Kraftwerk are awe-inspiringly amazing live. Supreme concentration delivering electronic dance music with unnerving precision. Synthesizers, computers, and electronics all more animated than the performers. The spectacle is unforgettable and at the center of the spectacle is the melodic, mantra-like, techno pop of the music of Kraftwerk.

Live, both old and new songs are oddly prescient. Technology and fortitude revitalize classic and illuminte newer material. That live experience is what is represented by Kraftwerk's two CD set "Minimum - Maximum". A perfect souvenir for anyone who saw Kraftwerk in 2004 or 2005.
Listening to "Minimum - Maximum", one begins to feel that Kraftwerk have improved upon their timeless classics. The new cryptic computer voice intro about Sellafield on "Radioactivity" reinforces the fatalistic theme of the dangers of technology without humanity. Or the almost violent feel of the begining of "Metal On Metal". Beats that move the song from industrial foreshadowing to modern techno body music.
Strong power beats jettison "Numbers" and "Pocket Calculator". "Numbers" gets one of the most dramatic overhauls of any song on "Minimum - Maximum". Here the "Numbers" displays the musicians it's influenced in citations, the list including: DAF, Yello, Front 242, Meat Beat Manifesto and Haujobb to name a few.
The technological tinkering and tweaking that allow the old melodies to enter a 21st Century music scene without sounding like a different song.
Some songs were tweaked less but the melodies remained timeless and carry nicely with only minimal revisionism. It's surprising how familiar and timely "The Model", "Autobahn", "Neon Lights" and "Trance Europe Express" sound.
The Classics are not the only songs to thrive in the live setting. The six songs from 2003's "Tour De France" all sound fantastic on "Minimum - Maximum".
Both "Vitamin" and "Elektro Kardiogramm" play like singles live. They have a sense of familiarity that suggest classic Kraftwerk songwriting. "Vitamin" with it's minimalist chorus belongs to the tradition of "Pocket Calculator" and "The Robots".
While "Elektro Kardiogramm" with it's use of breathing for rhythm creates a new space between the transportation anthems "Autobahn" and "Trans Europe Express" and techno body music thumpers like "Metal On Metal" and "Dentaku".
"Minimum - Maximum" sole new song is "Planet Of Visions". A song whose origins lie on the "Expo 2000" EP. This is a techno track aimed at the DJ's inspired by Kraftwerk and pays homage to both Detroit and Germany. It is a Kraftwerk track of the 21st Century. The new track is worthy and able to fit in among the retooled classics of "Minimum - Maximum".
Wether you are a completist Kraftwerk fan or a curious electronica or electro fan looking for a Kraftwerk primer, this record is perfect. An essential live compilation that spans three decades of music.
This is the perfect audio souvenir from the Kraftwerk Tour, let's hope the previously mentioned DVD will be released too.

Tracklist CD1
The Man - Machine
Planet Of Visions
Tour De France Etape 1
Chrono
Tour De France Etape 2
Vitamin
Tour De France
Autobahn
The Model
Neon Lights



Tracklist CD2
Radioactivity
Trans Europe Express
Metal On Metal
Numbers
Computer World
Home Computer
Pocket Calculator
Dentaku
The Robots
Elektro Kardiogramm
Aero Dynamik
Music Non Stop