as Expo 2000 was a logical progression from the Mix, Tour De France 03 leads us further into Kraftwerk's new sound. Very clean, rich and modern, I for one like the direction they are taking. Rather than putting out any old garbage, they seem to wait until they have something definite to express. Tour is very catchy and extremely toe-tapping. However, like all good electronica these days, its best points are subtle enough to be missed by the average listener -- this won't be any top 40 single! But open your mind (and ears!) to it and you will be rewarded.I love the versions with lyrics, which are extremely well done and more of a throwback to the 70's albums than anyone has really noted. The production values, of course, are superb, with tons of ear-candy swirling around your head."